scholarly journals Student engineers optimising problem solving and research skills

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 127-144
Author(s):  
Dorothy Missingham ◽  
◽  
Siddarth Shah ◽  
Fizza Sabir ◽  
John Willison ◽  
...  

Problem solving and researching are connected activities in the engineering profession and across education. The empirical research presented in this paper considered the effectiveness for teaching and learning of a model that was based on this connection and derived from the parameters of the Research Skill Development framework. The model, devised by students for students, is called the Optimising Problem Solving (OPS) pentagon, and was piloted in a large first-year engineering course in 2014-2015 and in another university in the first half of 2016. This article presents data from formal research conducted on the 2016 offering of the course gathered from pre (n=221) and post (n=169) surveys, and semi-structured interviews of students (n=5) and student/tutors (n=5) sixteen months after course completion. Statistically significant (p < 0.01) changes from pre to post in items with medium to large effect sizes provided student perspectives on which problem-solving skills improved, and the interview data provided rich detail on the nature of changes and how these changes were effected. For the 2016 cohort studied, our evidence suggests that use of the OPS pentagon was associated with improved student problem-solving skills, and tutors’ capacity to teach problem solving.

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-82
Author(s):  
Muhamad Syariffuddien Zuhrie ◽  
Munoto Munoto ◽  
I Gusti Putu Asto B ◽  
Lilik Anifah ◽  
Nur Hasanah

In the robotics program design basic course, it is very essential to be able to construct programming and then translate it into the language. If there is a design error in the algorithms and mistakes in the flowchart or an error in translating it into a programming language, the application software would be unable to work. The objectives of this study are to develop the basic teaching module for Robotics Programming and to implement robotics courses oriented on contextual teaching and learning to enhance university students' problem-solving skills. This study was designed with pre-action, action and reports procedures. 4D development was employed in the software development process. Implementation processes cover four phases: identifying, planning, creating, and disseminating. The findings suggested that contextual teaching and learning enable students to be actively engaged in the learning process encourage and motivated more active students' activities and promote creativity.


Author(s):  
Rowan W. Hollingworth ◽  
Catherine McLoughlin

<span>Technology is increasingly being harnessed to improve the quality of learning in science subjects at university level. This article sets out, by incorporating notions drawn from constructivist and adult learning theory, a foundation for the design of an online environment for the acquisition of metacognitive problem solving skills. The capacity to solve problems is one of the generic skills now being promoted at tertiary level, yet for many learners problem-solving remains a difficulty. In addition, there are few instances of instructional design guidelines for developing learning environments to support the metacognitive skills for effective problem solving. In order to foster the processes of metacognitive skills explicitly in first year science students, we investigated areas where cognitive support was needed. The aim was to strengthen the metacognitive and reflective skills of students to assist them in adopting strategies and reflective processes that enabled them to define, plan and self monitor their thinking during problem solving. In tertiary science, both well-structured and ill-structured problems are encountered by students, thus a repertoire of skills must be fostered. A model for supporting metacognitive skills for problem solving is presented in the context of an online environment being developed at the University of New England.</span>


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanthi Tamilselvam ◽  
Johari Surif

This study aims to evaluate the suitability of the Scenario Based Learning Module (SBL), which has been designed in the topic of Problem Solving Models. The study also aims to examine the advantages of SBL in universities and secondary education levels.  In addition, this study was conducted to find out the barriers and constraints in the designated SBL.  Lecturers from a university and a secondary school participated in this study which is conducted as an interview.  The interview is aimed to gather information on the suitability and features of the module, as well as the advantages and obstacles in the SBL module.  The data obtained from the interviews are qualitatively analyzed through the transcription process.  The findings show that the modules are designed to be practiced at university level among students. The findings also show that the module has many advantages in terms of understanding the learning content, thinking skills and problem solving skills, social and collaborative skills and intrinsic motivation of students.  Additionally, obstacles and constraints that exist in SBL are also discussed. This study benefits from the perspective of providing information on the suitability, advantages and obstacles of SBL for the Problem Solving course in Chemistry Education.  In fact, university lecturers and secondary school teachers can take this study as a reference for SBL applications in teaching and learning.  University students can also benefit from the SBL module designed and the results of this study.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Fahad H Abdeen ◽  
Waheeb Albiladi

