工科毕业设计指导教师的作用及其对学习投入与学习成效的影响

经济增长模式转型要求工科人才培养的转型升级.毕业设计作为工科人才走向工作岗位或继续深造前最重要的工程实践与综合素质的锻炼平台,是培养创新实践人才的关键环节.如何优化毕业设计过程,充分发挥指导教师的作用从而实现毕业设计的教学目标是本科工科人才培育的改革重点.本研究整合了教师角色的相关理论,聚焦教师角色与作用,从教师专业素...     

The impact of diversity,prior academic achievement and goal orientation on learning performance in group capstone projects

ABSTRACT

Capstone projects are common in undergraduate programmes, providing students with a culminating educational experience designed to draw on the knowledge and skills accumulated over the course of their studies. While there are many benefits to capstone projects, they are not without challenges. In particular, when these projects are conducted in groups, forming groups to optimise the learning outcomes and managing group dynamics can be challenging. In this article, we report on the analysis of data collected from 346 undergraduate business students who completed capstone projects at a Hong Kong university. Measures included students’ learning goal (mastery and performance), satisfaction with their supervisor and group diversity in relation to gender, prior academic achievement, self-report nationality and programme of study. Analysis of this data in conjunction with student grades for the project was conducted to inform improvements in design and delivery of the capstone subject to improve students’ learning outcomes. The results showed that for groups consisting of three students, group diversity in respect to prior academic achievement as measured by grade point average (GPA) is positively related to the grade achieved in the capstone project. However, diversity in respect to the nationalities in the group was related to poorer performance. Furthermore, the more teacher-focused the group supervisor’s approach was, the worse the grade achieved for the project. The results suggest that groups made up of students of different nationalities tend to have lower grades compared to homogeneous groups. In contrast, having a group with a mix of GPAs can result in higher grades on the project. While these findings have informed our understanding of group performance on capstone projects, work is needed to fully understand what underlies the diversity effects identified which will be explored with future cohorts.     

美国大学工程顶点课程的设计及启示——基于美国工程教育协会2005年调查的分析

2005年美国工程教育协会的调查结果表明,美国大学根据学生的知、情、意、行四方面设计工程顶点课程,它不仅整合了学生过去学习的知识,还让学生把先前所学知识和技能应用于实践中,帮助学生理解理论和实践的相关性.围绕课程与项目的结合,美国大学工程顶点设计课程形成了自己独特的教学模式、教学方法、教学组织、教学评价目标和手段.美国大学工程顶点设计课程的成功离不开教师、资金、项目、设计流程的保障.美国大学工程顶点课程的设计经验对我国培养高质量工程人才具有重要的借鉴意义.     

Courses for teaching leadership capacity in professional engineering degrees in Australia and Europe

Recently, many educational institutions across the globe have implemented engineering leadership programmes either as a part of a formal engineering curriculum or where leadership development is embedded into separate in-house programmes. This shows the clear intent of these educational institutions to prepare their engineering students for solving real-world problems, recognising that both technical and leadership skills are valuable for tomorrow's engineers. Leadership programmes in engineering education have been implemented in various formats with varying degrees of success. It has already been identified in research studies that 80–90% of engineering leadership programmes offered explicitly across the globe were based in the United States of America. However, in Europe and Australia, there is a noticeable lack of engineering leadership programmes, particularly in undergraduate curricula. The programmes that are offered across Australia and Europe have distinct design and delivery styles but there are certain key features that are common to most of the programmes, including professional partnerships, mentoring, engineering design and project-based approaches.     

美国大学的顶点课程初探

顶点课程是美国高校为高年级学生,特别是为临近毕业的学生开设的一种综合性课程,具有使学生反思和整合所学知识技能,以及帮助学生成功过渡到职业生涯的功能。本文探讨了美国大学顶点课程的内涵、类型、功能,介绍了顶点课程的设计、实施和评价,试图为我国高校提高大学生的综合素质提供一种实践的途径。     

Developing a generic review framework to assure capstone quality

Within the higher education context, capstone units can be viewed as a significant means of assuring intended learning outcomes for programmes. They provide students with the opportunity to consolidate and apply prior and new disciplinary learning, as well as employability skills and graduate attributes. This paper describes the first stage of an initiative in a regional, Australian university to develop a capstone quality review framework that can be applied across disciplines. A deductive, thematic analysis of relevant literature, guides and institutional strategic documents using a constant comparison method was used to develop a collectively agreed upon set of capstone quality domains and related criteria. These would enable reviewers to assess whether capstone curricula were fit-for-purpose. Capstone domains and criteria were validated and revised using a multi-stage, moderated review of 10 capstone units. This validation process affirmed that to avoid issues with reviewer inter-rater reliability, future use of our framework should emphasise calibrating reviewer interpretation to ensure greater levels of shared understanding of underlying concepts. It further suggested the desirability of incorporating aspects of teacher self-assessment, teacher feedback and student results. Provided these findings are accounted for, we conclude that the proposed capstone review domains and criteria could be used for quality review and enhancement, or capstone benchmarking processes, regardless of discipline area.     

