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Problem-solving is a key engineering skill, yet is an area in which engineering graduates underperform. This paper investigates the potential of using web-based tools to teach students problem-solving techniques without the need to make use of class time. An idea generation experiment involving 90 students was designed. Students were surveyed about their study habits and reported they use electronic-based materials more than paper-based materials while studying, suggesting students may engage with web-based tools. Students then generated solutions to a problem task using either a paper-based template or an equivalent web interface. Students who used the web-based approach performed as well as students who used the paper-based approach, suggesting the technique can be successfully adopted and taught online. Web-based tools may therefore be adopted as supplementary material in a range of engineering courses as a way to increase students’ options for enhancing problem-solving skills. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Students newly admitted to the university must familiarize with the higher education system, must survive to the transition from pre-university system and adapt to the style of learning/organization/evaluation, basically have to adjust to student life. This change from the pre-university system to the university one has a major influence on the young person on several aspects. Some concern personal life, because it is possible for him to access a university in another city or country and then break up with his friends and his current partner. This factor, among many others, can influence school dropout. Thus, in first years of study, the Communication discipline was introduced in the faculties with a technical profile, precisely to improve and facilitate communication in the new environment in which young people develop and to encourage them to work in a team. The paper presents the analysis of the way in which the aforementioned discipline influences interpersonal communication and obviously friendship relations between new colleagues. Two questionnaires were proposed: one for initial evaluation and one after the semester passed, completed by students at the first and at last seminar. The results showed that this discipline is really important and brings added value to collegial relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this work is to contribute to the debate on the best pedagogical approach to developing undergraduate mechanical engineering skills to meet the requirements of contemporary complex working environments. The paper provides an example of using student–entrepreneur collaboration in the teaching of modules to Mechanical Engineering final-year students. Problem-based learning (PBL) is one of the most significant recent innovations in the area of education for the professions. This work proposes to make an original contribution by simulating a real-life entrepreneur interaction for the students. The current literature largely confines simulation-based learning to computer applications such as games. However, this paper argues that role playing by students interfacing with technology start-ups can also be regarded as ‘simulation’ in a wider sense. Consequently, the paper proposes the concept of simulation-action learning as an enhancement of PBL and to distinguish it from computer simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

University of Canterbury, as an institution, had developed strong educational resilience during and after the 2010–11 earthquakes. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, New Zealand shut down all university educational facilities in March 2020, with education migrated online. Within this unique context, this research aims to (1) investigate civil engineering students' perceptions about the benefits and challenges of online learning during the lockdown period, (2) identify significant factors that contribute to effective online teaching and learning, and (3) provide the implications of this research for future emergency remote teaching (ERT). A survey was designed and administered to measure students' perceptions of online learning during the lockdown. A total of 192 completed responses were collected from both undergraduate and Master civil engineering students. In addition to typical online learning challenges, students also experienced unique challenges, such as social and emotional isolation, anxiety, depression, and uncertainty. This paper suggests that teaching presence be brought to the forefront of ERT. Future research directions were recommended to better understand ERT by linking it to the Community of Inquiry framework and enhance tertiary education institutions' resilience to handle a future crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies exploring what it means to be an engineer professionally have been conducted for decades, but have boomed in recent years. This systematic literature review aims to organise extant studies on engineering identity by coding around four key variables: (a) definitions of engineering identity, (b) factors affecting engineering identity development, (c) interventions affecting engineering identity development, and (d) means of measuring identity. In doing so, this review provides strategies for future research and educational interventions to advance work related to engineering identity. Publications were selected for inclusion by screening and appraising results obtained from databases and keywords refined through a scoping study. Derived from key findings, suggestions for future research include bridging disparate strands of engineering identity literature and incorporating more varied methodological approaches. Also from key findings, suggestions for future practice involve better connecting existing definitions of engineering identity and factors known to affect identity development with identity-related interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional bodies expect engineers to show competence in both mathematics and engineering topics such as mechanics, using their abilities in both of these to solve problems. Yet within engineering programmes there is a phenomenon known as ‘The Mathematics Problem’, with students not demonstrating understanding of the subject. This paper will suggest that students are constructing different concept images in engineering and mathematics, based on their perception of either the use or exchange-value for the topics. Using a mixed methods approach, the paper compares 10 different types of concept image constructed by students, which suggests that familiar procedural images are preferred in mathematics. In contrast strategic and conceptual images develop for mechanics throughout the years of the programme, implying that different forms of competence are being constructed by students between the two subjects. The paper argues that this difference is attributed to the perceived use-value of mechanics in the career of the engineer, compared to the exchange-value associated with mathematics. Questions are raised about the relevance of current definitions of competence given that some routine mathematical operations previously performed by engineers are now being replaced by technology, in the new world of work. