Undergraduate recognition of curriculum-related skill development and the skills employers are seeking

Hill, Michelle; Overton, Tina; Thompson, Christopher D.; Kitson, Russell R. A.; Coppo, Paolo

doi:10.1039/c8rp00105g

Cited by 55 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The students expect that they will have to interact with others from different disciplines and expect to have to think differently about the project problem. This is in line with evidence that communicating to students what they should be learning enables greater gains in that skill (Hill, Overton, Thompson, Kitson, & Coppo, 2019; and it is the first step in scaffolding the development of a skill. On the other hand, objectively assessing a gain in interdisciplinary effectiveness is difficult and effective assessments of this need to be developed to validate the perceived gains.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Interdisciplinary project-based learning as a means of developing employability skills in undergraduate science degree programs

Hart

2019

JTLGE

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Project-based learning units are often used for large scale work integrated learning (WIL) experiences in Liberal Studies Degrees as they offer scalability and sustainability of delivery to large cohorts. This systematic search and review evaluates the effectiveness of interdisciplinary project-based learning in Science Degree programs for developing discipline knowledge and employability skills. Education literature databases were searched for peer-reviewed journal articles that discussed undergraduate science-based degree programs with project-based learning units involving students from multiple disciplines. Data were analysed for evidence of a skill gain in 6 areas (Discipline knowledge, Communication, Teamwork, Interdisciplinary effectiveness, Critical thinking and problem solving, and Self-management). Projects were assigned to categories based on interdisciplinary breadth and depth. Data was analysed by cross-tabulations, Fisher’s Exact test and by calculating odds ratios (OR), which indicate the effect size. Perception of a skill gain was significantly more likely to be reported than an objectively measured skill gain (p<0.001). Real discipline skill gains were 6.6 times more likely in projects narrow in discipline mix (OR 6.6), however perceived discipline skill gains were high irrespective of project type. Projects with wide interdisciplinarity were significantly associated with perceived gains in interdisciplinary effectiveness (OR 32, p<0.05) and more likely to have perceived gains in communication (OR 2.5) and teamwork (OR 3.4) skills. When projects have greater interdisciplinary breadth or depth, perceived student employability skill gains increase, perceived discipline skill gains are unaffected, however actual discipline skill gains are less reported. Further research and evidence that project-based learning is meeting the desired WIL learning objectives of the curriculum is needed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Interdisciplinary project-based learning as a means of developing employability skills in undergraduate science degree programs

Hart

2019

JTLGE

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“…This reflects a concerning gap in the curriculum, because graduates need to evidence and articulate their own employability to gain opportunities (Oliver, 2015); and being able to identify opportunities, and represent skills in a way that is relevant to employers and roles, is vital to career management (Bridgstock, 2009). Several studies have highlighted the importance of student-focussed communication and assessment to ensure that students actually recognise the skills that they are developing (Hill et al, 2018;. In addition to that, the analysis of the findings of this study highlights the importance of explicitly designing curriculum to help students to understand the career opportunities that they might pursue relative to their specific degree; the skills and abilities that are needed for these; and the experiences through which they might develop and evidence these.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…higher education personnel or employers), student conceptions of employability have only been explored by a small number of studies. Most of these have focussed on the skills or attributes that students perceive as important to employability or where students perceive these to be developed in their degree (Hill, Overton, Thompson, Kitson, & Coppo, 2018;Jackson, 2014;Kavanagh & Drennan, 2008;Sakar, Overton, Thompson, & Rayner, 2016;Tymon, 2013). Other studies have investigated student perceptions of the value of a degree to their employability, and have shown that students perceive higher education as necessary for gaining access to a wider range of jobs, higher pay and a more enjoyable career.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Science students’ conceptions of factors that will differentiate them in the graduate employment market

Jorre

Elliott

Johnson

et al. 2019

JTLGE

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To gain employment and a fulfilling career, students need to understand the skills and knowledge that are important and how to articulate and evidence their employability. Here we report on research investigating science students’ priorities related to immediate employment vs. long-term employability and the factors that students perceive as important to these. We interviewed 138 science students from four Australian universities and found that they were most focused on immediate employment. Students were keen to participate in opportunities to ‘value add’ to their degree, especially those that might help them to gain relevant work experience and professional networks. However, students’ understanding of the relative importance of experiences and skills that would enhance their employability was variable, as was their understanding of the career pathways that they might pursue. Our analysis highlights the importance of explicitly designing curriculum to help students understand the career opportunities available; the skills and abilities needed for diverse careers; and the experiences through which they might develop and evidence these. Furthermore, to engage students, we need to help them to address their greatest and most immediate concerns about gaining employment at graduation, while also setting them up for successful and fulfilling careers.

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“…Also, help the students to connect interdisciplinary concepts and gain other skills necessary to their professional life 19,20 .…”

Section: Pedagogical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Python and Google Colab to Teach Physical Chemistry During Pandemic

Baptista

2021

Preprint

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<div> The present manuscript intends to propose using the Google Colab platform to teach and solve physical chemistry problems using Python computational language. Seven Jupyter notebooks were written and made available for the students via Google Colab supplementary material of the physical chemistry course of the chemical engineering course of the Technological Faculty of the Rio de Janeiro State University. These notebooks include several problems extracted from the course bibliography and solved with the use of Python language. The scripts show how the students can perform linear and polynomial regressions, fit math models to given data, perform numerical integration and plot creation using Python and its standards libraries. The Colab platform was chosen because it is free to use, does not require the installation, setup, and configuration of Python packages and their libraries in the students’ personal computers. It is a multiuser and collaborative environment, ideal for remote classes. The notebooks can be shared between instructor and students or between the students, which easy the communication and track of students’ progress. Indeed, this resource can be useful even after the end of the pandemic. This manuscript describes the platform, its advantages, how it was applied in our physical chemistry course, and the students’ feedback at the end of the term. All notebooks are available as Supplementary Material of the manuscript, translated from Portuguese to English since our course is entirely in Portuguese. I hope the material and experience shared in this manuscript can be helpful to chemistry instructors who intend to abroad their pedagogical methods to engage more students in the undergraduate courses. </div>

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Undergraduate recognition of curriculum-related skill development and the skills employers are seeking

Cited by 55 publications

References 21 publications

Interdisciplinary project-based learning as a means of developing employability skills in undergraduate science degree programs

Interdisciplinary project-based learning as a means of developing employability skills in undergraduate science degree programs

Science students’ conceptions of factors that will differentiate them in the graduate employment market

Using Python and Google Colab to Teach Physical Chemistry During Pandemic

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