An analysis of the use of experiential learning principles for developing professional skills in postgraduate engineering students

Abstract

The engineering and built environment programs of the University of Southern Queensland include a number of coursework and research postgraduate engineering options. Programs offered through coursework include a number of engineering management courses aimed at developing the professional engineering knowledge and skills required for good engineering practice. These courses include advanced engineering project management, asset management in an engineering environment, management of technological risk and project requirements management. They are offered through both on-campus teaching and online in a blended learning environment, and they are normally completed through traditional approaches like written study materials, lectures and tutorials, which are supplemented by other study resources. These traditional teaching approaches are successful, but also have the potential to be improved in the way in which they develop those skills in learners that equip them to be successful professionals through approaches like student-centered learning, authentic assessment and experiential learning. Experiential learning is a particularly useful teaching method, as it not only teaches knowledge and skills, but also reinforces them through a cycle of concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization and active experimentation. This approach is particularly successful when it is combined with other good teaching methods, such as practices designed to enhance and reinforce learning. An example of such practices is providing useful feedback from an early assignment with lower course weighting to a subsequent more difficult assignment, based on similar principles, that carries a considerably higher weighting. These practices can be supplemented by other teaching methods, such as embodied learning, which helps learners to better understand a principle through experiencing the application of theory, and the utilization of modern computer-based instruction material. While experiential learning is a positive approach to developing professional skills, there are also challenges in its implementation, with particular challenges in the online environment. The use of experiential learning approaches to develop professional skills in postgraduate engineering students is discussed, along with how this approach can be improved.