scholarly journals Exploring the effectiveness and the transversal competency retention of a game-based learning activity one year after student participation

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-112
Author(s):  
Mariana Leandro Cruz ◽  
Gillian N. Saunders-Smits

Most studies in engineering education focus on the effectiveness of the teaching interventions and what transversal competencies engineering students gain from those interventions immediately after they take place. This study explores the effectiveness of an existing game-based learning activity and the competency retention of the participating students one year after its implementation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to nine students who participated in the activity at Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. The findings showed that students remembered and benefited from the activity. This exploratory study indicated that this activity is valid to retain students transversal competencies because it provides active learning, engagement, rules, risk-taking, cooperation and competition, and it can be plugged-and-played in any engineering context. This study encourages researchers in the field of engineering education to conduct transversal competency retention studies, which are fundamental to understand how the teaching practices shape students’ competencies in the period after their participation.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Idalis Villanueva Alarcón ◽  
Robert Jamaal Downey ◽  
Louis Nadelson ◽  
Jana Bouwma-Gearhart ◽  
YoonHa Choi

The motivation for this exploratory qualitative study is to understand what a culture of belonging may look like across six engineering education making spaces in institutions of higher education in the U.S. The research question for this study was: In what ways are the management, instructors, and staff operating engineering education making spaces influencing a culture of belonging (if any) for engineering students? We examined the transcripts of semi-structured interviews of 49 faculty members and 29 members of management/staff of making spaces, using thematic coding. From the data, we identified four themes that described the culture of belonging being created in these six engineering making spaces: (a) a ‘closed loop’ culture for inclusion, diversity, equity, and access; (b) a ‘transactional, dichotomous’ culture; (c) a ‘band-aid, masquerading’ culture; (d) a potential ‘boundary-crossing’ culture. Our primary conclusion was that created cultures in engineering making spaces are extensions of normative cultures found in traditional engineering classrooms. Additionally, while making spaces were attempting to change this culture in their physical infrastructures, it was deemed that the space leadership needs to expand hiring strategies, the nature of making activities, the ambient/physical appearance of the space, disciplines, and required expertise, to create a truly inclusive and equitable culture of belonging.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 429-439
Author(s):  
Naveed Yasin ◽  
Zeinab Khansari ◽  
Taimur Sharif

This study assesses the enterprising characteristics of first-year undergraduate Omani female chemical engineering students in Muscat, Oman. Pre and post surveys were conducted with 27 respondents from an entrepreneurship boot camp module mandated by the Oman Ministry of Higher Education. The variables, measured on a 10-point Likert scale, included need for achievement, need for autonomy, creativity, risk-taking, and locus of control. Statistical analysis was performed on the integrated data to measure the impact of student learning using a t-test approach and comparing mean averages. This was followed by qualitative semi-structured interviews that were examined using thematic analysis. The comparison of students’ enterprise tendencies before and after the module indicates minor to moderate improvements in their entrepreneurial abilities and their understanding of entrepreneurial behavior. The most noticeable impact was on students’ risk-taking abilities, followed by their creativity, need for achievement, need for control, and, lastly, their need for autonomy. The findings illustrate that students perceived entrepreneurship positively but were concerned about the scheduling of the module and its integration into their core program of study. Students may have benefited further from a module of extended duration as opposed to the block delivery “boot camp” mode of learning. Due to the limited number of participants and the focus on female students only, the results of the study cannot be generalized. However, the article presents an initial exploration of and offers insights into enterprising characteristics among an empirically underexplored demographic and nonbusiness group.


2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 639-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Edvardsson Björnberg ◽  
Inga-Britt Skogh ◽  
Emma Strömberg

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate what are perceived to be the main challenges associated with the integration of social sustainability into engineering education at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were conducted with programme leaders and teachers from four engineering programmes. The paper focuses on how the concept of social sustainability is defined and operationalised in the selected engineering programmes, how social sustainability is integrated and taught, and what resources are required to support teachers and programme leaders as social sustainability educators. Findings – The findings show that programme leaders and teachers at KTH struggle to understand the concept of social sustainability. The vague and value-laden nature of the concept is considered a challenge when operationalising educational policy goals on social sustainability into effective learning outcomes and activities. A consequence is that the responsibility for lesson content ultimately falls on the individual teacher. Study visits and role-play are seen as the most effective tools when integrating social sustainability into the engineering curriculum. Allocation of specific resources including supplementary sustainability training for teachers and economic incentives are considered crucial to successful integration of social sustainability. The findings indicate that social sustainability education needs to be built on a theoretical foundation. It is therefore suggested that a literature canon be established that clarifies the contours of social sustainability. Practical implications – The findings of the paper can be used as a basis for discussion regarding measures for improving social sustainability training in engineering education, a subject which has attracted relatively little attention, to date. Originality/value – There is a noticeable lack of empirical research on how technical universities integrate social sustainability into engineering education. The paper provides an account of how actors directly involved in this work – programme leaders and teachers – define and operationalise the social dimension of sustainable development in their engineering curricula, the pedagogical tools they consider effective when teaching social sustainability issues to engineering students, and the resources they believe are needed to strengthen those efforts.