Strengthening Capstone Skills in STEM Programs

In this article we describe a curricular strategy that improves the full range of skillsets critical to capstone success. Improved Capstone (ICap) was developed and implemented across the thermo-fluids topical area in the undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Technology Program at the University of Hartford. ICap experiential courses sequentially introduce challenging and open-ended assignments that foster cognitive learning. Using a scaffolding structure, assignments are organized into three modules: (1) classical, (2) transitional, and (3) design of an experiment. ICap enables students to assume greater responsibility for their learning experiences and liberates the instructor to become a mentor. Consequently, higher level skills important in the capstone course are strengthened: critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, teamwork, communications, information literacy, and design process.     

Challenges of engineering higher education in a transitional economy: a Russian experience

Education and training serve as critical elements of advancement of a nation’s economy in transition. The restructuring of the power engineering industry in Russia has called for a fast implementation of new management system in electric power engineering and radical training of professional managers at different levels in organizations. Management training in electric power engineering in Russia has been implemented by (1) preparing highly professional managers in higher education institutions and technical universities and by (2) improving the management skills of practicing managers in technical universities and educational centers of different power energy companies. This article reports the experience of introducing a new discipline ‘Management in Electrical Engineering’ at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute (Technical University) and reflects on training managers in electric power engineering at higher education and corporate educational centers.     

Final year engineering projects in Australia and Europe

The paper starts by emphasising that final year engineering projects are regarded important in the training and education of professional engineers in Australia and Europe. The sources of projects available to students were also mentioned. Some Australian universities insist on individual projects but some not, each with their own reasons. However, it can be argued that all European universities run individual projects. In most cases, whether it is in Australia or Europe, the total load for final year engineering projects is about 6.25% of the load of engineering programmes. Assessment methods were also described. They were all different whether in Australia or Europe but not very significant. It was discovered that literature reviews, oral presentations and written reports or dissertations were important elements in the assessment schemes. Many university staff, in both continents, encouraged students to publish their work in international conferences and journals if the originality of the projects was high. It can be argued that the individual project is most effective in learning outcome; however, the cost involved is also very high and its sustainability in smaller universities in Australia is in doubt.     

顶点课程在高等职业教育实践中的应用

顶点课程是美国高校为高年级学生,特别是为临近毕业的学生开设的一种综合性课程,使学生反思和整合所学知识技能,帮助学生成功过渡到职业生涯。通过案例分析探讨了美国大学顶点课程的内涵,介绍顶点课程的设计、实施和评价的效果,试图为我国高等职业教育教学提供一种实践的途径和方法。     

Impact of senior design project for the development of leadership and management skills in construction management

Senior design courses are a core part of curricula across engineering and technology disciplines. Such courses offer Construction Management (CMG) students the opportunity to bring together, assimilate and apply the knowledge they have acquired over their entire undergraduate academic programme to an applied technical project. Senior or Capstone design course engages students in a real-world project, enhance leadership development, and prepare to manage and lead project teams. The CMG programme's multidisciplinary approach at Alabama A&M University, combines essential components of construction techniques with concepts of business management to develop technically qualified individuals for responsible management roles in the design, construction and operation of major construction projects. This paper analyses the performance of the students and improvement due to the interaction with the faculty advisors and industrial panel during the two semester Capstone project. The results of this Capstone sequence have shown a continuous improvement of student performance.     

Students’ and teachers’ perceptions: initial achievements of a Project-Based Engineering School

A unified academic model based on the project-based learning (PBL) methodology was implemented, in the 2012–2013 period, in the School of Engineering at Universidad Europea de Madrid. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether teachers and students participating in the capstone projects feel that the objectives for which this methodology was designed for are being achieved. The data were collected through interviews to participants at the end of the PBL experience. The results are encouraging, as students seem to be more motivated, and they say that they are experiencing deeper learning, and have developed key competitive skills required for their professional lives. Findings also suggest that teachers face positively the PBL as a learning approach since they perceive that students obtain a deeper learning, develop transversal skills with the projects and are more engaged with their studies. Implications and recommendations for the future of the model are also discussed.     

Elements of a successful capstone course considering the needs of stakeholders

One of the principal objectives of engineering education is to prepare graduates for the practice of engineering in industry. Industry involvement in the educational process can be very helpful in devising programs to meet this objective. Yet, engineering education has a number of other stakeholders including students, faculty, academic administrators, and others. Identifying and meeting the needs and wants of these various stakeholders is essential in developing educational programs and learning activities that are effective and sustainable. Stakeholders in engineering education are identified, including their wants and needs. Alternative approaches to developing a Capstone course, with input from these stakeholders, are proposed and evaluated in light of stakeholder needs and wants. A case study for developing a two-semester senior design capstone course at Brigham Young University is presented. In this example more than 300 industry sponsored, design and build, projects have been completed by cross-functional student teams over more than ten years. Feedback from alumni on the success of this course in meeting desired educational objectives is also presented.     

