Developing Engineering Students' Communication and Information Retrieval Skills Utilizing Capstone Projects

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron S. Blicblau ◽  
Jamal Naser
Keyword(s):  
Information Retrieval ◽  
International Students ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
The World ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Capstone Projects ◽  
Key Aspects

The pedagogy of engineering requires a better understanding of the requirements of students' abilities to learning the skills necessary for working in the engineering community. In many engineering courses around the world, one of the key aspects required of the students is that they complete an independent project in their final year of studies incorporating information retrieval and subsequent communication skills. The current work provides details teaching and learning approaches to enhance student abilities and expertise involving research skills, communication skills, and information retrieval integrated within capstone projects. Findings from this the work indicated that both domestic and international students benefited from the intensive tutorial activities involving computer based information retrieval skills. The implementation of active tutorial sessions resulted in increased grades for the majority of students, highlighting the importance of intensive active learning events for final year capstone engineering students.

Developing Engineering Students' Communication and Information Retrieval Skills Utilizing Capstone Projects

2018 ◽  
pp. 1803-1824
Author(s):  
Aaron S. Blicblau ◽  
Jamal Naser
Keyword(s):  
Information Retrieval ◽  
International Students ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
The World ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Capstone Projects ◽  
Key Aspects

The pedagogy of engineering requires a better understanding of the requirements of students' abilities to learning the skills necessary for working in the engineering community. In many engineering courses around the world, one of the key aspects required of the students is that they complete an independent project in their final year of studies incorporating information retrieval and subsequent communication skills. The current work provides details teaching and learning approaches to enhance student abilities and expertise involving research skills, communication skills, and information retrieval integrated within capstone projects. Findings from this the work indicated that both domestic and international students benefited from the intensive tutorial activities involving computer based information retrieval skills. The implementation of active tutorial sessions resulted in increased grades for the majority of students, highlighting the importance of intensive active learning events for final year capstone engineering students.

Enhancement of Student Learning for Effective Capstone Project Outcomes

2014 ◽  
pp. 40-59
Author(s):  
Aaron S. Blicblau ◽  
Jamal Naser
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Approach To Learning ◽  
Project Outcomes ◽  
Capstone Project ◽  
The World ◽  
Capstone Projects ◽  
Key Aspects

It is commonly accepted that today’s engineers are required to deal with a whole range of matters involving scientific, technological, and importantly communication issues, and so need to be educated with these aspect in mind. The pedagogy of engineering requires a better understanding of students’ abilities to guide their approach to learning the necessary skills of working in the engineering community. Consequently, there is an ever-increasing need for engineering graduates who are able to communicate effectively. In many engineering courses around the world, one of the key aspects required of the students is that they complete an independent project in their final year of studies. This chapter examines student abilities and skills required to successfully develop capstone projects which involve research skills, communication skills, and information-retrieval abilities. Findings from the work show that, although local and international students benefited from the intensive tutorial activities, it was the NESBC students who found the active learning events to be the most beneficial. The implementation of the active tutorial sessions resulted in increased grades for the majority of students. The procedures followed to achieve these findings highlight the importance of intensive active learning events for final year capstone engineering students.

Engineering Students’ Self-Perceived Communication Competence and Technical Presentation Anxiety

2012 ◽  
pp. 115-131
Author(s):  
Noor Raha Mohd Radzuan ◽  
Sarjit Kaur
Keyword(s):  
Communication Skills ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Communication Competence ◽  
Global Marketplace ◽  
Speaking Anxiety ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Oral Presentations ◽  
Engineering Undergraduates

To work in a global context, engineering graduates must be competent professionally as well as be proficient communicators in English, the language widely used in international business (Lee, 2003). Increasingly, engineering graduates need to learn and develop skills about existing technical areas in order to enhance their competitiveness in today’s global marketplace. The Malaysian Engineering Accreditation Council Policy (EACP, 2005) has listed effective communication skills as one of the main competencies that all Malaysian engineering graduates need to master. One of the important communication skills that engineers must develop is the ability to communicate ideas and concepts to a group of people through formal and informal oral presentations. In line with the EAC policy, Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) has taken proactive steps in integrating oral English communication skills in their curriculum and co-curriculum activities. This chapter aims to examine the correlation of engineering students’ perceived communication competence and their level of apprehension in giving a technical presentation. Questionnaires, adapted from McCroskey’s (1988) Self-Perceived Communication Competence and Richmond & McCroskey’s (1985) Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety, were distributed to 140 final year UMP engineering undergraduates who were preparing for their Undergraduate Research Report presentation. The results of the study have direct and indirect implications to the teaching and learning of oral presentation skills to engineering undergraduates.

A Template for the Integration of Teaching and Learning of Communication Skills in the Engineering Course

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mir-Akbar Hessami
Keyword(s):  
Communication Skills ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Personal Communication ◽  
Work Place ◽  
Final Report ◽  
Technical Knowledge ◽  
Project Proposal ◽  
Proposal A ◽  
Oral Presentations

Published studies in the open literature and experience of new engineering graduates have shown that employees who are able to clearly communicate their thoughts and ideas to their employers through written reports and oral presentations advance more quickly in the organisation compared to those who lack these skills even if they possess superior technical knowledge. Also, surveys of engineering employers have shown that while the technical knowledge of engineering graduates is considered to be adequate, the perception is that graduates lack the personal communication skills required of them in the work place. The traditional method of teaching communication skills to engineering students is through especially designed units which are taught by specialists in the field of communication. Engineering students generally consider these units to be of little importance due to a lack of engineering relevance. In order to overcome such shortcomings, teaching and learning of communication skills was integrated with the teaching of technical contents to final year students in a two-semester long Final Year Project (FYP) core unit in the undergraduate engineering degree during 2003 to 2008. The assessments tasks for the FYP unit included submission of a Project Proposal, a Progress Report, a Research Paper and a Final Report, plus an Oral Presentation. Students were given instruction on how to prepare for these activities at appropriate times during the semester. This paper describes the details of the approach used and the results obtained by students who have completed this unit.