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Today, the engineering landscape is continually changing, and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have a responsibility to design curricula that address the growing demands of various industry sectors. Likewise, the roles and responsibilities of an engineer are evolving; requiring a further broadening of the current engineering curriculum. As a profession, engineering draws upon broad interdisciplinary knowledge, and when training twenty-first-century engineers, universities should follow a more comprehensive teaching and learning approach, with a focus on both technical and soft skills including the integration of leadership into engineering curricula. However, the spectrum of engineering leadership is not well-defined. Leadership is one of the most widely sought-after skills in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) industries; it is, therefore, clear that more investigation needs to be carried out into this area of engineering pedagogy. One of the most distinct gaps in the literature is that there is little or no consensus on what approaches should be undertaken to integrate leadership in engineering courses by those in academia. This paper seeks to shed light on some of these gaps, with the primary objective of the evaluation of the current state of leadership education using a nation-wide sample of BEng1 Electronic Engineering course structures and contents at Russell Group2 universities in the UK. It highlights the case study of the University of York, where there is a strong emphasis on the integration of engineering leadership and management skills within the current BEng Electronic Engineering course structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a continuous improvement project (CIP) at a Mexican university designed to increase engineering graduate student loyalty. Design/methodology/approach: A plan-do-check-act problem-solving methodology was implemented, and a SERVQUAL survey was conducted on 67 master's engineering students. Findings: Five factors were found to affect student loyalty: facility cleanliness; faculty teaching skills; evening student services; master's degree student management roles at work; and master's degree students' ages. After the implementation of the improvement and control actions, there was a 7.7% increase in the engineering master's degree students' loyalty scores. Research limitations/implications: However, there were several research limitations: data availability (such as student loyalty, student satisfaction and a small master's degree student population size) and factors outside the CIP's scope (such as the country's economic situation, university rankings, master's programme accreditations and COVID-19). Practical implications: The findings from this research study could be used by other higher education institutions (HEIs)to improve student loyalty and as a reference when conducting similar studies in other service organisations such as hospitals and hotels. Originality/value: This research work took a different approach in assessing student satisfaction and student loyalty in a HEI by using the SERVQUAL survey as the data collection instrument for conducting CIP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

‘Career Academics’ are principally research-led, entering academia with limited or no industrial or practical experience. UK Higher Education Institutions welcome them for their potential to attain research grant funding and publish world-leading journal papers, ultimately enhancing institutional reputation. This polemical paper problematises the Career Academic around three areas: their institutional appeal; their impact on the student experience, team dynamics and broader academic functions; and current strategic policy to employ them. We also argue that recent UK Government teaching-focused initiatives will not address needs to employ practical academics, or ‘Pracademics’ in predominantly vocational Construction and Engineering Education. We generate questions for policy-makers, institutions and those implementing strategy. We argue that research is key, but partial rebalancing will achieve a diverse academic skill base to achieve contextualised construction and engineering education. In wider European contexts, the paper resonates with issues of academic ‘drift’ and provides reflection for others on the UK context. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the twenty-first century, meeting our technological challenges demands educational excellence, a skilled populace that is ready for the critical challenges society faces. There is widespread consensus, however, that education systems are failing to adequately prepare all students with the essential twenty-first century knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in life, career, and citizenship. The purpose of this paper is to understand how twenty-first century knowledge and skills can be appropriately embedded in engineering education finalised to innovative product development by using additive manufacturing (AM). The study designs a learning model by which to achieve effective AM education to address the requirements of twenty-first century and to offer students the occasion to experiment with STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) concepts. The study is conducted using the quality function deployment (QFD) methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to identify faculty perspectives on the integration of work-related issues in engineering education. A mixed methods approach was used to explore faculty attitudes towards work-related learning, to describe activities related to working life that have been introduced into the curriculum and to identify factors that faculty see as important if the amount of work-related learning is to increase. The results show that faculty members are positive about integrating work-related issues into the curriculum. Programmes with more extensive connections to industry offer more integrated activities, such as projects with external actors, and use professional contacts established through research in their teaching. In order to increase work-related learning in engineering curricula, faculty request clear goals and pedagogical tools. Other options to increase work-related learning include offering faculty the opportunity to work outside academia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper questions if engineering educators are producing engineers that are accelerating humanity along an unsustainable