Author(s):  
Vinod Srinivasan ◽  
Karen Butler-Purry ◽  
Susan Pedersen

This chapter presents an experience with the development of an educational game focusing on digital systems design for undergraduate electrical engineering students. The project was motivated by the ineffectiveness of traditional instructional methods, particularly in engineering education and research, indicating that educational games have the potential to improve learning and motivation among players. The chapter presents an overview of the literature on engineering education and game-based learning, followed by a detailed look into the process by which this project was approached, starting from obtaining funding for the project to the actual design, development, implementation, and assessment of the game itself. The emphasis in this chapter will be on the challenges faced and the lessons learned during the course of this ongoing project. The challenges are common to other similar projects, and the lessons learned can provide valuable guidelines to other researchers and educators engaged in similar endeavors.


2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Halyna V. Lutsenko ◽  
Vitalii P. Bevz

The peculiarities of modern world experience of implementation of project-based learning in engineering education have been considered. The potential role and place of projects in learning activity have been analyzed. The methodology of organization of project-based activity of engineering students when studying the project management methodology and computer systems of project management has been proposed. The requirements to documentation and actual results of students' projects have been described in detail. The requirements to computer-aided systems of project management developed by using Microsoft Project in the scope of diary scheduling and resources planning have been formulated.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1597-1606
Author(s):  
Kamila Kunrath ◽  
Devarajan Ramanujan

AbstractTransitioning to a more sustainable society requires that universities produce an increasing number of engineering professionals capable of redesigning current production and consumption systems. This calls for restructuring engineering curricula towards sustainability becoming an integral part of engineering education and professional practice. To this end, this paper investigates the intrinsic and extrinsic motivational aspects of professional identity that contribute to consolidating sustainable mindsets in engineering, considering education as its main route. Specifically, we focus on identifying significant personal and education-related factors that contribute to fostering sustainable decision-making and affect the development of sustainable mindsets in engineering students. In order to identify such factors, we conducted semi-structured interviews with a diverse set of students and professionals (N=12). A thematic analysis of survey transcripts present three main components that support the development of sustainable mindsets throughout engineering education: i) Personal commitment, ii) Learning opportunities, and iii) Internalization time.


2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacy Simonsen ◽  
Krista Fritson ◽  
Katharine A. Mcintyre ◽  
Shawna Mowrer

Author(s):  
Rod D. Roscoe ◽  
Samuel T. Arnold ◽  
Ashley T. Clark

Instruction and coursework that link engineering and psychology may enable future engineers to better understand the people they are engineering for (e.g., users and clients) and themselves as engineers (e.g., teammates). In addition, human-centered engineering education may empower engineering students to better solve problems at the intersection of technology and people. In this study, we surveyed students’ conceptions and attitudes toward human systems engineering. We aggregate responses across three survey iterations to discuss students’ knowledge and beliefs, and to consider instructional opportunities for introductory courses.


2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 216-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Westerberg ◽  
Susanne Tafvelin

Purpose – The purpose of the this study was to explore the development of commitment to change among leaders in the home help services during organizational change and to study this development in relation to workload and stress. During organizational change initiatives, commitment to change among leaders is important to ensure the implementation of the change. However, little is known of development of commitment of change over time. Design/methodology/approach – The study used a qualitative design with semi-structured interviews with ten leaders by the time an organizational change initiative was launched and follow-up one year later. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the interviews. Findings – Commitment to change is not static, but seems to develop over time and during organizational change. At the first interview, leaders had a varied pattern reflecting different dimensions of commitment to change. One year later, the differences between leaders’ commitment to change was less obvious. Differences in commitment to change had no apparent relationship with workload or stress. Research limitations/implications – The data were collected from one organization, and the number of participants were small which could affect the results on workload and stress in relation to commitment to change. Practical implications – It is important to support leaders during organizational change initiatives to maintain their commitment. One way to accomplish this is to use management team meetings to monitor how leaders perceive their situation. Originality/value – Qualitative, longitudinal and leader studies on commitment to change are all unusual, and taken together, this study shows new aspects of commitment.


2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Alberto Feldens ◽  
Italo Medeiros Faraco Junior ◽  
Andréia Bertani Ottoni ◽  
Eliane Gerson Feldens ◽  
Márcia Regina Vítolo

Objective: To investigate the occurrence and management of teething symptoms during the first year of life and associated factors. Study design: 500 children were recruited at birth. Research assessments including structured interviews, anthropometric measurements and dental examination were carried out after birth, at 6 months and at one-year of age. The primary outcome of this study was defined as the occurrence of one or more teething symptoms within the first year of life, as reported by the mother. Results: Teething symptoms were reported in 73% of the children analyzed (273/375). The symptoms most frequently reported were irritability (40.5%), fever (38.9%), diarrhoea (36.0%) and itching (33.6%). Dentists had little influence on the management of symptoms and self-medication to relieve them was a common practice. The risk of reporting teething symptoms was higher for children from nuclear families (p=0.040) and for children from families with higher income (p=0.040). Conclusions: Teething symptoms were highly reported in this population. Pediatric dentists should be accessible and provide adequate orientation when symptoms can be managed at home or immediate referral to health services when more serious diseases are suspected.


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