Engineering Education and Technological / Professional Learning

Engineering business is a demanding and dynamic market, which universities must understand and accompany. Being aware of the market needs is a step forward in training successful professionals. The presented works contributed to enhance the present discussion addressing different topics like emergent technologies, professional, scientific and social competences or projects that allow students to perform the first contacts with the real world. The view of students, teachers and company supervisors are considered.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Design of a Professional Development Framework in Teaching and Learning for Engineering Educators

Ireland’s National Professional Development Framework for Those who Teach in Higher Education, aims to provide guidance and leadership in the planning, developing and engaging in professional development practices. A series of pilot projects have been initiated to help explore the framework’s likely utility and acceptance by educators and their institutions. These projects require engagement with staff in the interpretation and adaption of the framework within their working contexts. The purpose of this paper is to outline the development of one such project with engineering educators at three Institutes of Technology seeking designation as a technological university. The initiative aims to gain traction in the acceptance of the framework with the engineering education community by linking core and discipline-specific teaching and learning competencies with professional development activities most valued by engineering educators. Informed by three strands of literature: professional development in higher education; engineering education; and teaching and learning training provisions, the project begins with a survey of all those involved in teaching and learning in engineering across the three institutes. Based on engagement with key stakeholders, subsequent qualitative research informs the contextualization of the national framework for discipline-specific and institutional piloting. The paper concludes by exploring engineering educator perceptions of the national framework’s utility based on their engagement with the pilot process. Feedback from the pilot indicates that there is a significant gap between the professional development needs of engineering educators and the current professional development provision in teaching and learning

Integration of technical knowledge as a way of forming of professional competence of students of technical university

The article describes ways and methods of improving the quality of graduation in Oil and Gas Engineering by means of implementation of the competence building approach within the modernization of the content of professional education. The article proves the expediency of use of the activity approach in formation of professional competence of students of technical University and the experience of implementing this approach. The author emphasizes the importance of the discipline of mathematics in its function as the basis of professional education and pays special attention to the determination of the types of competences and the formation of general professional skills of bachelors. The article deals with the basic concepts of the «task» and the author's understanding of the term «task». The author presented the experience of the development of practice - oriented tasks for students of technical University. The article also considers the experience of implementation of this technology at studying mathematics at the Petroleum Technological University in compliance with the requirements of the third generation standards. The technology of professional competences formation is offered. Special attention is paid to the technology of formation of professional competence of students of technical University. In this article, stages of organization of the study process at implementation of the technology of the problem-based approach in the education are provided. Specific examples are considered methods of organizing the formation of professional competences. The author reveals the subject matter of a mathematical problem in its function as the basic means of competence formation with the students of technical higher education institutions shows the relevance of treatment in learning process task approach and suggests specific methodology for forming key competences through solving technological problems

Teaching and Learning Competencies Valued by Engineering Educators: A Pilot Study

At the onset of this paper, it is important to provide context by highlighting two backdrop narratives, which have prompted and guided this research project:-(i) Since 2015, The National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching & Learning in Ireland has undergone an extensive consultation process on professional development, resulting in a guiding document entitled the National Professional Development Framework (NPDF) for Staff Who Teach in Higher Education [1].(ii) The Technological University Alliance for Dublin has placed Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), Institute of Technology Blanchardstown (ITB) and Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT) on a merger trajectory towards technological university designation [2] under the Technological Universities Act 2018. Project Levitus is a cross-institute initiative tasked to develop and pilot a disciplinaryspecific (engineering) version of the NPDF, transferrable to other academic disciplines. A steering committee, comprising of engineering educators, teaching and learning specialists, academic managers and HR representatives, has guided the project

