Digital Commons Network^™

Meaning Making Of The Mathematics In Engineering: The Case Of Linear Models In Statistical Signal Processing, Solomon Abedom Tesfamicael

Research Papers

Meaning making of the mathematics involved in engineering problems can boost students’ learning, in general. Zooming in to a particular engineering course in signal processing, called Estimation, Detection, and Classification, given to 3rd-year students at NTNU, the potential for meaning making has been investigated using a mix of directed and summative content analysis methods for the specific content Linear models. The findings show that an attempt is made to present the linear model-based estimators in reduced complexity, i.e., without detailed, rigorous proofs that demand solid prior knowledge and concept image from the learner. The 18-page chapter is dominated by advanced …

Conversations: Teaching Sustainability In Engineering, Alicia Gonzalez Buelga, Dorottya Cserzo, Irina Lazar

Research Papers

Our research focuses on embedding sustainability in the engineering curriculum in ways that are efficient, coherent and inclusive. An important strand of work within this wider remit is finding suitable approaches for promoting collaboration between institutions and academics and advance the understanding of what ‘sustainability’ means in engineering education in the first place, by producing reliable data that can inform our future practice, leading to institutional change. In this paper, we report and discuss the organisation and the findings of a series of inter-institutional conversations that took place during two in person workshops, with the central theme of embedding sustainability …

The Potential Of Metaverse Technology In E-Learning: Case Of Engineering Students, Rozali Badaoui, Klara Kovesi, Layla Tannoury

Research Papers

Metaverse technology integrates virtual and augmented reality, has significantly impacted many industries, and opened up new opportunities for educators and 1 Corresponding Author R Badaoui [email protected] learners alike. This article focuses on its potential to transform e-learning, especially in engineering education, and highlights the importance of understanding engineering students' attitudes toward adopting new technologies. This study sheds light on the potential of e-learning in general, and the metaverse in specific, to engage and motivate students. We conducted a quantitative online survey (n=120) to collect data from engineering students. The analysis of collected data explores and evaluates the students' awareness and …

Can Students’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs Explain Academic Motivation And Career Intentions?, Anna-Kathrin Wimmer

Research Papers

In our technologized and increasingly complex world, jobs in STEM make a crucial contribution to innovation and sustainability. However, there are still many vacancies in this field. To tackle the shortage of professionals, it is even more important to successfully prepare qualified young people for engineering careers and foster competences that promote innovative and creative solutions. In addition to cognitive abilities, research has shown how self-efficacy, which describes confidence in one's own abilities to successfully overcome obstacles, can influence students’ motivation, interest and therefore academic and vocational training success. Studies show that people with a strong belief in their own …

Development And Evaluation Of A Teaching Concept That Focuses On Increasing Modeling Competence In Technical Mechanics (Tm), Kristina Lampe, Martin Lang, Alexandra Dorschu

Research Papers

Engineering students often learn by retracing pre-calculated given solutions of tasks and try to understand this problem-solving way. This reconstruction is not always successful in solving new types of problem via modified tasks (Rossow 2008). Every mechanical exercise follows the same solution methodology (Müller-Slany 2018). Applying this basic problem-solving structure correctly is a Pre-condition for solution’s reflection and is therefore essential for teaching. To improve these competencies a strategy training is implemented in exercise-settings in Technical Mechanics (TM).

Embedding Competencies In Sustainability And Authentic Learning Experiences In Food Science Education Through A Study Program-Driven Approach, Anita Nordeng Jakobsen, Sunniva Hoel, Ida-Johanne Jensen

Research Papers

The food sector is experiencing a substantial shift towards Industry 4.0 regarding technological solutions to ensure efficient and sustainable food production. To face the required changes and be able to influence and change existing systems, future candidates must have solid capabilities in their respective subject areas as well as generic skills such as critical thinking, reflection, communication, and teamwork skills. At NTNU, a program-driven approach for embedding sustainability and authentic learning experiences in the bachelor program of Food Science, technology and sustainability was conducted. Thematic groups of staff members developed learning outcomes and learning- and assessment methods to ensure coherence …