path. Even though technology and engineering are important drivers in trying to move humanity towards an environmentally sustainable paradigm, the paper suggests that maybe the most important levers and challenges lie in the economic and social domains. Short case studies of energy efficiency, the experience of the industrialist Ray Anderson and the authors own reflection of teaching chemical engineering students are used to highlight this. Engineering/technological innovation may not be enough and is often counteracted by the rebound effect and the current dominant neoclassical economic paradigm. The paper discusses what engineering educators can do to produce sustainability informed engineers who are better able to engage with the economic and social dimensions of sustainability. Some suggestions for engaging engineering students with the economic and social dimensions of environmental sustainability are provided. Engineers must somehow find ways, not just to influence technological levers (which are very important) but also to influence economic and social levers so that changes in economic and social behaviours can complement and facilitate technological change in moving humanity to an environmentally sustainable paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a structural engineer, effective communication and interaction with architects cannot be underestimated as a key skill to success throughout their professional career. Structural engineers and architects have to share a common language and understanding of each other in order to achieve the most desirable architectural and structural designs. This interaction and engagement develops during their professional career but needs to be nurtured during their undergraduate studies. The objective of this paper is to present the strategies employed to engage higher order thinking in structural engineering students in order to help them solve complex problem-based learning (PBL) design scenarios presented by architecture students. The strategies employed were applied in the experimental setting of an undergraduate module in structural engineering at Queen’s University Belfast in the UK. The strategies employed were active learning to engage with content knowledge, the use of physical conceptual structural models to reinforce key concepts and finally, reinforcing the need for hand sketching of ideas to promote higher order problem-solving. The strategies employed were evaluated through student survey, student feedback and module facilitator (this author) reflection. The strategies were qualitatively perceived by the tutor and quantitatively evaluated by students in a cross-sectional study to help interaction with the architecture students, aid interdisciplinary learning and help students creatively solve problems (through higher order thinking). The students clearly enjoyed this module and in particular interacting with structural engineering tutors and students from another discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The School of Engineering at Universidad Europea de Madrid (UEM) implemented, starting in the 2012–2013 period, a unified academic model based on project-based learning as the methodology used throughout the entire School. This model expects that every year, in each grade, all the students should participate in a capstone project integrating the contents and competencies of several courses. This paper presents the academic context under which this experience has been implemented, and a summary of the work done to design and implement the Project-Based Engineering School at the UEM. The steps followed, the structure used, some sample projects, as well as the difficulties and benefits of implementing the programme are discussed in this paper. The results are encouraging as students are more motivated and the initial set objectives were accomplished. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reports on a project in which students designed, constructed and tested a model of an existing early warning system with simulation of debris flow in a context of a landslide. Students also assessed rural community members’ knowledge of this system and subsequently taught them to estimate the time needed for evacuation of the community in the event of a landslide. Participants were four undergraduate students in a civil engineering programme at a university in Thailand, as well as nine community members and three external evaluators. Results illustrate project and problem-based, experiential learning and highlight the real-world applications and development of knowledge and of hard and soft skills. The discussion raises issues of scalability and feasibility for implementation of these types of projects in large undergraduate engineering classes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Problem-based learning (PBL) has proven to be highly effective for educating students in an active and self-motivated manner in various disciplines. Student projects carried out following PBL principles are very dynamic and carry a high level of uncertainty, both conditions under which agile project management approaches are assumed to be highly supportive. The paper describes an empirical case study carried out at Aalborg University Copenhagen involving students from two different semesters of a Bachelor of Science programme. While executing the study, compelling examples of how PBL and the agile project management method Kanban blend could be identified. A final survey reveals that applying Kanban produces noticeable improvements with respect to creating, assigning and coordinating project tasks. Other improvements were found in group communication, knowledge about the work progress with regards to both the individual and the collective and the students’ way of continuously improving their own teamwork. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Minimal research papers have investigated the use of student evaluations on the laboratory, a learning medium usually run by teaching assistants with little control of the content, delivery and equipment. Finding the right mix of teaching assistants for the laboratory can be an onerous task due to the many skills required including theoretical and practical know-how, troubleshooting, safety and class management. Using larger classes with multiple teaching assistants, a team-based teaching (TBT) format may be advantageous. A rigorous three-year study across twenty-five courses over repetitive laboratory classes is analysed using a multi-level statistical model considering students, laboratory classes and courses. The study is used to investigate the effectiveness of the TBT format, and quantify the influence each demonstrator has on the laboratory experience. The study found that TBT is effective and the lead demonstrator most influential, influencing up to 55% of the laboratory experience evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most elementary