Engineering Education Commons^™

Preparing Structural Engineering Graduates To Increase Their Positive Impact, Louise Lynch, James Norman

Research Papers

Traditionally the role of a structural engineer was to design structures that were safe for use by society and that enabled society to develop and evolve. However, with the climate emergency structural engineers need to be more conscious of the choices that are made on their projects that lead to overuse of material, and work to reduce the embodied carbon in their structures. This cannot be achieved in isolation, it’s a systemic issue, where decisions made throughout a project, from concept to construction, can impact the embodied carbon. The structural engineer needs to be mindful of these decisions to have …

Workplace Spaces As Learning Spaces – Engineering Students’ Experiences With Co-Op, Maartje Van Den Bogaard, Johannes Strobel

Research Papers

Many authentic learning environments in formal schooling contexts mimic elements of authentic engineering environments, yet do not afford students to experience the full complexity of a real work environment. Workplace learning is a powerful way for students to close these gaps. In this exploratory study we interviewed 11 students about their experiences in a co-op program in a Midwestern research university in the USA pre-COVID. Our qualitative study was guided by the three dimensions of learning by Illeris: personal, cognitive and social learning. We added the perspective of epistemic learning. Our preliminary findings include a variance of workplace experiences, the …

Preliminary Mapping Of Bachelors’ Research To Enhance Digital Construction In Ireland, Shannon Chance, Barry Mcauley

Research Papers

This paper presents preliminary analyses to assess the content of student research conducted through a digital construction course offered to engineers and built environment professionals in Ireland since 2020. The course aims to upskill employed, mature students with a one-year intensive study period in Building Information Modelling (BIM/Digital Construction), and ultimately enable them to earn an honors-level Bachelor of Science degree. Obtaining this degree requires the student to produce a research dissertation, and the course helps students use research and research-thinking to answer pressing questions they encounter in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) context. The paper briefly discusses context …

Why Do Students Dislike Peer Feedback?, Becky Selwyn, Joel Ross, Sean Lancastle

Research Papers

Engineers are required to communicate in a range of formats, including written reports, but this skill does not come naturally to undergraduates. Typical approaches to teaching writing skills require small class sizes, expert staff, and multiple cycles of feedback. These approaches, while successful, are difficult to scale and do not always result in students being able to transfer their writing skills to other units/topics.

The School of Civil, Aerospace, and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bristol teaches writing skills mainly within a single 20-credit first-year unit, delivered to 550-650 students per year. Students are required to complete a number …

Time To Rethink Engineering Outreach?, Robin Clark, Jane Andrews, Yiduo Wang, Gill Cooke, Ninna Makrinov

Research Papers

Starting with the research question ‘Does engineering outreach work?’ this paper looks at the often ‘sticky’ subject of the validity of engineering outreach in UK High Schools. It examines how Engineering Outreach Activities are conceptualised by external bodies (RAEng., 2016) and critiques the complex range of practical experiential engineering educational interventions offered in school (Neon, 2023, STEM learning, 2023). Drawing upon the findings of, what is, a small single strand of a much larger multi-method, longitudinal analysis of Engineering Education Outreach Activities provided across the West Midlands region of the UK (LBEEP, 2023) ], the paper provides a unique insight …

Community-Building Among Phd Students In Engineering Education Research: The Sefi Summer School And Aaee Winter School, Greet Langie, Keith Willey, Anne Gardner

Research Papers

Engineering Education Research (EER) is a rapidly evolving and increasingly valued research field. This supports the number of PhD students to grow steadily, but unfortunately, they are often limited to a few within the large engineering faculty/department, having different backgrounds and interests. Additionally, the research methodologies needed by EER researchers are usually different from the classical technical engineering research (TER) methodologies. This translates into a need for specific training and opportunities to get to know each other better in order to promote international collaboration and develop a community of practice. SEFI and the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AAEE) both …

Civil And Architectural Engineering Students’ Conceptualization Of Good Engineering And Its Implications For Ethics Education, Madeline Polmear

Research Papers

The ways in which students conceptualise what it means to do good engineering illuminates their values and priorities and shapes their understanding of ethics in engineering. The present study is part of a larger project that is exploring civil and architectural engineering students’ understanding of ethical and societal responsibility and its development via formal and informal learning. Data collection and analysis are ongoing in the larger project, and the present study focuses on eight semi-structured interviews with civil and architectural engineering students at one university in Belgium. The analysis was designed to address how civil and architectural students conceptualise good …

