scholarly journals ENGINEERING INSTRUCTORS AND THEIR TEACHING GOALS, TEACHING PRACTICES AND CONCEPTIONS OF STUDENT LEARNING IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION

Author(s):  
Lisa Romkey

This paper shares the results of a multiinstitutional study examining the teaching goals andpractices of engineering instructors. Through both a survey and a set of interviews, engineering instructors at four institutions in Ontario were invited to share their key teaching and learning goals, teaching philosophy, and the use of teaching and learning activities in the teaching of undergraduate engineering students. Engineering instructors shared a surprising diversity of teaching goals and practices, and through a discussion of powerful teaching activities, a set of conceptualizations around student learning emerged, ordered in decreasingprominence: Students learn through: (1) making realworld connections; (2) application of concepts; (3) interaction with the instructor; (4) interaction between students; (5) independence and ownership and (6) listening to what the professor says and does. These views are all reflected in the diversity of learning theories available in the literature, and in particular situated learning theory, but an understanding of these specific conceptualizations, articulated by engineering instructors, can be used to better support engineering instructors in their teaching, and in the development of new curricular initiatives in undergraduate engineering education. This work expands on the existing literature on teaching in higher education and teaching practices in engineering.

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-53
Author(s):  
Kimberly B. Rogers ◽  
Adam Nemeroff ◽  
Kelly Caputo

Scholars of teaching and learning in sociology have argued that introductory courses should teach toward foundational learning goals instead of providing an exhaustive review of the discipline. Nevertheless, prior research has provided far more guidance on what instructors ought to teach than how they can cohesively support learning across the goals advocated. Additionally, few studies have considered whether introductory course designs adequately address students’ diverse reasons for enrolling. To address this gap in the literature, we offer insights from our experiences with a redesigned introductory course tailored to support student learning in the areas recommended by earlier work. After describing our learning goals and the elements of our course design, which are grounded in empirical findings from the literature, we present evidence for the efficacy of this design in achieving key disciplinary learning goals, serving students’ personal learning goals, and attracting new and existing majors and minors.


Author(s):  
G. Scott Duncan ◽  
Shahin Nudehi ◽  
Robert Palumbo ◽  
Luke J. Venstrom

The optical design and engineering features of a 10 kW solar furnace now operational at Valparaiso University are described. The solar furnace is anticipated to achieve a mean concentration ratio of 3000 suns over a 6 cm diameter focus. It will support high-temperature solar chemistry research and undergraduate engineering pedagogy. Many of the components of the solar furnace were designed and constructed by undergraduate engineering students. Some of these students cite their participation in the solar furnace project as the motivating factor for continuing to work in the area of energy science in industry or graduate school.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-147
Author(s):  
Endah Tri Wisudaningsih

One indicator states that professional teachers / educators have the ability to manage classes, namely providing a conducive atmosphere for effective and efficient learning processes. If it is not yet conducive, then a teacher or lecturer must work optimally to master, regulate and improve, and create a conducive atmosphere so that the learning process can run optimally to achieve the desired learning goals. Class management is not an easy and easy thing, let alone for teachers who have just fielded themselves into the world of education, for teachers who are already professional, they have felt how difficult it is to manage classes, but never teachers feel dry and then deter from managing classes every time they teach in class. The failure of a teacher to achieve teaching goals is in line with the inability of the teacher to manage the class, from failure it is achievement, learning of students is low, not in accordance with the standards or size limits that are determined, therefore classroom management is very important teacher competency mastered by the teacher within the framework of success teaching and learning process. Keywords: professional teachers, and Class management


Author(s):  
Andrea Ximena Castaño Sánchez

Nowadays universities are introducing educational changes in their teaching practices and their assessment strategies. These changes are involving many areas in the university. One of the places where most of the changes are initiated is from the classroom settings. To support them, eportfolios in general are being used as a form to align the principles stated from the Bolonia Process towards a teaching more centred on the student supporting other aspects like mobility and recognition. Therefore, developing effective use of technology applied to education for teaching and learning has become an important challenge. In this regard, the main goal of this thesis was to identify learning environment characteristics when applying eportfolios for teaching and learning and students’ characteristics that could influence a meaningful learning.


