Empathy among students in engineering programmes

Engineers face challenges when they are to manage project groups and be leaders for organisations because such positions demand skills in social competence and empathy. Previous studies have shown that engineers have low degrees of social competence skills. In this study, the level of empathy as measured by the four subscales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, perspective taking, fantasy, empathic distress and empathic concern, among engineering students was compared to students in health care profession programmes. Participants were undergraduate students at Linköping University, 365 students from four different health care profession programmes and 115 students from two different engineering programmes. When the empathy measures were corrected for effects of sex, engineering students from one of the programmes had lower empathy than psychology and social worker students on the fantasy and perspective-taking subscales. These results raise questions regarding opportunities for engineering students to develop their empathic abilities. It is important that engineering students acquire both theoretical and practical knowledge and skills regarding empathy.     

Software engineering education: some important dimensions

Software engineering education has been emerging as an independent and mature discipline. Accordingly, various studies are being done to provide guidelines for curriculum design. The main focus of these guidelines is around core and foundation courses. This paper summarizes the current problems of software engineering education programs. It also proposes some important dimensions as integral parts of software engineering education: interdisciplinary skills, practice experience, communication, skills on continuing education and professionalism. In the current guidelines and studies these dimensions are not addressed specifically. Although there could be other dimensions to be considered in software engineering education, we believe that the proposed ones are very crucial as software engineering is evolving more rapidly than any other engineering discipline. This study also provides a survey of some major universities’ undergraduate software engineering programs to evaluate these dimensions.     

Student enthusiasm for engineering: charting changes in student aspirations and motivation

Many recent teaching initiatives in engineering education have the underlying premise of improving student engagement with global issues and providing first-hand experience of complex problems associated with sustainable development and production. A greater understanding of actual motivational drivers may help in student recruitment and retention, and address, e.g. gender disparity. In this work, student motivations and aspirations are explored through a cross-faculty survey of undergraduate engineering students. The results indicate that while many students start an engineering degree with an aspiration to ‘invent something new’ and ‘make a difference to the world’, these diminish with time to be dominated by issues such as financial security. Students who continue to aspire to the creative/high-impact notions of engineering also maintain an enthusiasm for engineering. However, all students desire more practical work and skills training. Based on these findings, some general recommendations are given for further inspiring students towards engineering.     

Perceived seriousness of pupils' undesirable behaviours: the student teachers' perspective

The effective management of pupils' undesirable behaviours in the classroom represents a major challenge for teachers. In order to better comprehend the difficulties facing them it is important to examine how they perceive pupil behaviours at different stages of their professional development. The present study examined the effects of teaching experience and pupil and teacher gender on student teachers' perceptions of the seriousness of various forms of undesirable behaviours. A structured questionnaire was completed by 243 student teachers, regarding the perceived seriousness of 25 behaviours in boys and girls. Results indicated that both teaching experience and pupil gender were important moderators of their perceptions. For instance, novice student teachers rated overtly antisocial behaviours as serious, whereas their experienced counterparts gave higher ratings of seriousness to internalising forms of behaviour. A degree of gender stereotyping was also apparent in the perceptions of mainly novice teachers. The accumulation of teaching experience may help direct teacher attention to more subtle aspects of pupil behaviour difficulties and may reduce gender stereotyping.     

“新工科”背景下传统工科人才培养新模式——以冶金工程为例

针对目前培养工程师后备人才过程中存在实践不足、工程体验少等问题,提出以学生为中心、课程为主体、能力培养为导向,根据"新工科"要求,以冶金工程专业为例,探索突出工程能力为导向优化"冶金工程类"的课程体系、抓住"理论+实践"两个基本点强化理论教学与实践教学的深度融合、利用现代信息技术建设网上课程教学体系、增强国际合作拓展国际视野等举措,培养具有国际视野的冶金专业人才。     

对工程训练实训示范中心设备管理与维修的几点思考——以安徽科技学院省级工程实训示范中心为例

工程实践训练环节是应用型本科高校强化工科专业理实结合教学的重要支撑.面对各高校工程训练中心设备数量和价值的急增,如何搞好工程训练中心的设备维修与管理,对保障实训教学环节的顺利进行,提高工程实训设备的综合效益,提高设备的利用率,开发创新实训实验项目都具有重要作用.我校结合省级工程训练示范中心和省级开放中心的设备管理与运行中的经验,探讨了高校工程训练中心设备管理与维修的方法.     

食品科学与工程专业毕业实习改革的探讨

本文对食品科学与工程专业本科生毕业实习过程中存在的问题进行了分析,并总结了工作中对食品科学与工程专业毕业实习改革的经验.     