Bridging the Gap Between Engineering Workforce Needs and Student Engagement

This paper is inspired by the development of the proposed new technological university in Dublin; TU4Dublin is to become “Dublin’s Globally Engaged University” and is to be located at the nexus between learning and engagement (TU4Dublin, 2015). This study investigates engineering education in the context of career focused education. The main objective of this study is to investigate whether engineering students’ cognitive engagement benefits from bridging the gap between technical issues and the practical realities of modern engineering practice. A portfolio of engineering practice illustrating the practical realities of modern engineering practice in the context of Engineers Ireland’s competencies is developed and presented to first year electronic engineering students at the Institute of Technology Tallaght Dublin (ITTD). A mixed methods approach is used to evaluate the impact of the portfolio usage on first year electronic engineering students’ learning engagement. The results show that heightened interest in professional practice increases students’ value of engineering education and consequently students demonstrate greater cognitive engagement. It is concluded that incorporating real life engineering experiences into the first year engineering education experience greatly enhances it

Practical Lessons in Andragogy and Constructivism: an Exploratory Study of Mature, Part-time Undergraduate Engineering Learner Experiences of Digital Learning Objects

As higher education pivots towards a digital provision, there is growing recognition of the potential for technology to enhance learning, teaching and assessment, particularly so in engineering education where technologies manifest as physical artefacts of learning, embedded in its epistemological underpinnings. Yet, the literature on mature learners suggests a technological gap associated with age can impede learning. We examine this anomaly with a specific subset of mature learners. We explore, through lenses of andragogy and constructivism, the experiences of mature, part-time engineering students in using technology to enhance learning. A cohort with limited computing skills or familiarity with digital learning were provided with co-created digital learning objects to assist in learning complex engineering software. A thematic analysis of student feedback implied that they perceived their experiences of using these supports with an authentic assessment to be positive. The students reported that co-creation of these supports with an authentic assessment to be positive. The students reported that co-creation of these supports with faculty encouraged engagement. Furthermore, they felt that the approach taken enhanced achievement of learning outcomes, digital literacy, professional confidence, self-direction and likelihood of engaging further in their education

Mathematics: Creating Value for Engineering Students

While students’ attainment in mathematics and their attitudes about mathematics are strongly inter-related, value is an important concept in mathematics education. It is arguable that lecturers, especially in engineering faculties, know little about the relationships students form with mathematics; for example what value do engineering students place on mathematics learning? Mathematics is often perceived as a difficult subject and it is associated with certainty and with being able to get the right answer. However the narrowness of the assessment process overshadows predictors of achievement behaviour: expectancy (am I able to do the task?) and value (why should I do the task?). At the same time lecturers are tasked with mathematically preparing students for an increasingly technological world, however for many students, the nature of a career involving mathematics is not at all clear. A significant difference between engineering education and practice is the social aspect of work compared to education. In particular engineers’ difficulty communicating mathematics is a significant weakness of engineering education. While engineering mathematics curricula often prescribe a fixed body of mathematical knowledge, this study takes a different approach; second year engineering students are additionally required to investigate and document an aspect of mathematics used in engineering practice. A qualitative approach is used to evaluate the impact students’ investigations have on their mathematics learning and whether this approach creates greater value for students compared to curriculum mathematics learning. This paper contains an account of students’ engagement with and their emotional responses to their investigations of professional engineers’ mathematics usage

Teacher competences for active learning in engineering education

The implementation of active learning strategies in engineering education still encounters barriers when facing conventional teaching-learning practices. This work aims to contribute to the discussion on teachers’ pedagogical competences required for active learning. This contribution is developed from the perceptions of 205 engineering teachers of Brazilian higher education institutions, centered on significant teaching competences necessary for teachers of engineering courses and how to develop them in the active learning context. The results show that essential competences identified by the participants are (I) teamwork (teachers’ cooperation); (II) teacher–student relationships (empathy); (III) feedback about students’ performance throughout the learning process; (IV) information and communication technology (ICT) competences; (V) selecting and adapting the teaching-learning methodologies to the class context; and (VI) creativity. A complementary logistic regression model suggested that female Ph.D. full-time teachers are more likely to employ active learning. Differences in active learning adoption among Brazilian regions were also captured by the model. The identified competences are essential for the sustainability of the innovation of teaching practices in the context of active learning, which may be used to inform more effective professional training of engineering teachers in the current globalized scenario.This research was funded by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), grant number 205430/2014-7. This work was partially supported by FCT— Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope UIDB/00319/2020

