Addressing First-year Issues in Engineering Education

Abstract

Engineering education is being reviewed worldwide, for its approach to developing adaptiue, creatiue, communicalive engineers who can work effectioely in a team and be aware of the broader implications of engineering on society. The first year has been a focus for many coursesfor several reasons, and this paper attempts to col/ale various approaches which have been made across the world relating to first-year issues. The literature is reviewed and discussed alongside the results of a survey, exploring the various difficulties faced in first-year coursesand how the different institutions have addressed these concerns. Six major categories were identified: creating a short introductory course; additional help wilh one aspect of the course; developing a new or overhauled subject; introducing an entire curriculum change; mentoring/ tutoring by staff; peer tutoring. The effectiveness of such approaches is discussed alongside issues regarding implementation.

Globalization and organizational change: engineers’ experiences and their implications for engineering education

“…Many introductory courses for freshmen engineering students have evolved into serious pedagogical initiatives aimed at 'developing an Downloaded by [Simon Fraser University] at 02:53 19 November 2014 awareness of the engineering profession and, in particular, ways of thinking and attitudes necessary for the practitioner' where students welcome teamwork from the beginning (Baillie 1998). Hence, these courses, which often include team problem solving (Porter and Fuller 1998) and/or design team projects (Courter et al 1998) present a great first opportunity to introduce students to the complexities of organizational life, including a basic concept of IPTs.…”

Infused communication skills in an engineering curriculum

“…They will work with upperdivision engineering students who will help evaluate the content of the work done by their peers. Peer feedback and assessment have received positive results and have been utilized to address challenges such as timely and efficient feedback [16] as long as expectations and feedback are consistent [17] and peers are properly trained [18]. Engineering students in the upper level courses will also be able to provide feedback to the lower courses Another key aspect of assessment involves both the long-term reflections of students about their learning experiences and capturing what they learn into some persisting structure.…”

First Year Engineering Students' Approaches to Study

“…As a result, by 1998 departments were still being encouraged to focus on student learning and consider reducing student work volume and address learning styles. 33 Given this decade of support for change in engineering courses the author's departmental learning, teaching and assessment committee decided to seek information on first year students' approaches to studying in 2001. The relationships between the learning conceptions that students hold and their academic ability also requires further exploration for two reasons.…”