Abstract
Problem-solving skill is one of the essential attributes of an engineering graduate. It refers to the ability of the person to analyse a given problem and offer the best solution within the constraints. Engineering curriculum has the mandate of equipping students with skills and competencies in problemsolving. Several factors influence the problemsolving skills in addition to the technical skills and com peten cies o ffered thro ug h cu rri cular interventions. Psychological factors, which are habitual patterns of behaviour, thought and emotion, also influence problem-solving skills. This study focuses on investigating the influence of psychological factors like motivation, perception, stress, team working skills, learning styles, general self-efficacy on problem-solving skills of engineering students. This study focused on first-year students of undergraduate engineering program registered for a course titled Engineering Exploration. This course is a three-credit multidisciplinary course that effectively uses Activity-Based Learning (ABL), Design-Based Learning (DBL) and Project-Based Learning (PBL) pedagogical practices. The data collected for the study was through interviews and the use of well-structured questionnaires administered to first-year students enrolled for the course offered at the university. Results show that the psychological factors of students like motivation, perception, general selfefficacy and teamwork skills have a positive influence on problem-solving skills, while stress has a negative effect. However, the difference in learning styles does not influence problem-solving skills.
Highlights
Engineering problem-solving is one of the vital graduate attributes (Washington Accord)
This study focuses on investigating the influence of psychological factors like motivation, perception, stress, team working skills, learning styles, general self-efficacy on problem-solving skills of engineering students
The subsequent section describes the correlation of all the psychological factors considered with problem-solving skills
Summary
Engineering problem-solving is one of the vital graduate attributes (Washington Accord). The ability to identify, formulate, and solve an engineering problem is the characteristic of this graduate attribute irrespective of engineering discipline (Jonassen D et al 2006). It figures as a prominent program outcome for engineering program accreditation bodies all over the world (ABET, NBA). A study by Worl d Econom ic Forum on employability skills with accelerated innovation cycles concluded in its report that cognitive ability, systems thinking and complex problem-solving would be few of the top skills that today's education system must address. The importance and emphasis on problem-solving skills in the undergraduate engineering curriculum are wellstated better in these references. Indo Universal Collaboration for Engineering Education – Industry Teaching Fellow (IUCEE ITF) in its report on employability of Engineering Graduates in India (2017) mentioned that the gap between industry requirements and graduate capabilities are increasing annually and further states that 60 % of engineering graduates are unemployable
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