Empowering Students With Geospatial Solutions Through Challenge Based Learning, Farzaneh Dadrass Javan, Francesco Nex, Farhad Samadzadegan, Bashar Alsadik, Luuk Buuk, Omid Askari

Research Papers

Today, the field of Geospatial Solutions primarily focuses on spatial and mapping data, analysis, and technologies that primarily revolve around place and space. It is considered more as a tool or means rather than the ultimate objective of various interdisciplinary activities, where minimal attention is given to theoretical aspects, equations, and underlying principles of the subject. Conversely, despite advancements in science and technology and a broader audience for geospatial subjects, it is predominantly taught conventionally, disregarding the diverse needs and expectations of students. In recent years, there has been an exploration of innovative educational methods to utilize new pedagogical frameworks …

Job Competencies: Experiential Learning For Engineering Students, Eileen Goold, Roland Roland Vanoostveen

Research Papers

This study investigates the learning of engineering students within the context of career-focused education. Often the technical and mathematical sciences on which engineering courses are built fail to explain the entirety of the landscape of practice. The main objective of this study is to capture various constructs produced by an undergraduate student while relating to his social interactions and experiences in an authentic workplace. The study also explores the student’s responses to real-world contexts. This paper details a single case chosen using purposeful sampling, which investigates the phenomena of a student intern transitioning from engineering education to practice. The presented …

Taking Curriculum Reform To The Next Level: The Need For Decolonising Work In Engineering Education, Gabrielle Orbaek White

Research Papers

As humanity is faced with unparalleled challenges, from the climate emergency to rising inequality, there is a renewed emphasis on the role of engineering professionals to contribute solutions to global problems. However, there is increasing recognition that the way that engineers are trained through higher education is inadequate to prepare them to address these grand challenges. This paper aims to deepen theoretical perspectives on why the engineering education status quo is falling short. Taking a British perspective, I outline how the epistemology and cultural ideologies, or the “episteme,” of engineering continues to shape our discourses within modern day engineering education, …

A Cultural-Historical Activity Theory Approach To Studying The Development Of Students' Digital Agency In Higher Education, Lilian Ganduri, Brandon Collier-Reed, Corrinne Shaw

Research Papers

Researching classroom practice requires theoretical resources that can explain the variety inherent in such an activity as well as the dynamic nature of classroom practice. Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) offers the possibility of accounts of social, cultural, and historical aspects of the context and of how students adapt and transform in these contexts. This conceptual paper engages with the relevance and utility of CHAT for researching student practices in a course as an activity system.

Exploring The Variation In Gender Balance On Undergraduate Engineering Courses In Uk Universities, Kate Bellingham, John E Mitchell, David Guile, Inês Direito

Research Papers

The underrepresentation of women in engineering remains a persistent issue despite efforts to attract more female students. The percentage of UK engineering undergraduates who are female is published annually, however no institutional breakdown is given. This scoping study aims to inform the direction of future research by investigating the nature and possible causes of the distribution of female engineering undergraduates across the UK HE-sector. Student data gathered from UK universities by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) for 2019/20 is explored using Tableau. Overall, 16% of UK engineering undergraduates are female but this varies from 5% to 36% for individual …

Dc Grid Power Congestion Management Laboratory Experiments, Holly Engelbrecht, Diego Zuidervliet, Peter Van Duijsen

Research Papers

In the process of the electrical energy transition, a new curriculum for bachelor electrical engineering is developed. A new development is DC grids, as they are shown to be promising in solving the power congestion management problem. Particularly when adding solar power, battery storage, and load appliances including power electronics, DC grids are replacing AC grids, especially in micro-grids. The development of new laboratory experiments using three educational methods is described in this paper. First, theory combined with online calculation tools is used to prepare the students for the subject. Second, the experiment has to be prepared using simulation tools, …

How Do Students Use Basic Aspects Of Functions When Learning Mathematics In A Chemistry Context?, Lars Friedhoff, Jürgen Roth, Julia Rausenberger

Research Papers

The mathematical concept of function is challenging for students in first-year undergraduate mathematics courses, especially when the concept is applied in the context of STEM courses. This difficulty is often due to a lack of conceptual understanding of functions. From a normative perspective, conceptual understanding of functions involves 1) dealing with the different representations of a function, namely table, graph, analytical term and verbal description, while 2) considering three different aspects of functions, namely correspondence, covariation and object. Previous research suggests that the covariation aspect is essential for achieving a sophisticated conceptual understanding of functions. In order to promote the …