Author(s):  
Amy Buitenhuis

The purpose of this study is to explore the role that the engineering undergraduate degree plays in the socialization process of professional engineers.  I will look at how exclusion is normalized through undergraduate education.  To do this, I will analyze the history and content of the Iron Ring Ceremony. This ceremony has symbolic significance to engineering students as it marks the completion of the undergraduate degree. It is also a ceremony unique to Canada, which will provide insights into the engineering profession in the Canadian context. I will also conduct interviews with 12 graduates of the Queen's undergraduate engineering program to gain insights into how engineering undergraduate education plays a role in shaping engineering identities. I will use my findings regarding the Iron Ring Ceremony to understand feelings of belonging and patterns of exclusion and inclusion throughout undergraduate engineering education.


Author(s):  
Ernur Karadogan ◽  
Robert L. Williams ◽  
Figen Karadogan

This article reports the evaluation results of the software modules we are developing to augment teaching and learning in standard required undergraduate engineering mechanics courses. Using these modules, students can change parameters, predict answers, compare outcomes, interact with animations, and “feel” the results using a force feedback joystick. The overall system aims to increase teaching and learning effectiveness by rendering the concepts compelling, fun, and engaging. Three software modules in Dynamics were evaluated by a sample of the target population, 40 undergraduate engineering students who were enrolled in a sophomore-level Dynamics course during the evaluation. Students showed significant preference in that the modules would increase their interest in Dynamics subject and their engagement in the Dynamics course that they were enrolled at the time of the evaluation. Evaluation results also showed significant difference in preference in that the modules would improve students’ both conceptual understanding of the Dynamics subjects and problem-solving skills. Tactile learners believed that the modules would improve their conceptual understanding of Dynamics subjects more than the visual learners. 97.5% of the students were willing to use the software again in the future. 92.5% of the students believed that the incorporation of this software to the instruction of Dynamics would be beneficial to their learning.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 547-547
Author(s):  
Kimberly Farah ◽  
Joann Montepare

Abstract The pioneering Age-Friendly University (AFU) framework, with its set of ten guiding principles, advocates for enabling older adults to participate fully in educational activities that promote positive and healthy aging. In addition, the AFU principles call attention to bringing younger and older learners together around educational goals, and engaging learners in collaborative classroom experiences that facilitate the reciprocal sharing of expertise between learners of all ages. Implied, but not articulated, in these principles is the idea that older adults’ expertise, skills, and talents can also be tapped to support classroom learning goals and extend teaching strategies. This presentation will show how older adults can serve as valuable educational allies in classrooms across the curriculum with examples of crime scenario developers in a forensics class, conversation partners in an international oral communication class, and professional interviewers in an internship skills class. Evidence will argue that these roles enhance student learning.


There are many adapted teaching and learning (TL) practices that utilized e-learning tools to teach computer laboratories among the tertiary education students. What is the appropriate approach for TL on computing subjects catering for the current era of students?Since information and knowledge can be accessed widely and learnt from the Internet technology. Kolb’s experiential learning and inquiry-based learning approaches had presented several studies area application and resulted to enrich students’ hands-on learning. This research aimed to identify the teaching practices for game development related to computing skill subject. Focus is made for educators to adapt the teaching model as a method for students’ learning emphasizing on software skills in developing game content. The proposed teaching models are framed as referenced from both Kolb’s and inquiry-based learning theories to design the lesson plans and lab exercises. Then, a pilot test survey was conducted among the game students to retrieve their perception and experience throughout the learning process. The survey data presented students’ learning are effective by watching and doing. Corresponding, the inquiry-based model is recommended for teaching practices especially to students without any prior knowledge and skills in to the computing development subject. Therefore, this research suggested both teaching approaches to strengthen students’ basic knowledge learning prior to beginner level


2021 ◽  
Vol 2102 (1) ◽  
pp. 012001
Author(s):  
K R Ccama-Mamani ◽  
D Chipoco Haro ◽  
M R Gutierrez ◽  
L Palomino-Marcelo ◽  
J C F Rodriguez-Reyes

Abstract Even though undergraduate engineering education often considers laboratory experiments as its practical component, these activities may not contribute to the development of soft (professional) skills. At “Universidad de Ingenieria y Tecnologia”, Perú, a series of courses called interdisciplinary projects has been created to promote the development of professional skills through project-based learning; herein, we report the experience of an interdisciplinary group of students focused on designing an indoor air filtration system to improve air quality and to reduce the spread of coronavirus diseases. Eight undergraduate engineering students were organized into three groups and worked collaboratively to learn about antiviral nanocomposites, user-centered design, and electromechanical systems design; they showed their progress and received feedback from each other through weekly meetings. In addition, they leaned on applications to organize the group work and share the bibliography consulted; finally, we collected feedback from these students on the proposed learning method. The positive impact of our problem-based learning approach on undergraduate engineering students is discussed.


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