The Professional Skills Development Challenge in Engineering
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Strathclyde
Department Name: Chemical and Process Engineering
Abstract
The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) recently reported that there is high demand for engineering graduates to fulfil national economic needs in both engineering and non-engineering jobs [1]. However, the real challenge that society faces is the supply of 'job-ready' engineering graduates with the professional skills to face the ever-changing demands of future workplaces. The RAEng urges universities to incorporate in their courses 'experience-led' components such as active learning, project- and problem-based learning (PBL) [2]. Employers report that the top three most desired skills in graduates in 2015 are the "ability to a) work in teams, b) make decisions/solve problems and, c) communicate with others" [3]. However, it is still unclear how active learning and project-based learning can be best exploited within educational contexts to develop professional skills.
The challenge that Higher Education must urgently address is understanding how to develop these skills in an engineering graduate as to inform and improve educational practices. This project will address this challenge by investigating behavioural/performance characteristics of students when working in PBL activities. The proposed project will build on existing research [4] by showing how students develop professional skills in group work, by examining their behaviour in actual teaching settings.
The objective of this project is to establish the link between behaviour patterns, communication skills and the development of problem-solving skills (transition from novice to expert) in the context of collaborative learning (teamwork) to improve the effectiveness of pedagogical practices.
This research work is underpinned by the social cognitive theory of learning [5] and will use a mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) approach to elucidate the links between behavioural and performance characteristics in the skills' domain. This longitudinal study will be carried out over the course of three years in which patterns of student participants taking a year-long class in Chemical and Process Engineering will be observed and analysed.
The findings from this research will directly impact educational practices in higher education and in turn will improve professional skills development of engineering graduates. Likewise, this research will contribute more widely to progress our understanding on skill development in engineering graduates and also of learning processes; how they occur and how can they be affected. Moreover, the project will also add to the body of knowledge and in the emerging discipline of Engineering Education and more widely in Educational Psychology.
Finally, the results of this project will strengthen Strathclyde's current research capability and reputation as a leader in Engineering Education.
[1] Royal Academy of Engineering (2013), Skills for the nation: engineering undergraduates in the UK.
[2] Royal Academy of Engineering (2010). Engineering graduates for industry.
[3] Adams, S (2015). The 10 Skills employers most want in 2015 graduates, Forbes, November 12 online.
[4] Mills, JE, & Treagust, DF (2003). Engineering education-Is problem-based or project-based learning the answer? Australasian J. Eng. Education, 3(2), 2-16.
[5] Mercer, N and Howe, C (2012). Explaining the dialogic processes of teaching and learning: the value and potential of sociocultural theory. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 1, 12-21.
The challenge that Higher Education must urgently address is understanding how to develop these skills in an engineering graduate as to inform and improve educational practices. This project will address this challenge by investigating behavioural/performance characteristics of students when working in PBL activities. The proposed project will build on existing research [4] by showing how students develop professional skills in group work, by examining their behaviour in actual teaching settings.
The objective of this project is to establish the link between behaviour patterns, communication skills and the development of problem-solving skills (transition from novice to expert) in the context of collaborative learning (teamwork) to improve the effectiveness of pedagogical practices.
This research work is underpinned by the social cognitive theory of learning [5] and will use a mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) approach to elucidate the links between behavioural and performance characteristics in the skills' domain. This longitudinal study will be carried out over the course of three years in which patterns of student participants taking a year-long class in Chemical and Process Engineering will be observed and analysed.
The findings from this research will directly impact educational practices in higher education and in turn will improve professional skills development of engineering graduates. Likewise, this research will contribute more widely to progress our understanding on skill development in engineering graduates and also of learning processes; how they occur and how can they be affected. Moreover, the project will also add to the body of knowledge and in the emerging discipline of Engineering Education and more widely in Educational Psychology.
Finally, the results of this project will strengthen Strathclyde's current research capability and reputation as a leader in Engineering Education.
[1] Royal Academy of Engineering (2013), Skills for the nation: engineering undergraduates in the UK.
[2] Royal Academy of Engineering (2010). Engineering graduates for industry.
[3] Adams, S (2015). The 10 Skills employers most want in 2015 graduates, Forbes, November 12 online.
[4] Mills, JE, & Treagust, DF (2003). Engineering education-Is problem-based or project-based learning the answer? Australasian J. Eng. Education, 3(2), 2-16.