Students’ And Lecturers’ Perceptions On The Importance, Training, And Assessment Of Engineering And Lifelong Learning Competencies, Lynn Van Den Broeck, Rani Dujardin, Sofie Craps, Una Beagon, Caitriona Depaor, Aimee Byrne, Johanna K Naukkarinen

Research Papers

Professional competencies and lifelong learning (LLL) are essential components for success in the engineering profession. Whilst engineering education has primarily focused on providing students with the required technical engineering competencies, new visions emphasise the importance of LLL and point towards the need for acquiring the necessary competencies for LLL during their study programme. The importance of professional and LLL competencies is clear, but what are the views of the engineering students and lecturers? In this study, a comparison is made between students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on professional and LLL competencies. The survey focuses on three aspects: (1) how important are …

Once Upon A Time In The Castle Of Engineering Education: The Magic Of Storytelling For Neurodiverse Students, Beyza Nur Guler, Devin Stewart, Larkin Martini, Diana Bairaktarova

Research Papers

Neurodivergent engineering students face unique barriers in learning environments. To increase accessibility, reducing cognitive load is essential for people with learning and intellectual disabilities. Storytelling is a unique approach for addressing this issue as it provides structure, encourages reflection, and engages multiple sensory experiences that can enhance students' interest in learning.

Progression By Imitation: Empirical Evidence From The Ntnu–Cern Screening Week, Thuy Thi-Thanh Do, Dag Håkon Haneberg, Torgeir Aadland, Øystein Widding

Research Papers

Engineering students should work on authentic and ‘wicked’ challenges to be best prepared for developing technologies that address challenges in our complex world. This can be done with a learning-by-doing approach where students are positioned as entrepreneurs exploring market opportunities for novel technologies. During the NTNU–CERN Screening Week, students in an entrepreneurship program search for and create opportunities based on technologies developed at CERN that may have the potential to later become a start-up. However, the students have limited domain knowledge in terms of the advanced technologies or industrial application of them. Also, the technology readiness level (TRL) of the …

Sources Fostering Academic Well-Being: Students' Perspectives In A Pbl Context, Juebei Chen, Shaoping Bai, Youmen Chaaban, Xiangyun Du

Research Papers

In a post-pandemic learning era, student academic well-being emerges to the attention of educational researchers. Referring to students’ thoughts and behaviors that contribute to doing well in an educational context and their academic life satisfaction, student academic well-being has a significant influence on their recruitment and retention, learning experience, academic achievement, and competence development. However, while academic well-being has been regarded as an important indicator of student persistence in their current study and learning outcomes, limited studies have explored engineering students’ academic well-being and other supportive factors in engineering education. While several studies have examined how well-being is constituted and …

Exploring The Development Of Engineering Design Creativity And The Role Of Spatial Skills In This Process, Clodagh Reid, Sheryl Sorby

Research Papers

This study aims to investigate the development of creativity in engineering education and how spatial skills relate to creativity of design solutions.

Undergraduate students in the first (n=86) and fourth/fifth year (n=48) of their engineering programme were invited to participate. Students completed four spatial tests to precisely measure visualisation skills. In a separate session, students were invited back to solve two engineering design tasks: a ping pong problem where they designed a ping pong ball launcher game to meet specified criteria and a rain catcher problem where they were tasked with developing as many ideas for capturing rainwater as a …

Changes In First-Year Engineering Students' Performance In Mathematics And Engineering Subjects At Different Stages Of Distance Learning, Szabolcs Berezvai, Ákos Köpeczi-Bócz, Bence Sipos, Brigitta Szilágyi

Research Papers

Covid pandemic was unprecedented in modern education but is not expected to be unique, therefore increased attention should be paid to accurately analyse its effects on education. Calculus is an important undergraduate mathematics course in engineering programmes, which gives the foundation for engineering subjects like mechanics or electronics. Unfortunately, recent experiences show that the performance of students admitting after the pandemic has deteriorated dramatically in recent years. This research aims to analyse the changes in performance and attitudes of first-year students in the aftermath of the pandemic. In our research, we investigated the performance and learning habits of three groups …