Problematising And Framing Spatial Research In Engineering Education, Meryn Mcnea, Reena Cole, David Tanner, Diarmaid Lane

Research Papers

Spatial research has experienced a surge in popularity across the global community in recent years, with an undeniable rise in the favourability of spatial thinking approaches in academic and higher education settings. An engineer’s spatial ability is dependent on their capacity to engage a set of cognitive skills to visualise, reason and communicate spatial relations between objects and space. With the recent growth in popularity around spatial research, new spatial terms are frequently introduced resulting in a definitional overlap between terms and ideas. This may sometimes result in a lack of clarity regarding spatial terms and definitions, with the definitions …

Towards Sustainability - Fostering Gender Dimensions For Inclusiveness In Science Technology Engineering And Production (Step) Fields, Ann Sharon Lourens, Nicole Truter

Research Papers

Statistics from the Engineering Council of South Africa indicate that a large number of women who enter the engineering sector leave their careers in the early stages because they felt isolated and experienced discrimination in this traditionally maledominated industry. Furthermore, research on global trends have highlighted the importance of an inclusive atmosphere as a result of the increase in the proportion of female decision-makers, racial and ethnic background differences, persons with disabilities and generation gaps with resulting different learning styles and needs. Literature also suggests that workforce diversity that maximises inclusion and minimises resistance, allows organisations to create change that …

Feature Model Construction Of Learning Factories Based On Authentic Learning Theory: A Case Study Of The School Of Micro-Nano Electronics At Zhejiang University, Peiyun Xu, Wei Zhang, Shuai Wang

Research Papers

The learning factory is an educational environment that simulates real-worldproduction systems to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge gainedfrom academic settings and practical skills required by businesses. To improve the construction of learning factories at the early stage, a case study of theSchool of Micro-Nano Electronics at Zhejiang University has been conducted. First, an analysis framework based on authentic learning theory was developed to determine the critical elements of a learning factory basedonfour dimensions, including context authenticity, task authenticity, individual authenticity, and impact authenticity. Second, taking the School of Micro-NanoElectronics at Zhejiang University as the research object, qualitative analysisisutilized to …

The Study Of The Effectiveness Of Design-Based Engineering Learning (Dbel): The Mediating Role Of Cognitive Engagement And The Moderating Role Of Modes Of Engagement, Lina Wei, Liang Wang, Wei Zhang, Peiyun Xu

Research Papers

Aim Design-based engineering learning (DBEL) offers a potentially valuableapproach to engineering education, but its mechanism of action has yet to beverifiedby empirical studies. Accordingly, the present study aimed to establish whether DBELproduces better learning outcomes, thereby building a strong, empirically groundedcase for further research into engineering education.

Methods To build a more comprehensive model of design-based engineeringlearning, the variables of cognitive engagement (the mediator) and modesof engagement (the moderator) were introduced to build a theoretical processmodel. Questionnaires and multiple linear regression analysis were used to verify themodel.

Results and discussion All four features of DBEL (design practice, interactivereflection, knowledge integration, …

A Framework For A Scoping Review Of Digital Transformation Of Engineering Education, Niels Erik Ruan Lyngdorf, Jacob Højholt Leegaard

Research Papers

The digitalization of engineering education has made significant progress in recent years not only due to societal circumstances such as COVID-19, but also thanks to technological development and progress and digital transformation of engineering education seems more imminent than ever. This paper presents the development of a framework and process for an ongoing scoping review regarding frameworks for digital transformation of engineering education. Empirical studies on digital innovations in specific small-scale contexts are numerous and the literature is rich. This study, however, aims to identify more systematic and holistic approaches to digital transformation. At this stage the review work has …

Development In Students' Perceptions Of Sustainability And Responsibility As Relevant Aspects Of The Role Of Engineers, Clara Lemke, Ann-Kristin Winkens, Marie Decker, Inanma Elif, Carmen Leicht-Scholten

Research Papers

Engineering and technology-based solutions can address the global challenges associated with sustainable development. In this context, engineers have a substantial responsibility in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Meeting the challenges of all SDGs influences economic, political and social aspects of human life. However, engineering students’ understanding of sustainability is often limited to its ecological and economic dimension, not taking into account or even neglecting social issues. Therefore, teaching approaches in engineering education should address the different dimensions of sustainability and the responsibility of technological development concerning society.