concepts in freshmen Electrical Engineering subject comprises the Resistance–Inductance–Capacitance (RLC) circuit fundamentals, that is, their time and frequency domain responses. For a beginner, generally, it is difficult to understand and appreciate the step and the frequency responses, particularly the resonance. This paper proposes a student-friendly teaching and learning approach by inculcating the multifaceted versatile software LabVIEWTM along with the educational laboratory virtual instrumentation suite hardware, for studying the RLC circuit time and frequency domain responses. The proposed approach has offered an interactive laboratory experiment where students can model circuits in simulation and hardware circuits on prototype board, and then compare their performances. The theoretical simulations and the obtained experimental data are found to be in very close agreement, thereby enhancing the conviction of students. Finally, the proposed methodology was also subjected to the assessment of learning outcomes based on student feedback, and an average score of 8.05 out of 10 with a standard deviation of 0.471 was received, indicating the overall satisfaction of the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A unified academic model based on the project-based learning (PBL) methodology was implemented, in the 2012–2013 period, in the School of Engineering at Universidad Europea de Madrid. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether teachers and students participating in the capstone projects feel that the objectives for which this methodology was designed for are being achieved. The data were collected through interviews to participants at the end of the PBL experience. The results are encouraging, as students seem to be more motivated, and they say that they are experiencing deeper learning, and have developed key competitive skills required for their professional lives. Findings also suggest that teachers face positively the PBL as a learning approach since they perceive that students obtain a deeper learning, develop transversal skills with the projects and are more engaged with their studies. Implications and recommendations for the future of the model are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the UK, the Royal Aeronautical Society recommends the inclusion of practical flight exercises for accredited undergraduate aerospace engineering programmes to enhance learning and student experience. The majority of academic institutions teaching aerospace in the UK separate the theory and practice of flight dynamics with students attending a series of lectures supplemented by an intensive one-day flight exercise. Performance and/or handling qualities flight tests are performed in a dedicated aircraft fitted with specialist equipment for the recording and presentation of flight data. This paper describes an innovative approach to better integrate theory and practice and the use of portable Commercial-off-The-Shelf (COTS) technologies to enable a range of standard, unmodified aircraft to be used. The integration of theory and practice has enriched learning and teaching, improved coursework grades and the student experience. The use of COTS and unmodified aircraft has reduced costs and enabled increased student participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the results of a study of engineering students’ approaches to an open-ended design problem. To carry out this, sketches and interviews were collected from 9 freshmen (first year) and 10 doctoral engineering students, when they designed solutions for orange squeezers. Sketches and interviews were analysed and mapped with a descriptive ‘ideation framework’ (IF) of the design process, to document and compare their design creativity (Carmona Marques, P., A. Silva, E. Henriques, and C. Magee. 2014. “A Descriptive Framework of the Design Process from a Dual Cognitive Engineering Perspective.”International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation2 (3): 142–164). The results show that the designers worked in a manner largely consistent with the IF for generalisation and specialisation loops. Also, doctoral students produced more alternative solutions during the ideation process. In addition, compared to freshman, doctoral used the generalisation loop of the IF, working at higher levels of abstraction. The iterative nature of design is highlighted during this study – a potential contribution to decrease the gap between both groups in engineering education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores the intersectional interference of gender and migration status on students’ persistence at an Austrian University of Technology. While controlling for the pre-university education and performance indicators, we estimate the odds for the persistence of male and female students, as well as of students with diverse migration statuses. We use the enrolment data of students from 1998 to 2010. The analysis reveals remarkable and significant effects of gender and migration status, as well as intersectional interference effects from both social categories on persistence. Female and students with immigration status are less likely to persist, even if performance and previous relevant experiences are controlled. A segregated analysis of the student population sheds further light on the interlocked and entangled effects of the social ascriptions underlying gender and migration status. The analysis supports the proposition of the accumulation of (dis-)advantages along students’ careers. The profound quantification of gender and migration status effects can be utilised as basis for further research and purposeful policy measures to increase persistence in Science, Engineering and Technology for students with diverse backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, we analyze the relationship between leadership and performance in teams of higher education students. For this, first, we conceptualize leadership as an influence process between team members and, second, we model this team process using social network analysis. To study the proposed relationship between leadership and performance, we conducted a study at 164 students of 41 teams of industrial engineering students of two universities in Chile. We analyzed our data using linear regression analysis, and our results showed that leadership network density is positively related to performance, and leadership network centrality is negatively related to performance. These results help teachers, and higher education institutions have a reliable statistical tool to track student leadership development throughout the curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is the aim of the paper to reflect on the lessons learned after ten years of existence of the Sino-French School for Engineering at Shanghai University (UTSEUS), as well as on perspectives for an evolution related to recent developments in the French