scholarly journals LEARNING APPROACH OF READING THE KADAZANDUSUN LANGUAGE THROUGH SONGS AND COMPUTER-BASED MUSIC FOR STANDARD ONE STUDENT

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinuin Bin Jainis ◽  
Norjietta Julita Binti Taisi
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Primary School Students ◽  
School Students ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Effective Teaching And Learning

The problem of mastering reading lessons among Primary School students is still emerging in our country and abroad. Cognitive theory has shown that students have their own skills during Year One if they are exposed to more effective teaching and learning processes. Based on previous studies, the reading-based learning approach through songs and computer-based music in teaching and learning was found to have a positive impact on students. Hence, researchers want to study the approach in learning Kadazandusun language through song and computer-based music. This study is using qualitative approach to obtain data based on the research objective which has been determined by the researcher. This study found that reading-based learning approaches using computer-based songs and music were able to influence the achievement of reading for year one students.

Cutting Computation Time and Mastering the Underlying Science of Introductory Thermodynamics

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guido W. Lopez
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Computer Software ◽  
Computation Time ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Quantitative Results ◽  
Based Instruction

Traditionally, the teaching and learning of introductory undergraduate Thermodynamics in Mechanical Engineering programs stressed the manipulation of formulas and the use of property tables. At present, the use of computer-based instruction is becoming more common in the classroom and it is proving to be a valuable tool for enhancing the educational experience of students. In teaching Thermodynamics, for example, much of the tedious manipulative and computational work encountered while solving problems can now be effectively and quickly executed by computer software. This approach leaves ample time for instructors to emphasize concepts and principles instead of procedures, and to foster an environment that helps students to master the underlying science of the discipline while minimizing computational burden. A comparative study between teaching introductory Thermodynamics using a traditional approach versus using the software EES (acronym for Engineering Equation Solver) as a computational tool is presented in this paper. A statistical comparison of academic performance in introductory Thermodynamics between two groups of engineering students of comparable academic level and capability but enrolled in different schools is also part of this study. Qualitative and quantitative results suggest that students can achieve a clearer understanding of concepts, definitions and principles of introductory Thermodynamics when using computer software as a tool in their learning process.

Improving the Communication Skills of International Students

2020 ◽  
pp. 140-162
Author(s):  
Murat Gündüz ◽  
Naib Alakbarov ◽  
Ayhan Demirci
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Students ◽  
International Education ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
International Training ◽  
The Public ◽  
The World ◽  
The Common ◽  
Different Cultures

Since the second half of the 20th century, the rapid change in the world has emerged in the field of higher education (HE) as in many other areas. With international education, countries are preparing the ground for producing science in their countries, both by attracting qualified minds to their own countries and by offering them employment options. At the same time, the international training field, which is a competitive competition, allows countries to seriously increase their education investments and thus improve their quality. Through international education, there is better recognition and interaction among different cultures. In the countries where international students are located, the common cultural and artistic activities of the host students in the classroom, school, and campus and the communication with the public in the settlement will enable the cultures to get to know each other better.

Sustainability, blended learning and the undergraduate communication skills classroom: negotiating engineering undergraduates’ expectations and perceptions

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subarna Sivapalan
Keyword(s):  
Blended Learning ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Sustainability Learning

Purpose This paper aims to discuss the outcomes of a study conducted to explore the perceptions and expectations of undergraduate engineering learners on the potential of incorporating sustainability within the Professional Communication Skills (PCS) module, via blended learning. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methods case study approach was used, using surveys, learner reflections and interviews. Findings Key findings include (a) learners finding a heightened sense of awareness of environmental, social and cultural dimensions of sustainability, (b) development of sustainability literacy and communication skills for the real world, (c) scepticism and apprehension of blended learning teaching and learning methods, (d) development of capacity for self-directed learning resulting from flipped learning and (e) differences in quality of peer and lecturer interaction online and in the traditional classroom set up. Originality/value Sivapalan’s (2015) study suggests that Malaysian engineering graduates lack sustainability knowledge, competences and values, and often struggle to cope with professional responsibilities that require them to exercise these literacies. Much of this is attributed to the lack of sustainability integration within the undergraduate engineering curriculum, and within teaching approaches used. To date, there is little research within the Malaysian engineering education context to gauge the extent to which non-technical academic modules such as the PCS module could be used as a platform to incorporate sustainability learning outcomes. Research to gauge learners’ feedback and reflections on the integration of sustainability via non-technical modules and blended learning approaches is also scarce.

scholarly journals English Communication Skills and the Needs of Engineering Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 96-98 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Communication Skills ◽  
Career Advancement ◽  
English Language ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Academic Standards ◽  
Academic Excellence ◽  
Predominant Role ◽  
The World ◽  
Indian Higher Education

English language is both a lingua franca and a library language in India. It plays a predominant role in Indian higher education, particularly for engineering education. English language is crucial for engineering students not only for academic excellence but also for career advancement. English for engineering students is a platform, where they could share feelings, exchange ideas and interact with each other to better their academic standards and careers progression. English, a widely spoken language in the world, is more important for Indian engineering students as they are expected to work anywhere in and out of India, where English is a medium of communication in the workplace.

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