Student’S Experience Of Feedback Practices And Recommendations For Improvement, Keith Willey, Anne Gardner

Research Papers

There have been numerous research studies and recommendations as to what feedback should look like to improve student learning and the learning experience. These recommendations include being timely, fed forward, provided using different modes and sources and to support students to know how to best use the feedback they are given.

The Faculty of Engineering and IT (FEIT) at The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is currently focusing on improving the quality, effectiveness and delivery of feedback provided to their students on their learning and demonstrated achievement in a variety of settings.

This paper reports the first stage of this …

The Experience Of Women In Engineering Apprenticeships | A Scoping Review, Joy Herron, Brian Bowe, Richard Gallery, Una Beagon

Research Papers

This scoping review aims to synthesise the existing literature on the experience of women in engineering and trade apprenticeships, discuss the common themes and highlight areas for future research. Apprenticeships are not only required to address the current skills shortage in the engineering profession which threatens to impede our ability to deliver on our sustainability goals and restrict economic growth they are also a proven pathway for women to enter engineering programmes. Despite growing social and political interest in increasing gender diversity in the workforce, data shows that women remain significantly underrepresented in engineering apprenticeship programs.

Curriculum Workshops As A Method Of Interdisciplinary Curriculum Development: A Case Study For Artificial Intelligence In Engineering, Johannes Schleiss, Anke Manukjan, Michelle Ines Bieber, Philipp Pohlenz, Sebastian Stober

Research Papers

The integration of tools and methods of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the engineering domain has become increasingly important, and with it comes a shift in required competencies. As a result, engineering education should now incorporate AI competencies into its courses and curricula. While interdisciplinary education at a subject level has already been explored, the development of interdisciplinary curricula often presents a challenge. This paper investigates the use of the curriculum workshop method for developing interdisciplinary, competence-oriented curricula. Using a case study of a newly developed interdisciplinary Bachelor program for AI in Engineering, the study evaluates the instrument of the curriculum …

Study Success And Failure Of Stem Students And The Connection To Their Learning Habits, Fabian Mumenthaler, Patrick Jermann, Cécile Hardebolle, Roland Tormey

Research Papers

With the educational expansion, ever more students start a tertiary degree. At the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, an engineering school, the number of bachelor students increased from 3’713 in 2010 to 6’330 in 2022. However, in Switzerland, a considerable number of students fail to achieve their first university degree – and failure rates are even higher at engineering schools. A weak mathematics background is often identified as the main reason for dropout. In this paper, we are interested to test whether inadequate learning habits are also responsible to some extent for first-year dropouts. To this end, we matched admission …

Revolutionising Engineering Education: Creating Photorealistic Virtual Human Lecturers Using Artificial Intelligence And Computer Generated Images, Johannes H Moolman, Fiona Boyle, Joseph Walsh

Research Papers

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted traditional classroom learning, making virtual and remote education increasingly important. In this context, the use of photorealistic virtual humans, or avatars, powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) can offer an immersive and engaging environment for delivering traditional classroom-based lectures. This paper proposes a process that combines AI and Computer-Generated Images (CGI) to create photorealistic virtual human lecturers for educational purposes.

