Abstract
CONTEXT
Numerous studies worldwide indicate that university graduates often lack transferable skills, or employability skills, upon graduation. The bulk of studies however do not consider the use of problem-based learning (PBL) as a means of training for transferable skills development, which could prove to be a more effective approach.
PURPOSE OR GOAL
The key objective of this research is to analyse the effects of PBL in teaching and developing transferable skills to undergraduate students at the School of Engineering in Macquarie University. This study reviews some modern teaching initiatives implemented in one of our SPINE (Scaffolded Professional Development in Engineering) units, ENGG1050, for the effectiveness of transferable and employability skill development. The study investigates student experience from feedback regarding the use of various teaching implementations including an online interactive platform “Miro”, podcast-based lecture videos and a range of weekly interactive PBL activities. The review also sheds light on the importance of a tutor training program in scaffolded instruction delivery for the administration of this unit.
APPROACH OR METHODOLOGY/METHODS
The School of Engineering at Macquarie University has a set of unique and integral units known as the SPINE which spans across the four-year engineering degree program. It is designed explicitly to introduce and develop transferable and employability skills using PBL and scaffolded instructional pedagogies. Specifically, the second unit in our SPINE series, ENGG1050, which runs in the second semester of the first year, has been designed to explicitly address teamwork and the development of a professional brand. This unit includes online modules and an online PBL activity. The PBL is a contextualisation vehicle for students to apply the learning that has been introduced via the online modules. These modules cover topics such as structured problem solving, team formation, collaborative teamwork behaviours and accountabilities. A student survey was used to investigate student experience from feedback and the impact these teaching initiatives have on their development of employability and transferable skills development. The study also contains a review of modern teaching initiatives implemented in this type of first-year subject.
ACTUAL OR ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES
The use of an interactive platform such as “Miro” for the development of a team charter, project plan, and project timeline greatly enhances students’ engagement and participation. The use of podcast videos lectures is a modern approach to a conventional didactic lecture series which has been found to attract and resonate with this generation of student cohort, further enhancing their engagement in the subject matter.
CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS/SUMMARY
The combined use of PBL initiatives is an effective method of delivery and instilling transferable skills such as Teamwork ability and collaborative skills development in first-year Engineering students. The combination of online and digital modalities is an effective and well received method of interacting with students of this generation (millennials/digital natives). Due to the nature of the scaffolded instructional nature of the PBL approach, the tutor training program is an important part of the administration of the unit. Future recommendation for similar work is to consider scalability factors when designing and running large PBL units with scaffolded instructions.
Numerous studies worldwide indicate that university graduates often lack transferable skills, or employability skills, upon graduation. The bulk of studies however do not consider the use of problem-based learning (PBL) as a means of training for transferable skills development, which could prove to be a more effective approach.
PURPOSE OR GOAL
The key objective of this research is to analyse the effects of PBL in teaching and developing transferable skills to undergraduate students at the School of Engineering in Macquarie University. This study reviews some modern teaching initiatives implemented in one of our SPINE (Scaffolded Professional Development in Engineering) units, ENGG1050, for the effectiveness of transferable and employability skill development. The study investigates student experience from feedback regarding the use of various teaching implementations including an online interactive platform “Miro”, podcast-based lecture videos and a range of weekly interactive PBL activities. The review also sheds light on the importance of a tutor training program in scaffolded instruction delivery for the administration of this unit.
APPROACH OR METHODOLOGY/METHODS
The School of Engineering at Macquarie University has a set of unique and integral units known as the SPINE which spans across the four-year engineering degree program. It is designed explicitly to introduce and develop transferable and employability skills using PBL and scaffolded instructional pedagogies. Specifically, the second unit in our SPINE series, ENGG1050, which runs in the second semester of the first year, has been designed to explicitly address teamwork and the development of a professional brand. This unit includes online modules and an online PBL activity. The PBL is a contextualisation vehicle for students to apply the learning that has been introduced via the online modules. These modules cover topics such as structured problem solving, team formation, collaborative teamwork behaviours and accountabilities. A student survey was used to investigate student experience from feedback and the impact these teaching initiatives have on their development of employability and transferable skills development. The study also contains a review of modern teaching initiatives implemented in this type of first-year subject.
ACTUAL OR ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES
The use of an interactive platform such as “Miro” for the development of a team charter, project plan, and project timeline greatly enhances students’ engagement and participation. The use of podcast videos lectures is a modern approach to a conventional didactic lecture series which has been found to attract and resonate with this generation of student cohort, further enhancing their engagement in the subject matter.
CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS/SUMMARY
The combined use of PBL initiatives is an effective method of delivery and instilling transferable skills such as Teamwork ability and collaborative skills development in first-year Engineering students. The combination of online and digital modalities is an effective and well received method of interacting with students of this generation (millennials/digital natives). Due to the nature of the scaffolded instructional nature of the PBL approach, the tutor training program is an important part of the administration of the unit. Future recommendation for similar work is to consider scalability factors when designing and running large PBL units with scaffolded instructions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | 33rd Australasian Association for Engineering Education Conference (AAEE 2022) |
| Subtitle of host publication | Future of Engineering Education |
| Place of Publication | Sydney |
| Publisher | Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AAEE) |
| Pages | 513-523 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781925627756 |
| Publication status | Published - 2022 |
| Event | Australasian Association for Engineering Education Conference (33rd : 2022): Future of Engineering Education - Sydney, Australia Duration: 4 Dec 2022 → 7 Dec 2022 Conference number: 33rd |
Conference
| Conference | Australasian Association for Engineering Education Conference (33rd : 2022) |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | AAEE 2022 |
| Country/Territory | Australia |
| City | Sydney |
| Period | 4/12/22 → 7/12/22 |
Keywords
- Employability skills
- Scaffolded Instruction
- Teamwork
- Modernisation
- Collaboration
- Problem Based Learning (PBL)