基于能力导向的工作坊实践教学研究——以天津理工大学工程造价专业为例

为了使高校培养的工程造价专业本科毕业生与行业需求对接,工程造价专业实践教学应该以专业能力为导向,重点培养学生的实践能力,使毕业生达到行业和市场需要的能力要求。工作坊实践教学形式的出现能较好地满足应用型人才培养的目标,但在推广工作坊实践教学模式中,还需要解决工作坊实践教学的三大核心问题,即能力模块的确立、与能力要求匹配的实践教学任务中的过关问题设计、能力考评体系的构建等。以天津理工大学工程造价专业为例,总结其基于能力导向的工作坊实践教学运行过程中的经验做法,以期提高工作坊实践教学模式的可操作性和推广性,最终改善高校工程造价专业人才培养中实践教学的绩效。     

An evaluation of a project-based learning initiative in engineering education

Project-based learning (PBL) is a well-known methodology for engineering design education due to a number of benefits it is claimed to offer. This paper presents the initial offering of a first-year engineering PBL unit at Griffith University in Australia. An evaluation of student perceptions of the unit revealed that students generally enjoyed the experience, with the oral presentation aspect receiving the lowest satisfaction rating. There was no significant difference in the ratings between any demographic grouping, suggesting that all students were able to participate in, and experience, the unit in essentially the same way. The best aspects of the unit and those aspects needing improvement were similar to the findings of other investigations documented in the literature. It is proposed that future offerings of the unit will reduce the number of design projects from three to two per semester and will attempt more sophisticated individualisation of marks for group work activities.     

The Gender Mix Among Staff in Schools for Pupils with Severe and Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties and its Impact

Phil Goss has extensive experience as a practitioner and manager in schools for pupils with severe and profound and multiple learning difficulties. In this article, he reports on his enquiries into the gender mix among staff in these schools. He finds that there are significantly more women than men working as teachers and in support roles in these specialist contexts. Phil Goss goes on to discuss the outcomes of his research into headteachers' perceptions of the impact of this gender imbalance. In concluding, he makes a series of proposals for future policy on recruitment and staff development, for teachers and teaching assistants. Phil Goss argues that we need to find ways to bring more men into this work.     

Students' perceptions toward the use of the digital library in weekly web-based distance learning assignments portion of a hybrid programme

This study attempted to investigate students’ perceptions toward the use of the digital library in weekly web‐based distance learning assignments portion of a hybrid instructional programme. Attention was given to three variables—age, gender, and prior experience with the Internet. A Likert‐type instrument consisting of 10 items was designed to collect information about students’ perceptions toward the use of digital library. The subjects of this study were 154 students enrolled in an undergraduate hybrid programme in management at a medium‐sized university in the Midwest, USA. Collected data were analysed using ANOVA. The overall results suggest that students had positive perceptions toward the use of the digital library. Age was found to be an insignificant factor. However, gender and prior experience with the Internet were found to be significant factors. Males had significantly higher positive perceptions toward using the digital library. Students who had more prior experience with the Internet had significantly higher positive perceptions toward using the digital library. Implications for practice are discussed and recommendations are made for future research.     

网络工程专业人才培养体系的研究

网络工程专业是一个横跨多学科的计划外新专业,国内几乎没有现成的专业建设经验可借鉴。因此,迫切需要开展网络工程专业人才培养体系的研究,探索出一种适合我国网络工程人才教育培养的模式,使该专业的毕业生真正满足国家信息化发展的需求。本文论述了笔者所在高校网络工程专业人才培养过程中的理论与实践,为培养高素质网络工程类人才提供建设性的经验。     

Investigating invisible writing practices in the engineering curriculum using practice architectures

ABSTRACT

Writing practices are seen to be essential for professional engineers, yet many engineering students and academics struggle with written communication, despite years of interventions to improve student writing. Much has been written about the importance of getting engineering students to write, but there has been a little investigation of engineering academics’ perceptions of writing practices in the curriculum, and the extent to which these practices are visible to their students and to the academics. This paper draws on research from an ongoing study into the invisibility of writing practices in the engineering curriculum using a practice architectures lens. The paper uses examples from the sites of practice of two participants in the study to argue that prevailing practices in engineering education constrain more than enable the development and practice of writing in the engineering curriculum.     