Higher Education landscape. The authors present background, rationale, modalities and perspectives for this venture set up by three French universities of technology in China by drawing parallels with other well-established Sino-foreign operations. It is shown that the combination of transnational and international approaches allow for transferring and adapting a foreign education model on a large scale, but also for establishing reciprocal mobility of big student cohorts. The approach is based on an integrated foreign language learning and intercultural content. This successful experience also shows how universities play an integrative role for a country's cultural and industrial relations at an international level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering design is known as an answer to an ill-defined problem. As any answer to an ill-defined problem, it can never be completely right or absolutely wrong. The methods that universities use to teach engineering design, as a consequence of this, suffer from the same fate. However, the accumulated experience with the ‘chalk and talk’ teaching tradition has led to a reality in which the employers of fresh graduates are not happy with the engineers they are getting. Part of their complaints are related with the inability of recently graduate engineers to work in problems where the boundaries are not well defined, are interdisciplinary, require the use of effective communication and integrate non-technical issues. These skills are mostly absent from traditional engineering curricula. This paper demonstrates the implementation of engineering design perspectives enhancing some of the aforementioned skills in a traditional mechanical engineering curriculum. It emphasises in particular a design project that is tackled in a sequence of conventional courses with a focus that depends on the course objectives and disciplinary domain. This transdisciplinary design project conveys the idea (and effectively implements it concurrently) that design is multidisciplinary. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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The use of active learning methodologies is an issue of great concern for improving education quality. In this paper, the authors provide an innovative point of view for an Intellectual Property (IP) course. This course is designed by engineers for engineers. The course has been designed so that the students have to complete three different projects. The first project is centred on trademarks, the second one on patents and the third one is the extension of one patent to others countries, that is, the national stage of the patent. According to the results of the evaluation of the projects, most of the learning objectives have been achieved and the students have improved their skills, such as self-learning, creative thinking and troubleshooting. This paper describes the implementation of these different projects. These experiences can be easily replicated in other universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a virtual lab for the contents of an Engineering project, for designing an agro-industrial building, which is also useful for a range of different transversal courses in Engineering sciences. The aims of this tool are to analyse the most important contents of a project-document (calculation, regulations, drawings and budgets), as well as their relationship with the activities which make up the work and the schedule. The design criteria we considered were: its online applications and their compatibility with Moodle; the inclusion of different learning approaches, such as exploratory learning and inquiry-based learning; its interactivity, and the use of multimedia elements for visualisation and direct analysis on material common to Engineering subjects. The students’ perceptions of the improvements brought by the virtual lab were analysed statistically through a series of questions over two academic years. The results of the questionnaires suggested that most of those who had used the e-learning tool valued positively its overall suitability for reaching the objectives in their subject as well as the way it improved the working methodology. The practical knowledge acquired by the students was also highly valued. In addition, the lack of constraints commonly related to field trips (expenses, time and complexity) illustrates the utility of self-access learning tools in key transversal disciplines such as Engineering projects. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Associate (community college) degrees have expanded rapidly in the past decade in Hong Kong, but their value has been questioned due to the limited number of government-funded articulation opportunities available. This paper argues that associate degrees in Hong Kong are not valued solely for articulation purposes, but also for nurturing students’ development for future pursuits. This study examined associate degree students’ development longitudinally over the two-year curriculum, and piloted the use of diagnostic instruments for prospective quality assurance. Three hundred associate degree students from Engineering, Marketing and Sociology programmes (N = 113, 128 and 59, respectively) at a community college in Hong Kong completed the student engagement questionnaire at two time points (commencement and graduation). Two-way repeated measure multivariate analysis of variance results suggest a significant interaction effect between Time and Discipline and a main effect of Time on seven dimensions of generic capabilities. It was found that students from Engineering programmes yielded more and larger positive changes in generic capabilities than students of other programmes. Implications of the findings regarding the value and the learning environment of associate degrees are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Highlights • Staff and students have similar perceptions of which skills are key. • Skills can be grouped as personal effectiveness, communication or research skills. • Confidence in all skills areas is increased by the design process. • Skills development is supplemented by extra-curricular activities. • Design meets accreditation and industrial needs. Abstract Integrated learning makes use of group work to develop students’ professional competencies in tandem with their transferable skills. This paper looks at the skills required to undertake a fourth year chemical engineering “capstone design project” ( Design ) and the skills developed therein. Staff and students were surveyed about their perceived skills abilities, both before and after the project; the results of which showed agreement as to the skills necessary to undertake Design: these were grouped under personal effectiveness skills, communication skills or research skills. Students described a number of extra-curricular activities that contributed to skills development but sometimes failed to