The proposed process flow involves generating audio from text inputs, which is passed to a 3-Dimensional (3D) facial animation rig that matches lip, tongue, eye and facial movements to the audio using AI. This generates a …

Transnational Collaboration On Lifelong Learning Between Higher Engineering Education Institutions: A University Perspective, Jens Bennedsen, Geir Egil Dahle Øien

Research Papers

Lifelong learning (LLL) is in focus in all European countries. Workforce upskilling and reskilling are seen as central elements in ensuring national competitiveness. Universities are main players in this effort but often find it difficult to find sustainable models for LLL activities, in terms of e.g., economy, student intake, and academic resources. Collaboration between universities can be one possible way forward to overcome such obstacles, and given the enhanced post-Covid digitalization is also increasingly made possible, even across borders. However, many universities also find such collaboration challenging, e.g., due to outdated legislation, lacking financial predictability, lacking

1 J. Bennedsen [email protected] …

Exploring The Link Between Spatial And Communication Skills In Engineering Students, John William Lynch, Manjeera Vinnakota, Sheryl Sorby, Tj Murphy, Kelsey Shannon

Research Papers

Industry leaders rarely remark that the technical skills of engineering students are lacking; however, they frequently indicate that new engineers should be better prepared in communication skills, particularly written communication skills. In contrast, the visualization ability, or spatial skills, of engineering majors are typically excellent. Prior research has demonstrated that spatial ability is a significant predictor for graduating from STEM fields, particularly in engineering. This paper is part of a larger project that is exploring whether these two phenomena – poor written communication skills and well-developed spatial skills – are linked. In other words, is there a negative correlation between …

Assessing Engineering Students Preparedness For Lifelong Learning And Self-Reflection Competency, Rani Dujardin, Lynn Van Den Broeck, Greet Langie

Research Papers

Lifelong learning is becoming increasingly important in the field of engineering. Higher education institutions (HEIs) are responsible for the transfer of field-specific knowledge, but also for preparing students for LLL. To do so, HEIs need a clear view of the extent to which engineering students are prepared for LLL. Research suggests two approaches in the assessment of LLL, namely (1) a holistic approach measuring general preparedness for LLL and (2) a specific approach measuring a subcompetency of LLL. The current study combines both approaches by using Kirby’s lifelong learning scale (LLS) and Grant’s Self-Reflection and Insight Scale (SRIS). Firstly, a …

A Look Inside The Engineering Students’ Backpack: Differences In Engineering Capital According To Gender Or Migration Background., Mieke Cannaerts, Sofie Craps, Veerle Draulans, Greet Langie

Research Papers

Every student has a unique combination of experiences, resources and social networks related to engineering, called ‘engineering capital’, derived from Archer’s concept of ‘science capital’. The engineering capital gathered throughout life creates a backpack that impacts someone’s aspirations to study engineering, as well as the performance and persistence in the programme itself. Engineering technology is one of the most homogeneous fields within the STEM domain, being mostly white and male. To stimulate a more diverse engineering technology field, this research paper investigates the relationship between the level of engineering capital and gender or migration background, as well as the influence …

How Can Continuing Engineering Education Approaches Meet Societal And Industry Needs For Future-Focused, Lifelong Learning Skills And Competences?, Christopher Smith, Aniko Kalman

Workshops

In this workshop run by the Continuing Engineering Education and Lifelong Learning SIG, attendees were first given an overview of the changing skills landscape from 2011 to 2023 to set highlight some of the international recognised priorities around skills. Next, the workshop attendees then examined in separate groups three questions around what and how Continuing Engineering Education (CEE) is being approached within different institutions. Shared experiences show that there are a variety of approaches (short courses and microcredentials) that were targeted at relevant local industries, and/or responding to a specific skills need. It was apparent that strategic direction is required …

Teaching Competencies, Samuel Bengmark

Workshops

In search of a model of teaching competencies for engineering education, we led a focus group discussion as a workshop at SEFI2023, where we got practitioners’ perspectives on essential competencies for teaching. These were compared to a model of teaching competencies called the S2L model, developed and used at a technical university in Sweden. The aim of the workshop was to enrich the participants’ understanding of which competencies are essential for teaching and to challenge and improve the S2L model. After the workshop, the competencies collected from the participants were analysed using content analysis. The results show that the teaching …