Mapping engineering concepts for secondary level education

Much of the national attention on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education tends to concentrate on science and mathematics, with its emphasis on standardized test scores. However as the National Academy of Engineering Committee on K-12 Engineering Education stressed, engineering can contribute to the development of an effective and interconnected STEM education system (Katehi, Pearson, & Feder, 2009). In addition, engineering can provide authentic learning contexts for science, technology, and mathematics. Numerous K-12 engineering initiatives have emerged across the U.S. developing curriculum and conducting teacher professional development (Brophy, Klein, Portsmore, & Rogers, 2008). The focus of pre-college engineering education has largely been on process, with engineering content or concepts playing at best a secondary role. The Standards for Technological Literacy (STL) (2000), for example, has been cited by many as providing direction for pre-college engineering, with its design-oriented standards. However, the STL do not specify engineering content and focuses only on the design process. In addition, numerous studies have been conducted to identify engineering-oriented outcomes and competencies (Childress & Rhodes, 2008; Dearing & Daugherty, 2004; Harris & Rogers, 2008). However, these studies have resulted in lists that focus heavily on process and the interpersonal skills associated with engineering (communication, teamwork, etc.). For example, Childress and Sanders (2007) examined the related literature and engineering curricular materials, concluding that it is “challenging to create a framework that might be helpful in developing „engineering‟ instructional materials for secondary schools.

Promotion of STEM education in Vocational and Professional Education and Training (VPET)

Vocational and Professional Education and Training (VPET) enhances learners to acquire professional knowledge, apply practical skills and develop positive workplace attitudes to support the long-term development of a country or a city. Established in 1982, the Vocational Training Council (VTC) is the largest vocational and professional education and training provider (VTC 2016) in Hong Kong. Through a wide range of pre-employment and in-service programmes, it establishes valuable credentials for approximately 250,000 students each year with internationally recognised qualifications. As a member institution of VTC, the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) offers fulltime and part-time programmes - covering an array of disciplines and at levels ranging from higher diploma to certificate - nurturing talents valued by industries. STEM (Wikipedia 2016), an acronym that refers to the academic disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. STEM (Education Bureau, Hong Kong 2015) plays a pivotal role in educating students to meet the rapid changes and continuous challenges in our society and all over the world due to swift economic, scientific and technological developments. In alignment with this worldwide trend in education, the promotion of STEM in VPET, especially in the Applied Science (AS), Engineering (ENG) and Information Technology (IT) Disciplines, has been the major focus of development in VTC for years. In this paper, various STEM education strategies under VTC will be addressed. One important milestone is the setup of STEM Education Centre to serve as a platform for cross-disciplinary projects for STEM students and to promote STEM education to the public and primary/secondary school students through seminars, workshops and international events. Pertaining to the internationalisation of vocational and professional education, the implementation of exchange programmes in STEM study with overseas countries, local students and their counterparts is another strategic development of VTC. It broadens students’ horizon and generates their inspirations in team work and collaboration projects. The Engineering Discipline in IVE has completed a number of successful workshops with MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) students, in which IVE students were inspired to explore their learning, employing different learning methods and have gained insights into the development of STEM industries, as well as interests in STEM subjects. In June 2016, as another important event to internationalise VPET, VTC organised an international STEM Students Forum in the WorldDidac Asia in Hong Kong. This provided a golden opportunity for the local and overseas students from Australia, UK and Singapore to exchange a wealth of information from different perspectives in STEM education. A similar international STEM forum is underway for 2017 covering sessions with outstanding STEM projects from academic institutions, to study STEM teaching and learning pedagogy, and to look into the STEM project development with VTC students. Other strategies such as Science and Mathematics Help Desk, Technology Enhanced Learning and Teacher Support will also be discussed in the paper