appreciate their transference to academic arenas. The surveyed students indicated that their confidence in all skills areas was increased by Design: but there were instances where some individual sub-set devaluing occurred. There is a link between experiential practice, predominantly as a result of producing assessed components, and high skills confidence; hence, it is recommended that students are encouraged to reflect on their project experience and that integrated learning be promoted to develop all skills effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To be fully prepared for the professional workplace, Engineering students need to be able to effectively communicate. However, there has been a growing concern in the field about students’ preparedness for this aspect of their future work. It is argued that online writing tools, to engage numbers of students in the writing process, can support feedback on and development of writing in engineering on a larger scale. Through interviews and questionnaires, this study explores engineering academics’ perceptions of writing to better understand how online writing tools may be integrated into their teaching. Results suggest that writing is viewed positively in the discipline, but it is not believed to be essential to success in engineering. Online writing tools were believed to support a larger number of students, but low knowledge of the tools limited academics’ understanding of their usefulness in teaching and learning. Implications for innovation in undergraduate teaching are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Academics must be encouraged to reflect on their teaching, to apply new pedagogies to support student learning and to report on the results of these actions, which really forms part of programmes relating to Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). However, there seems to be resistance among some academics to get involved in these programmes due to fear of change or discrimination. The purpose of this article is to highlight the perceptions of four academics from different engineering fields towards such a programme from a University of Technology in South Africa. A qualitative study is employed where a focus group interview was used to gather data which are correlated to the SoTL unicycle detailed in the article. A benefit of joining an SoTL programme includes ‘developing a teaching action plan’ while a key challenge relates to time concerns. An implication may be to stimulate awareness among non-participating academics about what an SoTL programme really engenders. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this study, we worked with second-year engineering students at an Australian university to examine previously identified threshold concepts within the theoretical framework of Possible Selves. Using workshops as the context for intensive work with students, students were encouraged to consider their future lives and work, including their engineering fears, expectations, and aspirations. The findings revealed many students to have a poor understanding of the realities of engineering work. Moreover, perceived gaps between self-efficacy and the requirements of engineering work appeared to be motivating if students deemed it possible to reduce the gap, but demotivating if they identified a characteristic over which there was perceived to be no control. The study suggests that these engineering students needed more opportunities to explore both the roles of engineers and their own possible selves. Overall, the findings indicate that higher education students may need encouragement and support to explore potential future roles, and they strengthen calls for further research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent study indicated alarmingly low results in reading competencies of Portuguese engineering students. This paper intends to evaluate if this tendency is restricted to engineering studies or if it is also present in other scientific domains. To this end, two studies were conducted using a reading screening test. In the first study, 168 students from Engineering, Health, Psychology and Education participated in an unconstrained time administration of the test. In the second study, the same test was administered in a time constrained mode to 153 students from the same scientific areas. It is concluded that the low results obtained for engineering students are also detected in other scientific domains. A comparison between Engineering and other domains students show slight differences, although not reaching statistical significance. These results emphasize the importance for screening tests able to quickly and economically assess college student's reading ability. This study proposes a low cost, low time consuming tool for evaluation of reading competences, along with normative results for Portuguese speaking college population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the reasons why some previously engaged students drop out during their transition to mathematically-demanding university degrees. The concept of alienation is used to explain drop out: alienation occurs when social practices restrict the individuals’ agency in such ways that they are unable to transform the social conditions in which they participate, even though they might place a great effort in doing so, hence becoming alienated objectively and subjectively. So, for instance, engineering students that see themselves as ‘practical’, find that the theoretical/academic practice of university mathematics becomes irrelevant to their aspirations and ways of learning, i.e. alien to their identity as learners. The impossibility of changing this situation becomes recognised and results in their drop out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to provide insights into the challenges that home and international students experience when collaborating in mixed groups. A selection of 261 reflective journals written by students as part of the Intercultural Communication Skills course at a Dutch university in the domains of life sciences and engineering was analyzed. These journals were written by 210 Dutch (= home) students, 22 European (non-Dutch) students, and 29 Asian students. The quantitative analysis showed that the main challenges were group management, contribution to group work, and feedback. Asian students reported challenges related to feedback significantly more often compared to Dutch and other European students. The qualitative analysis showed that Dutch, other European, and Asian students' concerns differed in terms of interaction and communication styles stemming from their various cultures of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities face the challenge of developing undergraduate structural engineering students' design judgement. This study evaluates whether introducing 'learning from failure', centralised around 'real-world' case studies, serves to facilitate