Engineering education

About: Engineering education is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 24293 publications have been published within this topic receiving 234621 citations.

Characteristics of engineering systems thinking - a 3D approach for curriculum content

Abstract: The main idea underlying a study of high-tech enterprises was to identify cognitive, personal, and professional characteristics of engineers who have a high capacity for "engineering systems thinking." It was assumed that a curriculum developed to increase an engineer's capacity for "engineering systems thinking" might be developed on the basis of those characteristics. The principal questions that the study asked were: what qualifications (knowledge and skills) should a proficient systems engineers possess, and further, how is "engineering systems thinking" capability acquired? Raw data was gathered from 28 interviews, 14 lectures, and two observation sites. Eighty-three distinct categories of responses emerged. The study's findings were then applied toward the construction of a three-dimensional (3-D) model that would aid in the development of a curriculum designed to increase the capacity for "engineering systems thinking.".

Meeting the needs of industry: the drivers for change in engineering education

Abstract: This paper examines the drivers for change behind the development of ‘experience-led degrees’ that aim to equip students with the employability skills needed by industry. The term ‘experience-led engineering degree’ is derived from the Sainsbury Review and is taken to mean components of an engineering degree that develop industry related skills and which may also include industry interaction.It presents the relevant findings from a study of how engineering degrees meet the needs of industry (Engineering graduates for industry) which used a case study approach to address the research question: “how can we enhance a sustainable world-class higher education engineering sector that meets the graduate recruitment needs of industry?” Six case studies were developed describing examples of experience-led components in engineering departments across England.A number of key messages emerged from the analysis of the case studies. This paper looks in detail at the drivers that lead to change within universiti...

Identifying 21st century STEM competencies using workplace data

Abstract: Gaps between Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and required workplace skills have been identified in industry, academia, and government. Educators acknowledge the need to reform STEM education to better prepare students for their future careers. We pursue this growing interest in the skills needed for STEM disciplines and ask whether frameworks for 21st century skills and engineering education cover all of important STEM competencies. In this study, we identify important STEM competencies and evaluate the relevance of current frameworks applied in education using the standardized job-specific database operated and maintained by the United States Department of Labor. Our analysis of the importance of 109 skills, types of knowledge and work activities, revealed 18 skills, seven categories of knowledge, and 27 work activities important for STEM workers. We investigate the perspectives of STEM and non-STEM job incumbents, comparing the importance of each skill, knowledge, and work activity for the two groups. We aimed to condense dimensions of the 52 key areas by categorizing them according to the Katz and Kahn (1978) framework and testing for inter-rater reliability. Our findings show frameworks for 21st century skills and engineering education do not encompass all important STEM competencies. Implications for STEM education programs are discussed, including how they can bridge gaps between education and important workplace competencies.

Technical and Professional Skills of Engineers Involved and Not Involved in Engineering Service

Abstract: Background Engineers must acquire increasing technical and professional skills to meet pressing global challenges, but fitting training for these skills into already crowded curricula is difficult. Engineering service may provide opportunities to gain such skills; however, prior research about learning outcomes from such activities has been primarily small-scale, anecdotal, or lacking a comparison group. Purpose/Hypothesis We aim to understand whether self-reported learning outcomes differ between engineers involved and not involved with engineering service activities. Specifically, do the two groups experience and learn different technical and professional skills in their engineering activities? Design/Method We used a sequential mixed methods approach that began with interviews and focus groups with 165 participants and continued with a questionnaire administered to over 2,500 engineering students and practicing engineers both involved and not involved with engineering service. Analyses included variable-oriented qualitative analysis and multiple linear regression models to compare perceived technical and professional skills. Results Quantitative results show that engineers involved and not involved with engineering service report comparable perceived technical skills, and that those involved in engineering service report significantly higher perceived professional skills, even when controlling for age, gender, and grade point average. Qualitative results indicate that higher professional skills can be partially attributed to the realistic, complex, and contextualized learning experiences within engineering service activities. Conclusions Engineers involved with engineering service may gain strong professional engineering skills that do not compromise their technical skills. Thus, engineering service may help educate the type of engineers the field needs to confront pressing global challenges.