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Enabling theory-practice bridging in engineering education is essential for developing twenty-first century graduate capabilities. Massification, resource constraints, and technological development have resulted in significant shifts to alternative forms of practical engagement, such as the use of online laboratories, but how do these contribute to learning? Based on three illustrative case studies at a research-intensive institution in the Global South, this paper offers a conceptualisation of the degrees of complexity entailed in multimodal approaches to teaching Fluid Mechanics, Finite Element Analysis and Control Systems at different stages of their respective programmes The paper examines the different levels of abstract-concrete learning when students engage with verbal, symbolic, graphic and physical representational artefacts designed to enable cumulative learning. The conceptual instruments are theoretically and methodologically drawn from Legitimation Code Theory dimensions, which lend themselves to the graphic analysis of knowledge practices. It is suggested that the explicit integration of and shifting between levels of abstraction and complexity with different kinds of technologies enables the kind of cumulative learning necessary to prepare technically-equipped graduates for complex twenty-first century engineering contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-knowledge is an important element of metacognition. It encompasses understanding one's own strengths and weaknesses and includes belief and self-assessment of one’s capacity to perform a task. Cognitive skills comprise a range of mental processes, such as attention, memory, problem solving, systems thinking, abstract thinking, and critical thinking, that are essential for acquiring and applying knowledge. The research described in this paper examined the ability for self-knowledge and cognitive skills of electronics students engaged in project-based learning. The study, which used quantitative and qualitative tools, involved 140 twelve-grade electronics students and explored the self-knowledge and cognitive skills they exhibited while executing their final projects. The correlation and paired-samples t-test between the students’ self-report questionnaire (indirect assessment of cognitive skills) and achievement test (direct assessment of cognitive skills) scores were examined to assess the students’ self-knowledge and cognitive skills. The findings revealed a significant difference between self-report questionnaire scores and achievement test scores, indicating that the students’ self-knowledge did not reflect their actual low level of cognitive skills. Measuring self-knowledge and cognitive skills in project-based learning is essential for assessing the effectiveness of the learning process, resulting in improved project outcomes and a firmer foundation for future academic and professional success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The laboratory is an integral component of engineering education, resulting in a multitude of studies. Generally, the research focus is on the laboratory innovation, rather than learning itself. It is observed that empirical evidence is strongly built around student perceptions of their learning or experience via survey instruments; and in some cases, complimented with limited quantitative measures including assessments. With the laboratory being a multifaceted, multi-domain learning environment also covering the psychomotor and affective domains, such observations suggest that the empirical data being collected is providing an incomplete analysis. Therefore, this paper undertakes a systematic literature review exploring remote, simulation and traditional laboratory studies that explicitly include assessment analysis. Explored are the types of assessments used and assessment innovations. The study 1) confirms that assessments concentrate on the cognitive domain, underselling the learning being achieved; 2) Student survey instruments play an important role in measuring laboratory success; 3) Background information of the learning objectives are not clearly stated and/or not clearly linked to the associated assessment; 4) There are several research opportunities available to improve understanding of laboratory assessments. A roadmap and recommendations to overcome these weaknesses is outlined, providing a platform for future researchers to incorporate in their studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we introduce 'Concept Questions,' a weekly writing assignment that has been incorporated into multiple upper-level engineering courses at a single university with the intent of enhancing students' conceptual understanding of the course content. To explore the influence of this activity on students in these courses, we compared students' scores on the Concept Question assignments with their final exam scores, analysed students' open-ended responses to questions regarding their learning in the course, and surveyed students who had taken these courses in previous semesters to understand how the Concept Question assignments may have influenced their learning approaches in subsequent courses. Our analysis revealed that students highlighted a variety of learning outcomes from the Concept Questions assignments and their performance on the assignments was correlated with their final exam scores. However, most students did not report that these assignments had changed their learning approaches overall. This paper supports prior work suggesting that such assignments can be helpful in individual engineering courses, but further work is needed to explore student learning across courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pedagogical development (PD) for educators in higher engineering education is indispensable to the promotion of educational changes and high-quality teaching and learning necessary to train twenty-first century engineering talents. With the expansion of various PD activities in engineering education in recent decades, there is a growing need to understand the characteristics and impact of current PD activities and to develop strategies for their further development. This study reviews 116 articles to provide an overview of current PD activity designs and the challenges reported in research on engineering education. The selected papers' frameworks, duration and organizational formats, evaluation methods, teachers' learning outcomes, research methods, and reported challenges are summarized. The