Charging to the End: Course Activities for Semester‐Long Student Engagement in an Undergraduate Product Development Capstone Course

Setting instructional goals to drive student engagement in the classroom is essential, as research has shown that improved student engagement in a course will affect student success, as well as the development of key personal and professional skills. Student engagement is a multifaceted concept with multiple perspectives. In focusing on the behavioral perspective of student engagement, various effective teaching practices can be implemented to encourage engagement in a diverse study body. Utilizing validated tools, such as the Natl. Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Engagement Themes and Indicators, can ease the development of classroom approaches to student engagement with convenience and flexibility. Semester‐long student engagement in a food science undergraduate product development capstone course was encouraged through instructional approaches styled around the NSSE Engagement Themes and Indicators. The variety of instructional approaches utilized in the capstone food science course are described in detail and discussed in relation to the NSSE Engagement Themes and Indicators with which they align.     

Faculty peer networks: role and relevance in advancing agency and gender equity

Organisational efforts to alter gender asymmetries are relatively rare, yet they are taking place in a number of universities. In the USA, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, ADVANCE programmes implement a number of interventions to improve the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women faculty. This study focused on one common intervention, faculty peer networks, and the role they play in gender equity reform. Longitudinal and cross-sectional qualitative data indicate that such peer networks function as catalysts for women's career agency, and challenge gendered organisational practices. Two key features of the peer networks, their structure and internal dynamics, facilitate these outcomes. At the same time, peer networks are limited by design in promoting structural change and must be implemented in concert with other forms of policy and structural change to be effective mechanisms for gender equity reform.     

Information Studies for Engineers

This paper proposes objectives for information studies for engineering students derived from several years' experience of teaching this subject at Napier Polytechnic, Edinburgh. Napier's approach to information studies is described and analyzed; sample curricula are appended. Information studies programmes should have both short-and long-term objectives. In the short term to make students more effective users of their university or college library. In the long term to provide lifelong information retrieval and analysis skills which will serve the engineer throughout professional life.     

Identifying the Learning Needs in Mathematics of Entrants to Undergraduate Engineering Programmes in an English University

For some time lecturers in a number of UK and other European universities have suggested that some entrants to undergraduate programmes in engineering have lacked basic and necessary mathematical skills. There are now numerous reports that provide evidence supporting this suggestion. This paper describes the results of surveys of students' confidence in basic mathematics and the subsequent diagnostic testing of basic mathematical skills. These results have been used to identify learning needs and to develop ways in which students can be supported. In particular, it has been possible to select those topics that cause students the most concern. They also form the basis of a number of recommendations related to mathematics provision in undergraduate programmes in engineering.     

Transition to formal schooling: Do transition practices matter for academic performance?

This study examined whether the transition practices implemented in preschool-elementary school pairs contribute to children's academic development during the first year of elementary school. Participants were 398 children who moved from 36 preschools to 22 elementary schools in two Finnish towns. Children were tested in respect to their reading, writing, and math skills in the preschool spring and in the grade 1 spring. The most common practices reported by preschool teachers were discussions about the school entrants and familiarizing preschool children with the school environment and the new teacher. Multilevel latent growth modeling showed that the more the preschool teachers and elementary-school teachers implemented various supportive activities during the preschool year, the faster the children's skills developed from preschool to grade 1 spring. Co-operation over curricula and passing on written information about children between the preschool and the elementary school were the best predictors of the children's skills, although they were the least commonly used practices. The need to restructure the transition to elementary school and the use of multiprofessional resources are discussed.     

Changes in Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Instructional Technology Attributed to Completing the ISTE NETS*T Certificate of Proficiency Capstone Program

An evaluation was conducted of teachers’ attitudinal perceptions of their confidence for implementation, stages of innovation adoption, and satisfaction, as a result of participating in the International Society for Technology in Education's National Educational Technology Standards-Teachers (ISTE NETS*T) Certificate of Proficiency Capstone Program. The Self-Efficacy and Stages of Concern instruments provide insight into the attitudinal progression of program participants. Data were collected at pre, mid, post, and follow-up points. Results showed that the capstone program is effective; participants were clearly more confident that they could implement the technology-based/enhanced teaching/learning strategies in their schools; had far fewer concerns about their level of preparedness; were anxious to work with others in their schools; and believed their school/classroom climate was conducive to and supportive of technology integration. Additionally, participants’ principals and/or supervisors were asked to provide data on their perception of the influence the capstone courses had on their teachers.