[5] Mercer, N and Howe, C (2012). Explaining the dialogic processes of teaching and learning: the value and potential of sociocultural theory. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 1, 12-21.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| A Anderson (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Robert McQuade (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP/N509760/1 | 01/10/2016 | 30/09/2021 | |||
| 1827113 | Studentship | EP/N509760/1 | 01/10/2016 | 30/06/2020 | Robert McQuade |
| Description | Despite the push towards collaborative learning (e.g. PBL) as means of developing the communication and teamwork skills of engineering students, very little research has actually examined the underpinning social processes involved in these interactions within the educational environment, making meaningful interventions near impossible. The central objective of the project, therefore, has been to unpack this 'black box' of student learning to improve the effectiveness of pedagogical practices. Although the project is still very much in progress, it can be said with confidence that the award objectives are being met, and that we are adding to the body of research in both Engineering Education, and Educational Psychology. As intended, since October 2016 we have video-recorded five different undergraduate student groups undertaking a year-long class in Chemical and Process Engineering. This has generated a sizeable data corpus comprising 100+ hours of video/audio footage, permitting the longitudinal examination of naturalistic student behaviours within teaching settings, and more specifically, how students develop professional skills in group work (e.g. Problem-Based Learning). Through the rigorous Conversation Analysis methodology, we have illuminated the interactional mechanics and behavioural practices of students engaging in engineering-based academic tasks in groups. From this catalogue of interactional patterns, we have then been able to determine what does - and does not - 'work' (i.e. what is interactionally (ineffective) to improve the effectiveness of pedagogical practices. Although we are at an early stage in our planned interventions, the principal investigator has already taken forward these analytical findings, using them as the foundation for her newly established pre-semester student workshops for effective teamwork/communications within the module in question. The findings have also been influential in the design of the tutor training programme (e.g. when to intervene) in better elucidating the learning processes and the students' own management of teamwork. One of the most significant achievements from the award has been the dissemination of the project findings at several international conferences within the fields of Engineering Education and Educational Psychology. The project team have also engaged in numerous workshops, symposiums and data sessions at the international level, providing another opportunity for research dissemination, as well as providing invaluable feedback from experts in the relevant disciplines. Another significant achievement from the award has been the publication of the project findings in high-impact/internationally recognised peer-reviewed journals (1 and 2 below), a further paper submission under review (3), as well as being invited to contribute a book chapter to a forthcoming edited volume (4), led by highly influential scholars in the area of student interactions and learning. 1. McQuade, R., Wiggins, S., Ventura-Medina, E., & Anderson, T. (2018). Knowledge disagreement formulations in problem-based learning tutorials: balancing pedagogical demands with 'saving face'. Classroom Discourse, 9(3), 227-243. 2. McQuade, R. M., Ventura-Medina, E., Wiggins, S., & Anderson, T. (2018, September). The role of institutional power in tutorless problem-based learning: students' interactional strategies for self-managing conflict in teamwork. In 46th SEFI Annual Conference. 3. McQuade, R., Ventura-Medina, E., Wiggins, S., & Anderson, T. (Under review). Examining self-managed problem-based learning interactions in engineering education. European Journal of Engineering Education. 4. McQuade, R., Ventura-Medina, E., Wiggins, S., Anderson, T., & Hendry, G. (In press). Students' strategies for managing social loafers in PBL: Interactional means of dealing with unequal participation in group work. In S. Bridges & R. Imafuku (Ed.), Interactional Research into Problem-Based Learning. Purdue Press. |
| Exploitation Route | The research team hope to embark on further projects, using these findings as the basis for meaningful educational interventions in teamwork contexts. By the end of the award period, the entirety of the data corpus will have been analysed in detail, and so, this large body of analytical findings will provide a solid catalogue of interactional patterns involving engineering students during teamwork. Conversation analysis - the methodology in use here - is becoming better recognised as a "tool for social change" and as a means for "applied intervention", so the aim is to use these analyses (i.e. the 'talk' itself) to more effectively support students in their collaborative learning efforts and for tutors to better enable them to do so, via relevant workshops/training (Stokoe, Hepburn & Antaki, 2012, p. 487). Stokoe, E., Hepburn, A., & Antaki, C. (2012). Beware the 'Loughborough School' of Social Psychology? Interaction and the politics of intervention. British Journal of Social Psychology, 51(3), 486-496. |
| Sectors | Education |
| URL | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19463014.2018.1495089 |