Exploring the possibilities of gender equality pedagogy in an era of marketization

In this article, we research and revisit our own experiences of gender equality work to determine the societal and discursive power relations that have shaped gender equality. We conducted our study in Finland, a ‘Nordic model of gender equality’, but we argue that these results have worldwide relevance, especially since Nordic models of gender equality and education have been exported globally. By combining earlier research, our own extensive experience of conducting gender equality work, and previous literature on feminist pedagogy, we examine the possibilities of what we call ‘gender equality pedagogy’ in an era of marketization. To develop the concept of gender equality pedagogy, we ask how combining an analysis of gender equality work with feminist pedagogy can help to acknowledge and utilize power relations. We suggest that understanding gender equality work as a form of pedagogic practice might help overcome some of the barriers that gender equality work has encountered for decades.     

Implementing feminist theory in engineering: obstacles within the gender studies tradition

Scholars have noted that there is hesitation to utilise findings from gender studies in engineering education. Issues within gender studies may be part of the matching problem. Debates concerning two concepts for new engineering paradigms are investigated: care and heterogeneity. Their appeals and the respective complications which they tend to be associated with are revisited. Two examples are explored in detail. The tensions revealed lead to the contents of technical work. More social sciences content in engineering education is sometimes suggested, as a way to support more humane approaches. But, if the calculations that decide how many bolts of what dimension are to be put where are ‘masculinist reductionism’, it still remains that someone will have to do those calculations. Is emphasis on social issues really what we want from engineers?     

Are women engineers in Lebanon prepared for the challenges of an engineering profession?

This study investigates the status of women engineers in the Middle East, considering women engineers in Lebanon as a case study. The author investigated the following questions: What are the influences behind females’ decisions to choose engineering as their major course of study? What are the motives behind this decision? What are the perceptions of females regarding the essential skills for a successful engineering career? An online survey consisting of Likert-scale items was completed by 327 female engineers who graduated from universities in Lebanon and now work in various locations around the world. A genuine interest in the field appeared to be the main influence in the participants’ decisions to choose engineering profession. The potential for professional growth was the leading motivator for choosing engineering. Although participants reported that they possessed adequate theoretical knowledge and technical skills before graduation, in the actual practice of engineering, they noted weaknesses in creativity and innovation.     

Cultivating epistemic empathy in preservice teacher education

This study investigates the emergence and cultivation of teachers' “epistemic empathy” in response to analyzing videos of student inquiry. We define epistemic empathy as the act of understanding and appreciating someone's cognitive and emotional experience within an epistemic activity—i.e., activity aimed at the construction, communication, and critique of knowledge. Our goals are (1) to conceptually develop the construct and contrast it to more general notions of caring and (2) to empirically examine epistemic empathy in the context of preservice teacher education. We discuss tensions in teachers' expressions of epistemic empathy, and we end with implications for research and practice.     

高校通信工程专业毕业实习改革的探索

毕业实习是本科实践教学中的重要环节之一,本文结合我校通信工程专业毕业实习现状,分析了传统毕业实习中存在的主要问题,积极探索一种毕业实习新模式,并详细阐述毕业实习改革的具体措施与改革后的实践经验,旨在提高通信工程专业毕业实习质量。     

Situating teachers’ developmental engineering experiences in an inquiry-based,laboratory learning environment

Many secondary math and science teachers don’t understand the nature and application of engineering adequately to transfer that understanding to their students. Research is needed that investigates and illuminates the process and characteristics of development that addresses this gap. This mixed-method study examines the developmental experiences of 16 public math and science teachers in a yearlong engineering experience. Teachers partnered with university engineering professor-mentors for six weeks on campus followed by ongoing support for transfer to their secondary classes (grades 9–12). Teachers gained engineering knowledge and skills, and an understanding of engineering’s diversity and interdisciplinary nature, plus integrative applied strategies for math and science instruction. They developed productive perceptions (of value, utility, benefits, feasibility and fit) of engineering for their grade 9–12 students, along with efficacy and intent to use what they had learned. Teachers identified positive, profound shifts in their perceptions of engineering and engineers. All teachers integrated engineering principles into their classrooms, but the process was more challenging for math teachers than for science teachers. This developmental experience may help bridge gaps of school-to-life and disciplinary boundaries that separate formal educational environments from authentic life experience.     

The Potential to Develop a Career in Science: Young Women's Issues and Their Implications for Careers Guidance Initiatives

An exploratory study of career decision-making was conducted with young women in science, engineering, and technology programs in colleges, universities, and technical institutes. The participants described issues impacting on their continuation in their programs such as educational policies, levels of financial support, and the degree of gender equity expected and encountered. Difficulties with financial resources, institutional policies, and combining studying and working roles were recurrent themes. Family members and other role models and educational and work experiences were important influences in career decision-making. Recommendations for counselling to enhance the undergraduate experience and directions for future research are outlined.