Epistemology in Engineering Education: An Overview

Epistemology is a branch of philosophy, a study of how a person knows and knowing. Engineering epistemology is one of the new disciplines in engineering education research. Unfortunately, little research has been done on engineering education. In this paper, epistemology is discussed in the general context then, specifically for the engineering education context. Furthermore, the engineering epistemology framework and instrument to investigate engineering epistemology among engineering educators and students have been presented. Theory for knowledge development has been discussed in general and how that developmental model is important for higher education. Finally, epistemology in teaching and learning has been introduced in the context of engineering educators and engineering students. In summary, engineering educators’ epistemology will shape future engineers based on their class design. Therefore, developing engineering students from dualists to commitments of the relativist is very important. Finally, suggestions for engineering faculty management in developing engineering educators and engineering students for a better teaching and learning experience are provided.

Designing Online Class using Discord based on Community of Inquiry Framework

COVID-19 pandemic changes the landscape of education, where online learning becomes very important and can not be avoided. Therefore, this article discusses how a gamer's platform, Discord can be used as an interactive online class. A comparison of Discord with other online platforms is spelled out in a tabular form. The principle used to design the online class using Discord is based on Community of Inquiry (CoI). CoI consists of three elements which are teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence for a better educational experience. The design discussed in this article are Discord features design for the online class and class activity using Discord in developing the three elements in CoI. Data collection is done using open-ended surveys. They are 58 respondents with engineering and non-engineering students. Most of the students are familiar with Discord and agreed that Discord can be adapted for an online class. Thematic analysis is conducted to analyze the open-ended questions. The themes that can be identified are parallel channels, structure, all-in-one platform, facilitation, and learning environment. Another analysis is message counts in each student group to show how active the students in online class using Discord. In conclusion, Discord is the best platform to make students active and construct knowledge with peers.

Validity and Reliability of Green Competencies Instrument for Automobile Technology Programme Using Rasch Model

This article aims to determine the validity of developed constructs and check the reliability of the newly developed instrument named as Questionnaire on Green Competencies for Automobile Engineering Technology (QGCAET) for the Automobile Technology Programme in Nigerian Universities. The instrument consists of 170 elements measuring four constructs namely Technical Green Competencies; Managerial Green Competencies; Personal Green Competencies and Social Green Competencies and was administered to 299 respondents made of Lecturers, Technologists and Final- Year Students of Automobile Engineering and Technology programme in Nigeria universities. The Rasch model was used to examine the validity and reliability of the items. From the analysis point of view, the polarity of the elements indicates that the correlation of the point measure (PTMEA CORR) of 170 elements of green competencies is between 0.00 and 0.55. The summary statistics show that the reliability of the items and the separation of the items of the green competencies instrument are 0.98 and 6.46, respectively. Similarly, the item reliability of each construct is between 0.96 and 0.99, and the reliability of the person is between 0.79 and 1.97, respectively. In terms of item fit statistics, a total of 157 items are found to be fit to achieve the objectives of the study. The result also indicates that the range of fit for the four (4) identified green competencies constructs is between 0.61 and 1.49 signifying that all the constructs are in harmony in measuring the items in the constructs, so suitable in achieving the objectives of the research.

Concerns Fronting Engineering Education in Sudan: A Review

For decades Sudan, like most of Sub-Saharan African countries, has been facing profound engineering education issues, namely: poor funding, outdated curricula, ineffective teaching and learning methods, inadequate human capacity, poor research/publishing condition, inappropriate facilities, inadequate educational technology and ICT environment, weak university/industry relationship, lack of academic freedom, and missing of quality control and accreditation measures. The paper discussed these issues, and proposed solutions such as redesign of flexible curriculum, adopting learner-centered approach, and developing hiring structure that focuses on recruiting and retaining qualified educators, with the goal of graduating a high rate of qualified engineers, ready for the 21st century.

