Environmental topics in an engineering education

Abdullah, H.

doi:10.1109/melcon.1994.380931

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…This improvement indicates that the LCA module may have been successful in changing some of the students' environmental misconceptions. Many researchers have called for the incorporation of ES into engineering coursework (Abdullah, ; Lamborn, ; Nakajima & Vanderburg, ), including integrating sustainable design starting from the first year of undergraduate engineering studies (Conlon, ). The results of this study suggest that an LCA module holds promise as an effective means toward this goal.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In order to address the discrepancy between the importance of ES and undergraduate students' perceptions and knowledge about ES, many researchers have called for the incorporation of more authentic real‐world lessons incorporating ES into engineering coursework (e.g., Abdullah, ; Lamborn, ; Nakajima & Vanderburg, ) and for instruction in ES to begin in the first year of study (Conlon, ). This sentiment has been echoed by the National Science Board (), which called more specifically for university engineering programs to engage first‐year engineering students in learning experiences that “involve design, imagination, [and] communication, … emphasizing social relevance” (p. 15) and that help students build the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to be practicing engineers.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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First‐Year Students' Environmental Awareness and Understanding of Environmental Sustainability Through a Life Cycle Assessment Module

Weber

Dyehouse

Harris

et al. 2014

J of Engineering Edu

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Background Incorporating environmental sustainability (ES) into engineering education is vital to both individual engineering students' success and to the profession as a whole. This study explores attitudes, conceptions, and misconceptions about ES that students bring to the classroom. A promising framework of design-based research is applied to gauge how instructional innovation can impact student attitudes, conceptions, and misconceptions.Purpose Two questions guided this research: What knowledge and attitudes about ES, particularly those pertaining to engineering, do first-year engineering students have? How can an engineering module focused on life cycle assessment in a first-year engineering course affect students' conceptual understanding to prepare them to develop a robust appreciation of environmental issues and ES in engineering?Design/Method A quantitative research design in the context of a comparative designbased research study was utilized to examine first-year engineering students' environmental awareness coming into the program and changes in their conceptions of ES following their participation in a module that focused on life cycle assessment (LCA). Results/ConclusionFollowing the participation in the LCA module, the intervention was able to address certain misconceptions and support students' shift to deeper understanding about ES. Students' perceptions regarding the complexity of LCA did not change. Including multifaceted issues such as LCA in the teaching of engineering students seems beneficial.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%