Analysis of the use of an accidental competency discourse as a reflective tool for professional placement students

Walther, Joachim; Radcliffe, David; Mann, Llewellyn

doi:10.1109/fie.2007.4417974

Cited by 18 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…To elicit students' accounts of critical learning experiences, the following three types of triggers were used (for more information on the focus group procedure and its use as a reflective tool see Walther, Kellam, Radcliffe, & Boonchai, 2009;Walther & Radcliffe, 2007a).…”

Section: Journal Of Engineering Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engineering Competence? An Interpretive Investigation of Engineering Students' Professional Formation

Walther

Kellam

Sochacka

et al. 2011

J of Engineering Edu

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109

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a BACKGROUNDThere is growing evidence that engineering students' professional formation is shaped by the interplay of explicit learning activities and various influences from the wider educational context. The unintended outcomes of these processes, or Accidental Competencies, formed the lens for an empirical investigation of this social learning system. PURPOSE (HYPOTHESIS)The exploratory inquiry addressed the following research questions. What are influences that contribute to engineering students' professional formation? How does it occur and what are resulting competencies and incompetencies DESIGN/METHODData was collected internationally in focus groups with 67 students in their transition from university into professional practice. The students' accounts were analyzed qualitatively using the software NVivo7. From the iterative analysis based on a grounded theory approach, categories and subordinate clusters of influences, mechanisms, and outcomes emerged. RESULTSThe following three forms of representation provide an authentic view of the social learning system under investigation: (i) a contextual model of competency formation illustrates the complex nature of the learning processes; (ii) an overview of the coding structure presents seven competence clusters (Flexibility, Interaction, Plan, Professional Realities, Self, Social Context and Technical); and (iii) thick descriptions from the students' accounts trace three characteristics of the complex learning processes (compound influences, ambiguity of outcomes, context-dependent nature of learning outcomes). CONCLUSIONEngineering education is a complex system where a range of influences outside the realm of explicit instruction contribute to the development of students as professional engineers. This study provides an evidence-based framework to consider this complexity in reflective teaching practice and innovative curriculum design.

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Section: Journal Of Engineering Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engineering Competence? An Interpretive Investigation of Engineering Students' Professional Formation

Walther

Kellam

Sochacka

et al. 2011

J of Engineering Edu

Self Cite

109

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This focus on a collective exchange was ultimately beneficial in eliciting critical incidents and avoiding theorizing or hypothesizing on the part of respondents (Walther, Radcliffe, & Mann, 2007). The Thai students engaged in rich, shared narratives of actual experiences.…”

Section: Emergent Research Design and Collectivismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Interpretive Research Through the Lens of a Cultural Verfremdungseffekt

Walther¹

2014

J of Engineering Edu

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Background Cross‐cultural studies contribute to engineering education as a globally interconnected field. The methodological challenges posed by research across cultural boundaries must be explored to ensure the quality of such studies. Purpose This article explores challenges and opportunities for insight by examining the effects of researchers' and respondents' cultural norms and values on interpretive research. Method During a prior study of engineering students' competence formation in the United States, Australia, and Thailand, reflections on the project's progression were collected in the primary researcher's log trail. This article analyzes these records through the lens of a Verfremdungseffekt, whereby assumptions underlying the methodology became apparent in its transfer to a different cultural setting. Results Research challenges related to characteristics of Thai culture revealed three methodological insights. The pronounced power‐distance in Thai culture and its effects on the prior study's focus groups highlighted the non‐dualistic nature of interpretive data gathering. The culture's collectivism necessitated significant changes to the data‐gathering tools, thus illustrating the need for an emergent research design in interpretive inquiries. The high‐context communication characteristic of Thai society presented challenges in eliciting and collaboratively analyzing student accounts, and exposed the processes of social construction that characterize both data gathering and interpretation. Conclusion These methodological insights illustrate the importance of an understanding of and engagement with the local context that span the entire research process from making to handling data.

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“…To overcome some of the difficulties associated with deliberate reflection [26], the Studio introduced a range of strategies to develop students' reflective capacities over the course of the semester. These strategies included a reflective, visual journal, short reflective writing activities, and reflective focus groups with six to eight students [27][28]. The focus groups, based on critical incident techniques [29], were conducted three times during the semester and each was followed by a written component to provide students with the opportunity to systematically make sense of the critical learning experiences that were elicited in the focus groups.…”

Section: Student Reflection Reportsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrative learning in a Synthesis and Design Studio: A phenomenological inquiry

Walther¹,

Kellam²,

Costantino³

et al. 2010

2010 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)

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Engineering education is uniquely qualified to make strides towards both a more integrated curriculum and understanding the benefits of an integrated learning experiences, due to the vast amounts of experience with innovative integrative curricular structures. This paper briefly describes an innovative approach to integrate student learning through a four year Synthesis and Design Studio.This provides the context for a phenomenological research study that investigated the nature of students' integrative learning processes. More specifically, the study examined integrative learning through the lens of students' experiences of the focus on deliberate reflection and engagement in the authentic interdisciplinary setting during an interdisciplinary Studio offered in the Fall of 2009. This study consisted of the interpretive analysis of individual reflection reports written by each student after participating in a range of reflective activities over the course of the semester. In addition, the qualitative data included open-ended responses collected from a mid and end-of-semester survey that was conducted externally. The phenomenological analysis of the students' experiences suggests that their development of a professional way of being as a key aspect of integrative learning that emerged gradually from the complex influences of the interdisciplinary educational experience and can be fostered by deliberate, continuous reflection.

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Analysis of the use of an accidental competency discourse as a reflective tool for professional placement students

Cited by 18 publications

References 20 publications

Engineering Competence? An Interpretive Investigation of Engineering Students' Professional Formation

Engineering Competence? An Interpretive Investigation of Engineering Students' Professional Formation

Understanding Interpretive Research Through the Lens of a Cultural Verfremdungseffekt

Integrative learning in a Synthesis and Design Studio: A phenomenological inquiry

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