Transnational recognition and accreditation of engineering educational programmes in Europe: perspectives in a global framework

The present study compares the effects of the cooperative jigsaw II method and traditional teacher-centred teaching method on improving vocabulary knowledge and active-passive voice in English as a foreign language for engineering students and the students' attitudes towards learning English. Jigsaw is a cooperative learning model that involves small groups of 5-6 students teaching each other subject matter with success dependent upon student cooperation. Sixty-six engineering students participated in the study and a pre-test-post-test control group experimental design was employed. The students were randomly assigned into two groups: an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group used cooperative Jigsaw II as an instruction method while the control group used traditional teacher-centred instruction. The groups were administered an achievement test, as a pre-, post-and delayed post-test. The results revealed statistically significant differences in favour of the experimental group on the dependent variables of improving vocabulary knowledge and learning active-passive voice in English. The attitude scale results showed that the cooperative learning experience had a significant positive effect on engineering students' attitudes towards learning English and promoted better interactions among students as well.

Section: The Importance Of Elt In Higher Engineering Education In Turmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of cooperative learning (jigsaw II) method in teaching English as a foreign language to engineering students (Case of Firat University, Turkey)

̇z

2007

“…It must be noted that significance of accreditation and the procedures for achieving it vary greatly from one European country to the other (see Augusti 2006, Augusti 2005. Such differences lead to confusion in the mutual recognition of academic and professional qualifications: consequently, difficulties still remain in the mobility and trans-national acceptance of engineers (and other professionals), notwithstanding that since 1989 a European Directive should guarantee them, at least within the EU.…”

Section: The European Professional Associations and The Accreditationmentioning

confidence: 95%

International dimension in engineering education

Borri

Guberti

Melsa

2007

Engineers of the 21st century will spend appreciable portions of their careers in environments rich with global connections. Therefore, engineering colleges and universities must develop strategies that provide the global perspectives and international experiences that will help their graduates excel in this new world order. The current paper presents some European and American approaches to creating multi-organizational, international partnerships of academic and industrial organizations that emphasize collaborative educational programmes and research efforts that meet the globalization needs of faculty members, students, and industry.

“…Some recent studies in engineering education have concentrated on quality assurance and accreditation aspects, especially with reference to Europe. Augusti (2005Augusti ( , 2006Augusti ( , 2007 describes the present situation and recent advances regarding accreditation of engineering programs in Europe. In the context of making Europe 'the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world', a pan-European system of accreditation of engineering programs and qualifications is essential in order for European engineers to be competitive on a global scale.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

A quantitative assessment of classroom teaching and learning in engineering education

Agrawal

Khan

2008

All stakeholders are aware of the importance of measuring performance in higher education at the university/college level. Generally the performance indicators used for this purpose have focused on graduation rates and/or final examination scores, rather than the performance-enabling processes. Further, the most commonly used method for knowledge transfer is the traditional classroom teaching, which should be tracked/monitored continuously during its delivery process. It can help in the detection and correction of existing and impending problems, if any, in the teaching and learning processes. Further, the students' attitude towards learning, that is, their readiness/willingness and interest should also be taken into consideration while measuring the performance of classroom teaching.In the present paper, the model for measuring classroom performance illustrated by Grygoryev and Karapertrovic (2005) is used to measure the performance of under-graduate Engineering students in two BTech. (Mechanical) courses, namely, fluid mechaincs (FM) and experimental methods and analysis (EMA). Classroom assessment techniques (CATs) along with the statistical process control (SPC) have been used to analyse the learning performance. Further, the data for student's readiness and interest factors are collected and their positive influences on knowledge gain are established.