Teacher's experiences in PBL: implications for practice

Project-Based Learning (PBL) has been implemented in the first year of the Industrial Engineering and Management programme at the University of Minho, Portugal, since 2004/2005. The purpose of this paper is to analyse and discuss teachers' experiences in PBL in this programme and to explore its implications for student learning and for teaching practices in higher education. For data collection, the research method used was written narratives to these teachers, at the end of the PBL semester. Findings suggest that teachers express a positive view of PBL as a learning approach. They identify student motivation and engagement, along with a better understanding of the application of concepts in real-life situations, as important outcomes of the project for students. Besides this, teachers also highlight the importance of the development of transversal skills by students throughout the project. Recommendations for future work and implications for practice will also be discussed.     

The Possibilities and Limitations of Gifted Education in Korea: A Look at the ISEP Science- Gifted Education Center

Education for gifted children is currently one of the hottest educational issues in Korea. Much money and effort are being invested in this area of education. Recent announcements by the Korean Ministry of Education state that all children should be educated to the level of which they are capable, and the current program for gifted students should be and will be extended. However, there is little attention paid to the actual substance of gifted education in Korea. What is happening in the name of gifted education? What is the meaning of giftedness and gifted education? How and in what respects can the gifted program be differentiated from general programs? What are the problems and concerns in serving gifted students? What are the effects of gifted programs? These are the main questions of the present qualitative study. For the purposes of this ethnographic study, the ISEP science gifted education center in Korea was observed for a six-month period, and 10 professors and 50 students at the ISEP were interviewed in depth. The results of the study are as follows. First of all, the ISEP science gifted education center provides differentiated learning environments and teaching methods. Second, through these differentiated learning experiences, students improve their thinking skills and creative problem solving abilities, as well as developing positive self-esteem. In addition, the formation of human net works, the special meaning of the ‘gifted’ label, and the acquisition of personal knowledge were seen to be some of the major educative possibilities on offer at the ISEP gifted education center. However, some professors’ low levels of motivation, the absence of individualized educational plans, bureaucratic management, weak student commitment to set tasks, and a lack of opportunity for students’ social activities were clearly limitations of the ISEP gifted education center. The results of this study will contribute to, specifically, the search for new ideas to improve the operation of gifted education as well as helping to surmount the hidden problems lurking beneath the surface of the current gifted education practices in Korea, and, more generally, to enhance our understanding of the diverse gifted educational practices in operation worldwide.     

Engineering design skills coverage in K-12 engineering program curriculum materials in the USA

ABSTRACT

The current K-12 Science Education framework and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in the United States emphasise the integration of engineering design in science instruction to promote scientific literacy and engineering design skills among students. As such, many engineering education programmes have developed curriculum materials that are being used in K-12 settings. However, little is known about the nature and extent to which engineering design skills outlined in NGSS are addressed in these K-12 engineering education programme curriculum materials. We analysed nine K-12 engineering education programmes for the nature and extent of engineering design skills coverage. Results show that developing possible solutions and actual designing of prototypes were the highly covered engineering design skills; specification of clear goals, criteria, and constraints received medium coverage; defining and identifying an engineering problem; optimising the design solution; and demonstrating how a prototype works, and making iterations to improve designs were lowly covered. These trends were similar across grade levels and across discipline-specific curriculum materials. These results have implications on engineering design-integrated science teaching and learning in K-12 settings.     

International Education and Training at Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chausées/La Formation a l'international a l'Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées

The programme of the Département de la Formation Internationale at Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chausées (ENPC) was created in 1981 to address the ever‐increasing international role of today's engineer in the scientific, economic and social spheres. Each year, 75 ENPC students spend at least 3 months abroad, mainly in Europe. ENPC has double degree programmes in engineering studies with three European partners in Germany and Spain: TU Munich and TU Berlin; Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Twenty per cent of the student curriculum is devoted to language study; the students are required to study English plus one of the following languages: German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Japanese or Chinese. French courses for foreign students are also provided. Language teaching aims to provide students not only with the linguistic skills necessary for communication, but also to make them more sensitive to other cultures as well as their own.     

普通高校民族学生体育能力的培养

高校体育是学生接受学校体育教育的最后阶段 ,应当把培养学生的体育能力放在重要位置上。使学生特别是对民族学生乐于和善于掌握科学锻炼身体的理论知识和运动技能 ,使其毕业后能根据所处的地理环境、民族地区习俗等选择适宜自己的锻炼内容和方法 ,以便更好地服务于社会     

Teacher perception of professional skills in a project-led engineering semester

This study explores the perceptions of teachers with regard to professional skills in project-led engineering education experiences for first year engineering students at the University of Minho, Portugal. Their perception on which professional skills to include, how to develop these skills and how to assess them is studied through six semi-structured interviews with experienced teachers of the first year programme, who served as tutors as well as teachers in at least four projects. Analysis of their perceptions reveals a strong commitment to professional skills for engineering students, and also a lack of confidence in the support they can offer to help students develop these skills.     

