Work and Learning in Digital Environments: An Exploratory Qualitative Study of Continuing Professional Education in the Modern Engineering Workplace

Nutwell, Emily; Stein, David

doi:10.1080/07377363.2021.1938805

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The course was originally designed for a total of 2 contact hours and 4-6 hours of independent work for a total of 6-8 hours per week required from the learners. The course duration was extended from 7-weeks to 10-weeks based on learner feedback without introducing additional course materials to make the course more manageable for working adults (Nutwell and Stein 2021). The intent was to increase flexibility for the learners in how they interacted with the course.…”

Section: Program Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Online Course Design For the Engineering Workforce: Bringing Theory to Practice

Nutwell¹,

Mokashi²,

Christy³

2023

Advances

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper describes the course design and evaluation results for an online continuing education program designed for working engineers. Engineering educators have long recognized the value of reducing the gap between the classroom and work environments. Implementing experiential learning in the undergraduate classroom brings much needed context to engineering students who may otherwise lack these real-world opportunities. Continuing education programs face the opposite challenge, where educators strive to bring the course content to working engineers who are already enmeshed in real-world contexts. This program was designed for busy working professionals and contextualizes theoretical concepts of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) with practical application of digital engineering tools. Online delivery enables engineers to learn while remaining in the context of their work environment. The authors describe their collaboration process in the design of this continuing education course. Course survey results provide data to evaluate the course design and to better understand how this nontraditional audience uses continuing professional development courses to stay abreast of technological change. Learners indicated through their survey responses that the course was a positive experience and met their learning goals. However, most students did not continue with the multi-course certificate program and left the program after only one course completion. Higher education institutions are uniquely positioned to create courses and programs that aid this nontraditional audience, the engineering workforce, in adapting to continuously changing technology and engineering practice. This paper presents lessons learned and recommendations for engaging with the community of working engineers as continuing education learners.

show abstract

Section: Program Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%