findings of this study call for additional research on theory-driven designs for future PD activities as well as additional empirical PD studies using multiple data sources, a variety of research methods, and various analytical tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teamwork is an important aspect of software engineering education. This paper presents ASEST (Agile Software Engineers Stick Together), a teaching framework whose aim is to improve teamwork in terms of team performance and team learning by developing team cohesion at the graduate level of software engineering student teams. The basis of ASEST was established by identifying the most current trends in teamwork in software engineering education. The framework itself combines these approaches in a procedure consisting of eight steps through which students are expected to go through. A study of one group of students that applied the ASEST framework indicated that their perceptions of team cohesion, team performance and team learning increased significantly compared with the perceptions of the students in a group that did not use the framework. Also, a survey showed students' acceptance of our proposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Society is in strong need to change the way in which energy is produced and consumed. To cope with this complex challenge, integration of knowledge from different disciplines is needed. This paper shows how an interdisciplinary educational approach called networked learning combined with sustainability transition theories can help groups of engineering students to address pressing societal challenges such as the energy transition. A series of 8 workshops was held with an interdisciplinary engineering student team of a University of Technology. Networked learning within the student team showed an ad-hoc character, mainly caused by shifting student constellations during workshops. Workshops focusing on short-term goals resulted in more concrete output. The team showed a high level of equality amongst members and actively reflected on organisational aspects of their learning process. Sustainability transitions concepts and theories that integrate multiple disciplinary perspectives further supported the learning process and helped to guide strategic decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing digitisation of engineering and social practices has altered the relationship between formal schooling and development of expertise for professional engineering work. What does the development of expertise look like when knowledge is generated and shared at an accelerated pace due to shifts in technology? In this paper, I present case studies of two early career software engineers. Using methodological insights from digital ethnography, I trace their professional journeys over two decades. I empirically demonstrate how the development of engineering expertise is a continuous and perpetual endeavour and engineers learn throughout their lives (lifelong) and across all the different spaces they inhabit at any given time (lifewide). I argue for extending engineering work practices research and research in engineering education more broadly to take larger timescales of learning into account to build a comprehensive understanding of engineering expertise development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CSU Engineering is the new civil engineering school at Charles Sturt University in Australia. Established at an institution that has not previously offered Engineering, CSU Engineering has taken the opportunity to design and implement a radically different model for its degree, drawing upon the frontier trends and themes in engineering education globally. The degree commences with a sequence of campus Problem-Based Learning which is followed by a sequence of industry located Workplace Learning. The underpinning technical curriculum is delivered online, on demand in a Netflix-style 'Topic Tree'. This approach allows for Student Engineers (not Engineering Students) to develop their professional identity from the first day of the degree, and to situate their learning in authentic and then actual learning environments. This paper will enumerate the key dimensions of the program, outline how it is implemented, and present early evidence of the success of this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internationally, challenges were raised towards engineering education concerning the industry's widespread questioning of the lack of practical skills of engineering graduates. Scholars in engineering educational research have tried to better understand professional engineers' practices so as to inform engineering education. Concerning the lack of empirical research in China, particularly from practicing engineers' perspectives, this work explored the perceptions of 22 early and mid-career working engineers from multiple industries in a Chinese context via qualitative interviews on the ways in which the knowledge, skills, and attributes that were essential to their project completion were learnt or developed. Our analyses suggested that such development existed mostly in the process of work completion. In particular, the experiences of participating in multiple projects and reflective thinking and discussions on the projects made the engineer progress fast. Based on the findings, suggestions are proposed for engineering educational practices and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assist in resolving the perceived lack of transversal competencies (TCs) of engineering graduates by industry, this study investigates the characteristics of transforming an existing industry TC instrument for use in engineering education. The instrument consists of 36 nuanced sub-competencies with the corresponding definitions and descriptive mastery levels. This instrument was first used to determine required TCs mastery levels for BSc and MSc graduates by European industry and subsequently, using two representative curricula as case studies to map TCs course outcomes and lecturer perceptions of TCs course outcomes, using interviews for further exploration. The main findings are that the TC instrument is suitable to determine desired industry mastery levels as well as to map TCs course outcomes both in formal documentation and by lecturers. Also, a gap between the formal and perceived curriculum was found i.e. discrepancies in reported TC learning outcomes between formal documentation and lecturer-reported TCs in courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]