The common first year programme: some lessons from a construction science course

In 2005, the School of Property, Construction and Project Management at RMIT University, Melbourne, introduced a new curriculum format for all first year students. All students enrolling in one of the four undergraduate degrees offered by the school commenced a common first year programme. This new curriculum was adopted to provide students with a broader depth of knowledge and experience across all study areas and to provide greater skill enhancement for graduates. The common first year university experience allows students to build a multidisciplinary degree based upon their interests and skills. But the common first year has created a number of challenges for the lecturing staff: extremely large classes, space and resourcing issues, assessment and administration problems; greater strains upon technology; and increase in the impersonal nature of the learning environment. This paper examines how one of these large first year classes (construction science) was conducted to address some of the learning issues arising from a common first year. It describes how students were encouraged over the semester to electronically build and create a classroom resource of e-reference material on construction science topics, which was the basis for classroom discussion, interaction and assessment. The result was an electronic reference folder on CD that provided students with both a starting point for assignments, class interaction and assessment, and the development of vital information technology literacy skills.     

开发校本课程促进教师成长

校本课程具有巨大的生命力，其内在的价值之一是促进教师发展。主要表现在促进教师不断完善知识结构；树立课程意识、反思意识；建立一系列相适应的新教育观、课程观、教学观、教师观、学生观、质量观、评价观；提高教学技能；增强教学能力、反思能力、研究能力、预见能力和创新能力；提高教师的品质。     

Innovative assessment paradigm to enhance student learning in engineering education

Incorporation of student self-assessment (SSA) in engineering education offers opportunities to support and encourage learner-led-learning. This paper presents an innovative assessment paradigm that integrates formative, summative, and SSA to enhance student learning. The assessment innovation was implemented in a senior-level civil engineering design course. Direct evidence of the impact of employing this innovation on student learning and achievement was derived by monitoring student academic performance in direct assessment tasks throughout the semester. Students’ feedback demonstrated the effectiveness of this innovation to improve their understanding of course topics build their autonomy, independent judgement, and self-regulated learning skills.     

Global engineering teams – a programme promoting teamwork in engineering design and manufacturing

Engineering graduates are expected to possess various competencies categorised into hard and soft skills. The hard skills are acquired through specific coursework, but the soft skills are often treated perfunctorily. Global Engineering Teams (GET) is a programme that promotes project-oriented tasks in virtual student teams working in collaboration with industry partners. Teamwork is a major success factor for GET as students always work in groups of varying sizes. A questionnaire-based survey of the 2008 cohort of GET students was conducted to assess teamwork, communication and conflict resolution among group members. The results confirmed that deliverables are readily achieved in teams and communication was open. A challenge of using virtual teams is the availability of high-speed Internet access. The GET programme shows that it is possible to deliver engineering design and manufacturing via industry/university collaboration. The programme also facilitates multidisciplinary teamwork at an international level.     

The potential of Supplemental Instruction in engineering education – helping new students to adjust to and succeed in University studies

Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a programme that is attached to difficult courses with the objective of increasing student performance and retention. However, an SI programme also has the potential to increase overall student performance and retention during the first critical year if applied to introductory courses. In this study the latter objective is investigated in an engineering educational environment. The study shows that an SI programme attached to difficult first semester courses for new engineering students has substantial positive effects on both first-year student performance and retention. Both male and female students appear to benefit from attending SI to the same extent. Some potential reasons for these improved first-year student performances are that attendance at SI sessions appears to lead to improved self-confidence, a broader network of study partners, improved study strategies and problem-solving skills and an increased ability to critically review material and work with others.     

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.     

Case study: use of problem-based learning to develop students' technical and professional skills

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a pedagogy that has attracted attention for many biomedical engineering curricula. The aim of the current study was to address the research question, ‘Does PBL enable students to develop desirable professional engineering skills?’ The desirable skills identified were communication, teamwork, problem solving and self-directed learning. Forty-seven students enrolled in a biomedical materials course participated in the case study. Students worked in teams to complete a series of problems throughout the semester. The results showed that students made significant improvements in their problem-solving skills, written communication and self-directed learning. Students also demonstrated an ability to work in teams and communicate orally. In conclusion, this case study provides empirical evidence of the efficacy of PBL on student learning. We discuss findings from our study and provide observations of student performance and perceptions that could be useful for faculty and researchers interested in PBL for biomedical engineering education.     