the development of engineering judgement in structural design. The study identifies the use of three characteristics of engineering judgement: diagnostic, inductive, and interpretive in the work of the first-year undergraduate structural design students. Thematic analysis, combined with a constant comparison method and the rigour of inter-researcher reliability, was used to develop coding and mapping to evaluate students' work. The majority of students correctly applied diagnostic engineering judgement to the definition of a problem for a failure case study; and displayed the inductive aspect of judgement. Students' interpretive understanding embraced multi-faceted considerations, with engineering practice, complexity in causality, and learning from history being dominant. Introducing case studies deepened students' enquiry, stimulating the development of a more nuanced understanding of structural engineering judgement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem-based learning is an active student-centred approach, which requires engineering students to work together in solving real-world problems. This study aims to review the incorporation of cooperative learning principles in an introductory first-year engineering course that aimed to develop students' group skills while working on problem-based projects. A total of 367 students participated in 65 groups. No formal examination was written, as this course only consists of practical work. Data collection included an assessment matrix and reflective sheets where students' individual and group contribution to the project were recorded. The data were structured and visually integrated into tables. Based on the findings, this research suggests that the integration of cooperative learning principles enhanced the development of essential group skills and team performance in some of the groups while working on real-world engineering projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formula Student (also known as Formula SAE) is an international competition for universities that challenges the students with a comprehensive engineering problem. Most of the participant universities and all the companies involved in the organization of the competition have identified this event as the most suitable tool for hard and soft skills development. This paper evaluates this development by means of two different objective assessments in the frame of a specific team, identifying the potential of the competition and showing a particular approach to enhance soft skills development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Appropriate attitude towards work is a generic competency developed in the Bachelor's Degree in Computing Engineering at the Barcelona School of Informatics. This competency includes: the ability to work in teams with responsibility and respect, a proactive attitude, motivation for quality and the continuous improvement in processes and results, as well as the adaptability to organizational and technological changes. In order to develop this competency into a comprehensive integrated experience, a definition in terms of dimensions, which are further defined according to three-level objectives, is required. A set of activities to achieve each objective is proposed. The goal is to define this set in a way that makes it easily integrated into the contents of each course where the competency is involved. The evaluation of the competency can be obtained tracking the progress of students developing these activities. This paper presents a proposal to develop and assess this competency, with a six semester experience integrating activities in the degree program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contributing to the acquisition of professional creativity and teamwork skills has been a special challenge for some of the subjects taught at the Technical University of Madrid (UPM), and this has been a starting point for the work described in this paper. Some professors have intuited that the use of cooperative classrooms could facilitate the acquisition of these skills. We describe the new methodologies applied within cooperative classrooms by some professors, and present the procedure for measuring students' perception of their own learning outcomes, skill improvements, and overall satisfaction with the use of this kind of classroom. For this project, 250 students enrolled in several subjects answered a questionnaire. The features of the subjects involved in the project are widely disparate. We present the results of the statistical analysis with special emphasis on creativity and teamwork skills, and we conclude that the use of cooperative classroom has a positive influence on the acquisition of these skills. This work has the added value of being the first analysis of student perception of the use of cooperative classroom in the acquisition of creativity and teamwork skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: In this work, Process Mining techniques are used with a curricular analytics approach, to model the educational trajectories of engineering students during their first courses. Curricular analytics is the area of learning analytics that looks for insights and evidence on the relationship between curricular elements and the degree of achievement of curricular outcomes. For higher education institutions, curricular analytics can be useful for identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the curricula and for justifying changes in learning pathways for students. This work presents the study of curricular trajectories as processes (i.e., sequence of events) using process mining techniques. Specifically, the Backpack Process Model (BPPM) is defined as a novel model to unveil student trajectories, not by the courses that they take, but according to the courses that they have failed and have yet to pass. The usefulness of the proposed model is validated through the analysis of the curricular trajectories of N = 4466 engineering students considering the first courses in their program. We found differences between backpack trajectories that resulted in retention or in dropout; specific courses in the backpack and a larger initial backpack sizes were associated with a higher proportion of dropout. BPPM can contribute to understanding how students handle failed courses they must retake, providing information that could contribute to designing and implementing timely interventions in higher education institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2011, the School of Engineering at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile launched an alternative admission program to attract talented high-school students from low-income families who would not be accepted by the conventional admission process but have otherwise shown outstanding academic results at the high-school level. Applicants came from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, and were