Reflection On Your Personal Perspective Through Other Perspectives. A Step In Dealing With Wicked Problems, Pleun Hermsen, Sjoerd Van Dommelen, Paula Hueso Espinosa

Workshops

Don’t we all sometimes seek the perspective of someone unrelated to our work, to get unstuck, or when we seek creativity? Engineers, educators, and students put their trust into science, protocols, procedures and models. Rightfully so, from the perspective of the laws of engineering this makes sense. This also explains why when people deal with challenges, they often tackle them (consciously or unconsciously) with their preferred strategies (Hayashi 2018) (Mezirow 2000). However, these preferred strategies might offer a false sense of security because they oversimplify the complicated nature of the challenge. People might focus on a part of problem which …

Sustaining Engineering Education Research: Sharing Qualitative Research Data For Secondary Analysis, Jennifer Case, Holly Matusovich, Marie Paretti, Susan Lord, Lisa Benson

Workshops

The need for secondary data analysis practices emerges from multiple sources. Qualitative researchers often have rich data sets that far exceed the time available for data analysis, and many of us wish that someone could spend more time with the data. We also recognize that local data sets would benefit from further analysis that linked our data with related data collected in different contexts. Many also grapple with increasing data sharing requirements from funding agencies that raise concerns about participant confidentiality and data integrity. This workshop provides a chance to explore potential responses to these concerns through a robust dialogue …

How To Use New Tools To Integrate Sustainability Into Engineering Teaching, Sarah Jayne Hitt, Jonathan Truslove, Cindy Cooper

Workshops

Recently, three projects have addressed the challenge that while many excellent resources on sustainability education exist, there aren’t many that explicitly guide engineering educators to integrate these into their teaching, or indeed that are intended to upskill engineering academics to be able to deliver this teaching. These projects are the Reimagined Degree Map project undertaken by Engineers Without Borders UK (sponsored by the Royal Academy of Engineering), the Sustainability Toolkit project undertaken by the UK’s Engineering Professors’ Council (sponsored by Siemens and the Royal Academy of Engineering), and the Engineering for One Planet Framework and two companion guides, co-created by …

Promoting Engineering To K12 Students Through Spatially Challenging Making And Outreach Activities, Gavin Duffy, Marten Westerhof, Deborah Keogh, Colm O'Kane

Workshops

Outreach activities are an important and valuable approach to promoting engineering education and careers to young people. They provide an excellent way to show that engineering can be fun, challenging and rewarding. With some careful thinking, they can also be used to promote and develop spatial ability, a cognitive ability that is very important to engineering. The purpose of this workshop is to demonstrate examples of outreach activities that are the result of such careful thinking. Those who attend this workshop will be able to:

1. Explain why and how spatial ability is so important to success in engineering education
2. Summarise …

Future Perspectives Of Capacity Building In Engineering Education, Jennifer Ann Griffiths, Yousef Jalali, Aniko Kálmán, Klara Kövesi, Greet Langie, Johanna Lönngren, John Mitchell, Madeline Polmear

Workshops

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Retention And Transfer Of Mathematics In Engineering Education, Annoesjka J. Cabo, Renate Gerarda Klaassen

Workshops

This article is a reflection of a SEFI workshop on Retention. In the workshop, a SWOT Analysis has been realised of four pedagogical solutions addressing Retention in undergraduate STEM education. The pedagogical solutions are programmatic assessment, micro-credentials for online mathematics (support) learning modules, autonomous and self-regulated learning and mathematical competencies for learning. Results have provided insights into the relevance and feasibility of implementation.

A Crazy Little Thing Called Sustainability, Linda Steuer-Dankert

Research Papers

Achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations (UN) in 2015 requires global collaboration between different stakeholders. Industry, and in particular engineers who shape industrial developments, have a special role to play as they are confronted with the responsibility to holistically reflect sustainability in industrial processes. This means that, in addition to the technical specifications, engineers must also question the effects of their own actions on an ecological, economic and social level in order to ensure sustainable action and contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. However, this requires competencies that enable engineers to apply all …