Today's Dilemma in Engineering Education

The present wide-scale activity to increase the science content of engineering curricula can, if not skillfully accomplished, result in the teaching of science, and not the engineering of science, to engineers. The changes experienced in the substance of the curricula are sometimes so great that faculties encounter great difficulty in providing worthwhile engineering examples to support their presentations of engineering science.     

Beyond the Rhetoric: A framework for evaluating improvements to the student experience

A framework is described to assist institutions in evaluating the extent to which activities described as “quality improvements” or “quality enhancements” are likely to directly improve the student experience. The framework classifies ways of improving the student experience into “coaching improvements”, “umpiring improvements”, and “facilities improvements”, while also considering the location of improvements along a “risk avoidance—quality assurance—quality enhancement” continuum. The utility of this framework is explored through case studies of sector‐wide initiatives in Scotland and Australia. If used to stimulate internal discussion, the framework can help institutions to better balance their efforts to improve the student experience.     

The challenging academic development (CAD) collective

Nurse education is characterised by dissonance, ambiguity and uncertainty. Such a context makes demands on the educator's authenticity or sense of self. This paper reports an attempt to provide a space where dissonance, ambiguity and uncertainty could be held, tolerated and examined and where authenticity could be recovered or developed through the practice of artistry. Three art workshops were offered to eight nurse educators over a period of three months. Each of the participants and the co‐facilitator were subsequently interviewed. All welcomed the opportunity to find meaning in their practice and to be listened to in a climate of empathy, acceptance and congruence. They undertook novel activities that allowed for discovery and surprise. They explored their sense of self and coined fresh metaphors to communicate their experiences. The paper argues that there is room for approaches to academic staff development that go against the mainstream.

La formation des infirmières se caractérise par la dissonance, l'ambiguïté et l'incertitude. Un tel contexte exerce des pressions sur l'authenticité et le sens de soi d'un éducateur. Cet article rend compte d'une tentative de fournir un espace o[ugrave] l'authenticité peut être redécouverte et développée au moyen de la pratique artistique. Trois ateliers artistiques ont été offerts à huit formateurs d'infirmières sur une période de trois mois. Des entretiens ont été effectués auprès de chaque participant et du co‐facilitateur. Les répondants ont tous accueilli l'occasion de trouver un sens à leur pratique et de pouvoir être écouté dans un climat d'empathie, d'acceptation et d'harmonie. Ceux‐ci on entrepris des activités nouvelles faisant place à la découverte et à la surprise. Ils ont exploré leur sens de soi et ont trouvé de nouvelles métaphores pour communiquer leurs expériences. Cet article défend l'idée que des activités de développement pédagogique qui vont à l'encontre de la majorité ont leur place.