Professors' and Students' Conceptualizations of the Learning Task in Engineering Courses

Abstract

W'hat are students expected to learn in engineering courses and how is expertise described in the field of engineering? Eight expert engineering teachers and researchers, two each from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, Cambridge University ill the United Kingdom, Stanford University in the United States, and Monash University in Australia, were asked to describetheir perceptions oflearning in their courses. Three ofthe eight courseschosenfor study were introductory courses; they are described first to show what skills students bring to an engineering program, what the learning task is, and how learning is evaluated. The description of the five advanced courses provides insight into the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes in the program. Next, experts relate expertise in the field to learning in engineering programs. Finally, engineering students from the courses of the experts describe what and how they learn ill their courses. These views are compared with the perceptions of their professors.

Communicating your findings in engineering education: the value of making your theoretical perspective explicit

“…As a researcher one could not assume that one's interpretation of the situation matches that of the students, nor could one assume that all students have the same experience. Some examples of this kind of research are Carew and Mitchell's (2002) study into engineering students' understanding of sustainability and Donald's (1992) research into lecturers' and students' conceptualizations of learning tasks in engineering courses.…”

Untitled

“…Few researchers have focused on the conceptions of engineering professors (Donald, 1992;McKenna & Yalvac, 2007;Van Driel, Bulte, & Verloop, 2007) and even fewer on the conceptions of future engineering professors (Huang, Yellin, & Turns, 2005).…”