The use of games in education has received much attention from educators who perceive games as a motivational tool that can enhance their teaching and learning practice. Gamification in education is a relatively new field that promotes the use of games for educational purposes. Gamification or game-bases teaching is a growing trend among educational institutions, which use it to promote training, develop problem-solving skills in learners, and enhance the learning experience. The present paper aims to revisit the literature on the use of gamification in educational settings. Specifically, the paper discusses the use of gamification for teaching and learning English in the ESL/EFL context. Games have been used effectively with language learners to develop their skills in speaking, listening, writing, reading, and grammar.


2008 ◽  
pp. 1233-1247
Author(s):  
Robert Zheng

Teaching problem solving can be a challenge to teachers. However, the challenge is oftentimes not due to a lack of skills on the part of learners but due to an inappropriate design of media through which the problem is presented. The findings of this study demonstrate that appropriately designed multimedia can improve learners’ problem solving skills because of the cognitive functions such media have in facilitating mental representation and information retrieval and maintenance, as well as reducing cognitive load during the problem solving process. Suggestions were made on how to apply interactive multimedia to teaching and learning.


Author(s):  
Sohail Iqbal Malik ◽  
Mostafa Al-Emran ◽  
Roy Mathew ◽  
Ragad M Tawafak ◽  
Ghaliya Alfarsi

Learning to code is considered as a difficult and challenging task for a significant number of novice programmers in programming education. Novice programmers have to acquire different skills such as problem solving, program design, comprehension, and debugging at the same time. On the other hand, most introductory programming courses focus more on syntax of the programming language. In this study, we developed and introduced a ‘PROBSOL’ application in three different learning systems (E-learning, M-learning and Game-based learning) to enhance the problem solving skills of novice programmers in an introductory programming (IP) course. A survey was conducted with the IP students to determine their perception about all the three applications in the IP course. Gender differences were determined by comparing both female and male students’ responses for each question in the survey. The results of comparison show that male students were more satisfied with all the three applications compared to female students. Both female and male students perceived that all the three applications are user-friendly, enabled them to accomplish tasks more quickly, and enhanced their learning productivity. Overall, both male and female students appreciated all the three applications in the teaching and learning process of the IP course. This study implies that instructors can also use all the three applications as an additional teaching tool in the teaching and learning process of programming education.


In this chapter, the author presents the problems faced by educators and students in teaching and learning engineering courses. In general, teaching of engineering courses are relatively challenging due to the nature of the courses that are perceived as “difficult courses” by a number of students. This course is built upon the strong fundamental knowledge in physics and mathematics. This course requires the students to have a strong abstract thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving skills. Due to this problem, a further research study (a continuation from previous study) was embarked at the National Energy University, which is also known as Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Malaysia. Selected lecturers and students were randomly selected and interviewed to find the reasons for this problem.


Author(s):  
Austin Pack ◽  
Alex Barrett ◽  
Hai-Ning Liang ◽  
Diego Vilela Monteiro

This study investigates English language learner (ELL) perceptions of using a prototype virtual reality learning environment (VRLE) designed for teaching and learning writing structure. A mixed-methods approach was used, incorporating pre- and post-participation questionnaires, as well as semi-structured interviews. Participants consisted of 10 ELLs enrolled in first year English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses at a university in Mainland, China. Results indicate that while the majority of students enjoyed using the VRLE, they maintained varying attitudes regarding the usefulness of the VRLE. Additionally, results from a correlation analysis suggest that learners' attitudes towards the material or content being learned (EAP writing) significantly correlates with learners' attitudes towards using the VRLE for learning writing structure.


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