Active learning strategies to develop research competences in engineering education

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to implement and evaluate active learning strategies to support engineering students in the development of research competences, contributing to the growing need for a closer relationship between research and teaching.Design/methodology/approachThis study was developed using an action research approach. The data were collected through observations, questionnaire and focus group in order to evaluate the active learning strategies used in the context of the study, based on students' perceptions.FindingsThe results show that the implementation of active learning strategies, such as research-based learning and think-pair-share enhance the development of research competences, namely critical thinking and written communication. Additionally, this approach enables students to develop further their capstone projects, using the standards demanded in research process.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was based mainly on teacher's observation and the participants are undergraduate engineering students enrolled in the course “Scientific Methodology” during 1 academic year.Practical implicationsTwo levels of implications can be identified in this study: (1) for teachers' practice, who can adapt the step-by-step descriptions of the implemented approaches and (2) for research, contributing to the discussion about how to explore the teaching-research relationship in undergraduate courses.Originality/valueThe course of “Scientific Methodology” is part of the curricular structure of most undergraduate engineering programs offered by Brazilian Higher Education Institutions, and this study is a contribution for the improvement of knowledge on how this course may be conducted in an effective and engaging way.

Context-based learning for BIM: simulative role-playing games for strategic business implementations

“…(Druckman and Ebner, 2008). Literature also documents the effectiveness of the active learning methods and adaptive role-play learning schemes for recognizing and empathizing with the stakeholders beyond the technicalities of a given design or engineering problem (Guerra and Shealy, 2018;Rieg et al, 2022). The core concepts of role-playing also correspond to the desired interdisciplinary knowledge, social skills and technical abilities for BIM in terms of coordination, information exchange and teamwork between project stakeholders (Zhang et al, 2019).…”

“…(Druckman and Ebner, 2008). Literature also documents the effectiveness of the active learning methods and adaptive role-play learning schemes for recognizing and empathizing with the stakeholders beyond the technicalities of a given design or engineering problem (Guerra and Shealy, 2018; Rieg et al. , 2022).…”

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“…Such university students believe that technology is capable of solving any problems, so they outsource their responsibilities, exempting themselves from the attributions that are assigned to them. 18 However, Rieg et al, 19 analyzed the Brazilian context and showed that active learning strategies enhance the development of critical and observation skills, in addition to written communication. The association between theory and practice from projects that actively involve and lead the student, makes such students develop skills required by the market, in addition to clarifying and fixing the content taught in class.…”

Rebuilding after Displacement: A Skills Competency Audit of Built Environment Professional Documentation

“…The competencies expected to be demonstrated to achieve accreditation are specified in the professional body documentation. These competencies have regularly been used by education providers to develop learning programmes [14], assess existing training in disaster risk reduction for the built environment sector [15], and discuss educational frameworks that support competence development in built environment conservation [16]. Rather than conducting a questionnaire survey or interviews, which has proved challenging for some authors due to low response rates and difficulties in ensuring representative populations [17], reviewing documentation for each role provided by the relevant professional body was adopted.…”