admitted through a formal process that looked for personal skills beyond standardized test results. Students accepted through the alternative admission program showed promising academic gains after their first year of college, a result that has repeated across cohorts. Proper academic and psychological support was needed to level out the disparities in students’ prior knowledge of science and math fundamentals. Future work is required to explore the principal factors affecting academic performance of underrepresented students who are not part of the schools’ dominant culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This combined interview and survey study explored the relationship between interview data and data from an inventory describing engineering students’ ratings of their approaches to studying. Using the 18-item Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) students were asked to rate their approaches to studying in relation to particular statements. A subsample of nine first-year engineering students participated in subsequent interviews exploring their experiences of studying and learning. The students’ views were examined and interpreted into inventory scores which were compared to the students’ actual ratings. The interviews confirmed the scales measured in the inventory and provided illustrations to them. While students who were extreme in either approach were easier to interpret, others provided a good example of the complex combination of approaches that can exhibit itself in one individual. The study illustrates how combined data sets can contribute to achieve a holistic understanding of student learning in its context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine students’ computer attitudes and experience, as well as students’ perceptions about the use of two specific software applications (Google Drive Spreadsheets and Arquimedes) in the Building Engineering context. The relationships among these variables were also examined. Ninety-two students took part in this study. Results suggest that students hold favourable computer attitudes. Moreover, it was found a significant positive relationship among students’ attitudes and their computer experience. Findings also show that students find Arquimedes software more useful and with higher output quality than Google Drive Spreadsheets, while the latter is perceived to be easier to use. Regarding the relationship among students’ attitudes towards the use of computers and their perceptions about the use of both software applications, only a significant positive relationship in the case of Arquimedes was found. Findings are discussed in terms of its implications for practice and further research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The problem of assigning students to teams can be described as maximising their profiles diversity within teams while minimising the differences among teams. This problem is commonly known as the maximally diverse grouping problem and it is usually formulated as maximising the sum of the pairwise distances among students within teams. We propose an alternative algorithm in which the within group heterogeneity is measured by the attributes' variance instead of by the sum of distances between group members. The proposed algorithm is evaluated by means of two real data sets and the results suggest that it induces better solutions according to two independent evaluation criteria, the Davies–Bouldin index and the number of dominated teams. In conclusion, the results show that it is more adequate to use the attributes' variance to measure the heterogeneity of profiles within the teams and the homogeneity among teams. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The interest on engineering and scientific studies can be raised up even from the early years of academic instructional process. This vocation may be linked to emotions and aptitudes towards technological education. Particularly, students get in touch with these technological issues (namely STEM) during the Compulsory Secondary Education in Spain (12–16 years old).This work presents a preliminary evaluation of how relevant is Gardner's multiple intelligence theory (MIT) in the teaching–learning process within the Technology Lessons. In this sense, MIT was considered as an explanation variable of the emotional response within the different educational parts (so-called syllabus units, SU) in the Technology spanish curriculum. Different intelligence style (IS) will orient the student to a vision of the engineering and technology. This work tries to identify which relationships can be established between IS and specific technology and engineering learning. This research involved up to 135 students were subsequently tested about their predominant (IS) and on the emotions that arouse in them when working with each SU. The results were statistically significant and only those with a Logic-arithmetic or Environmental IS were not affected by the SU.Best teaching and learning practicesare required for encouraging further engineering studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews history, analyses principles and presents a modern interpretation of advanced engineering education (AEE). AEE originated in France, was adapted in Germany and reached its zenith in the second half of the twentieth century as part of technological efforts induced by the space race. AEE is an enhanced form of education aimed at producing inventors, thinkers and leaders capable of bringing new technological changes and scientific revolutions. AEE introduces a challenging educational environment that is generally addressed to the most enthusiastic and capable students; it is not necessarily suitable for the mainstream education. The role of AEE is projected to increase as the world becomes a global knowledge society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flipped classroom model is an innovative educational trend that has been widely adopted in the social sciences but not engineering education. In this model, an active instructional approach shifts the educational strategy from a teacher- to a student-centred approach. The purpose of this study is to compare the learning outcomes of engineering students attending a flipped-model section of the Dynamics of Structures course with students attending a traditional, lecture-based section of the same course taught by the same instructor. The results confirm previous research showing that test scores in the flipped course sections were slightly higher than traditional sections. Although the improvement in test scores was statistically insignificant, student statements indicated that the flipped model promoted a deeper, broader perspective on learning, facilitated problem-solving strategies and improved critical-thinking abilities, self-confidence and teamwork skills, which are needed for a successful engineering career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]