Ramblings of a Chemical Engineer: A Book Review

Ramblings of a Chemical Engineer is significantly influenced by the author's personal experiences as a chemical engineer who has worked in a variety of chemical companies. It encompasses his college years, time as a university researcher, and professional career; it is told in a fast-paced way via a succession of vignettes that capture the highlights of the events that formed him into the professional chemical engineer he is today. It was his intention to present information about a profession in chemical engineering to potential students seeking degrees in chemical engineering. It also acts as a guide for aspiring chemical engineers and future engineers, emphasizing what they should aim for and how much fun this profession can be.

Reflection on Contradictory Learning Methods and Identity Formation in a New Academic Life Setting

Lecturers new to the academic life setting normally face similar types of challenges. These challenges were intensified for new lecturers starting their careers in the academic setting during the COVID-19 pandemic, when classes were conducted online. Student-centered learning has been the focus in engineering education recently, but many of the current lecturers have never experienced this method of learning as students, resulting in unfamiliarity and inexperience in conducting classes using this method of teaching. Our experiences as two new lecturers starting our academic careers during the pandemic using both the student-centered learning method and teacher-centered learning method in different classes are reported through collaborative autoethnographic methods. Both of our reflections revealed that stark differences can be seen as an effect of the teaching method, concluding that the student-centered learning method is superior to the traditional teacher-centered learning method. However, applying the former method also has some challenges. To overcome these challenges faced by new lecturers, some action plans have been listed for future improvement, which could be very meaningful and useful to other new lecturers as well as educators new to applying the student-centered learning method.

Continuous Improvement in the IMSE Program of Kuwait University

Continuous improvement of an engineering program is essential and a critical process. Development and implementation of such a process is not only required by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), but it is also a necessary condition for the maturation and development of any engineering program. This paper describes the process employed by the Industrial and Management Systems Engineering (IMSE) program at Kuwait University to continuously improve its program. The employed process includes identification of the lowest score among the seven student outcomes specified by ABET. Next, the courses in the IMSE curriculum addressing this student outcome are identified, and the instructors teaching these courses took remedial actions. In the following semesters, this outcome was measured, and it was found that there is a significant improvement on this outcome. Other engineering programs can benefit from the process described in this paper.

A Book Review on Fifty Strategies to Boost Cognitive Engagement

Along with research-based and state-of-the-art reviews, book reviews can be found in language teacher periodicals. However, less attention has been given to reviews on academic books emphasizing on the issues of cognitive engagement. As such, this paper seeks to review the book entitled, Fifty Strategies to Boost Engagement: Creating a Thinking Culture in the Classroom (50 Teaching Strategies to Support Cognitive Development) by Rebecca Stobaugh. Generally, this book adds to our understanding of how an educator needs to improve on the skill of engagement particularly through the cognitive domain.

Design Your Experiment (DYE) – Project based learning in Fluid Mechanics Laboratory

There is a need to implement an active and student-centered learning experience in the universities, which could help students expand their vision and better understand its application and concepts outside the classroom learning. This article discusses an approach of Design your experiment (DYE) project in the Fluid Mechanics laboratory to make the course more interesting for the students. We discuss various components involved in the DYE project and its learning outcomes. The student survey shows that the DYE helps the students to enhance their fundamentals, improve their communication, leadership and team management skills.

Designing an Experiential Learning with Simulations and Games to Improve Education in an Undergraduate Engineering Major

This paper illustrates an experiential learning exercise that is designed to be played in an engineering undergraduate program. The author uses simulation that creates an active and experiential learning environment in which individual teams make decisions based on imperfect information and conflicting goals. The simulation allows players to control certain aspects of the information flow relevant to the market, to develop relevant business strategies and communication skills, and to establish understanding of ethical values that are relevant to business environment. The simulation was designed to allow engineering students to advance and practice business skills that are essential for engineers to stay successful in an increasingly competitive business environment. The objective is to extract maximum learning from the experience using an experiential learning model. This paper contributes to the literature on designing active learning with the use of games and simulations while utilizing the Kolb experiential learning model.