Interdisciplinary project working in engineering education

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the interdisciplinary project programme implemented by the Faculty of Technology at Plymouth University teamed with three Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professors in Principles of Engineering Design. We examine the challenges encountered in developing such a scheme and identify the processes that were put in place to ensure the quality of the course and to support and maximize student performance. Prior to commencement of the programme the Dean and Vice Chancellor had developed clear objectives and expectations for building upon the significant achievements of the six schools comprising the Faculty of Technology. These objectives were: (a) For the Faculty: ? Provide a focus and impetus for the development of multidisciplinary design in a new portfolio of Masters-level (4 year) engineering courses. ? Enhance the teaching of design in all engineering courses. ? Strengthen a design-oriented approach to all teaching in engineering courses. ? Enhance students' enthusiasm and awareness through greater contact with senior practitioners. ? Improve the understanding of both staff and students concerning the principles of modern engineering design and manufacturing/construction in contemporary professional practice. ? Provide experience and an understanding of the value of interdisciplinary working. (b) For the students: ? Give students the opportunity to tackle problems outside their disciplines. ? Help students understand the relationships between different disciplines. ? Develop innovative and creative solutions to open-ended problems. ? Develop management skills. ? Develop personal and interpersonal skills. ? Focus on developing team-working skills. ? Develop communications and presentation skills. In addition to providing students with a significant intellectual challenge the interdisciplinary project is designed to help them gain a broader insight into problem-solving and in dealing with uncertainty--the essences of engineering. Our experience leads us to believe that both undergraduate and postgraduate engineering students would benefit from working in interdisciplinary teams whilst at university and that having done so they would leave university better fitted for careers in engineering.     

Responsible research and innovation indicators for science education assessment: how to measure the impact?

ABSTRACT

The emerging paradigm of responsible research and innovation (RRI) in the European Commission policy discourse identifies science education as a key agenda for better equipping students with skills and knowledge to tackle complex societal challenges and foster active citizenship in democratic societies. The operationalisation of this broad approach in science education demands, however, the identification of assessment frameworks able to grasp the complexity of RRI process requirements and learning outcomes within science education practice. This article aims to shed light over the application of the RRI approach in science education by proposing a RRI-based analytical framework for science education assessment. We use such framework to review a sample of empirical studies of science education assessments and critically analyse it under the lenses of RRI criteria. As a result, we identify a set of 86 key RRI assessment indicators in science education related to RRI values, transversal competences and experiential and cognitive aspects of learning. We argue that looking at science education through the lenses of RRI can potentially contribute to the integration of metacognitive skills, emotional aspects and procedural dimensions within impact assessments so as to address the complexity of learning.     

Dealing with complex and ill-structured problems: results of a Plan-Do-Check-Act experiment in a business engineering semester

Challenged by increased globalisation and fast technological development, we carried out an experiment in the third semester of a global business engineering programme aimed at identifying conditions for training student in dealing with complex and ill-structured problems of forming a new business. As this includes a fuzzy front end, learning cannot be measured in traditional, quantitative terms; therefore, we have explored the use of reflection to convert tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge. The experiment adopted a Plan-Do-Check-Act approach and concluded with developing a plan for new learning initiatives in the subsequent year’s semester. The findings conclude that (1) problem-based learning develops more competencies than ordinarily measured at the examination, especially, the social/communication and personal competencies are developed; (2) students are capable of dealing with a complex and ambiguous problem, if properly guided. Four conditions were identified; (3) most students are not conscious of their learning, but are able to reflect if properly encouraged; and (4) improving engineering education should be considered as an organisational learning process.     

Does Higher Education Improve Student Scientific Reasoning Skills?

An ultimate goal of higher education is to prepare our future workers with needed knowledge and skills. This includes cultivating students to become proficient reasoners who can utilize proper scientific reasoning to devise causal inferences from observations. Conventionally, students with more years of higher education are expected to have a greater level of scientific reasoning. Also expected traditionally is that studying science and engineering or attending top-rated universities can better promote students’ scientific reasoning than studying other majors or attending lower ranked institutions. In this study, we used Lawson’s Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning (LCTSR) with 1,637 Chinese students in different years of study, different fields, and different university tiers. It was found that regardless of which major or university students entered, their scientific reasoning measured by the LCTSR showed little variation across the entire 4 years of undergraduate education. Simply put, there was little association between tertiary-level learning and scientific reasoning. This study calls our attention to the status quo of higher education and motivates researchers across the globe to look into this issue in their own nations.     

Renovation of a mechanical engineering senior design class to an industry-tied and team-oriented course

In this work, an industry-based and team-oriented education model was established based on a traditional mechanical engineering (ME) senior design class in order to better prepare future engineers and leaders so as to meet the increasing demand for high-quality engineering graduates. In the renovated curriculum, industry-sponsored projects became the most important course component and critical assessment tool, from which problem-solving skills as well as employability skills of the ME students can be fully developed. Hands-on experiences in finite element analysis (FEA) modelling and simulation were also added into the renovated curriculum to promote the application of FEA on engineering design and assessment. Evaluation of the renovated course was conducted using two instruments and the results have shown that the course made the ME senior students more prepared for their future career and a win–win model was created between the industry partner and the ME programme through it. Impact of the renovated syllabus on Accreditation Board for Engineering Technology goals was discussed. Based on the current progress, a more substantial change is being planned to further improve the effectiveness and practicability of this design course. The renovated course was started to offer to the ME senior students at Mississippi State University.