Evaluating engineering thinking in undergraduate engineering and liberal arts students

ABSTRACT

This study explored if it is possible for liberal arts students to develop engineering professional competencies without detailed engagement with the engineering sciences. Students on a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences programme were compared with their undergraduate peers in Civil Engineering. A new method for evaluating such competencies was developed. Two one-hour individual problem-solving exercises were devised to assess capabilities against 14 criteria, based on the Institution of Civil Engineers’ Competency framework for professional development (2011 The BASc cohort’s scores for each criterion improved notably from the start of term to the end. This cohort rated their capabilities more highly at the end of term and was more satisfied with the answers they gave. Engineering students showed a slight decline in performance against the criteria. Self-evaluation in this group revealed a smaller increase in perceived capability but increased dissatisfaction. Both cohorts felt more anxious about the assignment at the end of the term. PBL environments can improve student competence in attributes associated with professional engineering. The scope of the study is constrained by the small cohort but the findings and evaluation method provide the basis for further development, including detailed statistical evaluation and validation of the evaluation instrument.     

A funds of knowledge approach to examining play interests: listening to children’s and parents’ perspectives

Children’s interests are widely recognised as pivotal to meaningful learning and play in the early years. However, less is known about how children’s diverse interests may contribute to relationships and interactions within peer cultures. This article builds upon previous studies to argue that participation in sociocultural activity generates interests informed by funds of knowledge that children reconstruct in their play. It reports findings from an interpretive study that used filmed footage of children’s play as a provocation to explore the perspectives of children, parents and teachers. The article presents original insights regarding some ways in which mutually constituted funds of knowledge afford opportunities for children to co-construct meaning. The findings also indicate that interests arising from diverse funds of knowledge may contribute to the interplay of power, agency and status within peer cultures. This raises some issues regarding how matters of inclusion and exclusion are understood and responded to within early years settings. The article recommends that teachers and researchers engage critically with children’s individual and collective funds of knowledge in order to better understand the complexities of play cultures.     

An appropriate curriculum for 4–5‐year‐old children in Northern Ireland: comparing play‐based and formal approaches

This paper reports on an investigation into the quality of the learning experiences for 4–5‐year‐old children in Northern Ireland schools in the context of the debate about play‐based and formal approaches to learning and teaching. Detailed observations were carried out in 70 Year 1 classes: 38 in traditional Year 1 classes where the Northern Ireland National Curriculum is being delivered, and 32 in Enriched Curriculum classes, where a more developmentally appropriate, play‐based and child‐centred curriculum is being piloted. The quality of the learning experience in each class was assessed using a structured observation schedule, i.e. Walsh and Gardner's Quality learning instrument. Overall the Enriched Curriculum appears to be providing 4–5‐year‐old children in Northern Ireland with a higher‐quality learning experience. The children are given more opportunities to act independently, are engaged in more challenging activities and are more learning disposed, and they show higher levels of emotional, social and physical well‐being. The findings are discussed in terms of what constitutes an appropriate curriculum for this age group.     

Handling heterogeneity in English geography textbooks 1850–2000

Teaching demands engagement with a diverse world. When teaching about distant places, school textbooks commonly employ mediation devices of comparison, contrast and narratives of change. To what extent are such pedagogical strategies inherently othering? This question is addressed in the context of representations of Japan in English geography textbooks from 1850 to 2000. A process of detailed qualitative analysis was applied to the books, focussing on language structures, but also considering visual elements. Although the nature of comparison and change narratives varied over time, there was an enduring power dynamic within their construction. It is important to recognize this dynamic because of the widespread use of such taken-for-granted strategies. This is relevant not only to geography education but to any discipline in which the world is represented. Can other ways of constructing the world offer an alternative approach?     

Decolonization,Nationalism, and local identity: rethinking cosmopolitanism in educational practice in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

Cosmopolitanism and its application for education in western societies has been well examined. Yet cosmopolitanism in society and in education has not been systematically explored in many Asian societies. Facing a large number of people from diverse backgrounds, the society and its education system in Hong Kong are troubled by issues similar to those found in western postindustrial societies, related to cultural and national belonging and identity. Prejudice and racism towards ethnic minorities – particularly those from South Asia and Africa, is quite common. Additionally, animosity and hostility to mainland Chinese newcomers has increased and intensified in the context of Hong Kong’s “repoliticization” after its 1997 handover. This article aims to explore how cosmopolitanism is understood, valued, and approached in Hong Kong education. We start by exploring the role of decolonization and nationalization in political education in Hong Kong. We then discuss cosmopolitanism, and consider how it impacts particular social and educational issues in Hong Kong. We also provide an analysis of discourses on cosmopolitanism taken from Hong Kong General Studies and History textbooks, to identify challenges faced in facilitating cosmopolitan values, a balance of identities, and global citizenship in Hong Kong education.     

Three-dimensional art and sculpture

I am making it BIG (Evan). A secret slide with gold in there (Sydni). Look even a little car could fit in it (Joshua). This is a circle! Round, a tiger jumps through this hoop (Emily). Excitement runs high when children experiment with three-dimensional art projects using paper, boxes and styrofoam.Liz Seelhoff Byrum teaches four- and five-year-olds at a private school in New York City.