Technology Education Curriculum Research Articles

Maker in Electrical Engineering Education Based on Emergent Technology: Mapping Study

“Hands-on activities” with emergent technology is being integrated into the curriculum of Electrical Engineering education. This mapping study carry out an overview of the evidence of the Making movement using emergent technology in Electrical Engineering education. Primary studies in the literature were selected, classified and analysed according to the type of technology used and, the design-based research (DBR) intervention. 20 primary studies were identified. Making related to activities with Robotics is the application most used at the undergraduate level. The most of the studies reported an intervention focused on the instructional approach of the curriculum unit and, that students improved motivation.

Sustainable Development and Sustainability in Engineering Education in Nigeria

Following the United Nation’s pronouncement of 2005-2014 as the Decade for Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), education and particularly Higher Education was earmarked as the most convenient and appropriate vehicle for advancing training and awareness for sustainability and sustainable development. This study reviewed articles to investigate the level of awareness about ESD among engineering stakeholders in Nigeria and also to investigate the various approaches that could be used to integrate Sustainability in Engineering Education curriculum in Nigeria. The study employed a systematic review on Sustainable Development and Sustainability in Engineering Education in Nigeria. Articles on Sustainability Education and Sustainability in Engineering were analyzed using inductive content analysis. The review showed that, there is lack of awareness about ESD even among engineering stakeholders; and approaches such as: modular/ Bolt-in, Project Based Learning (PBL), Integrative Learning, Problem Project Based Learning (PPBL), amongst others were found out to be used by scholars in other parts of the world for incorporating sustainability in their Engineering Education programs. It could be a Stand-alone or an Integrated course. The researcher therefore suggests the use of any of these approaches to institutions and faculties planning to integrate sustainability in their programs. This study recommends that; for sustainable education to yield a meaningful result, Government should create awareness about the need for sustainability in the country. This can be done through Sustainability Education intervention and implementation of Sustainability Policies.

Investigating Students’ Sustainability Awareness and the Curriculum of Technology Education in Pakistan

Various fields of manufacturing, management, and business, including technology education, software development, and information communication technology (ICT), have espoused sustainability concepts. Including sustainability concepts in technology, education can help students learn how to implement the dimensions of sustainability (economic, social, and environmental). Lack of awareness and education regarding sustainability among students can impact their competence to incorporate sustainability into technology development. Thus, the development of student competence across the curriculum of technology education for sustainability is crucial. This research aims to explore student competence development in technology education (IT, computer science, and software development) through investigating their awareness of sustainability, and to investigate how much sustainability is infused across the technology education curriculum. The case study for this research is taken from a very populous and developing country—Pakistan. First, an in-depth survey of higher education students is conducted to investigate their awareness level of sustainability. Second, qualitative document analysis is conducted, where the standard curriculum for technology education is taken and analyzed for its provision towards sustainability. A total of 159 students from various public-sector universities of Pakistan reported their awareness towards sustainability. The results show that 71% of them are unaware of the term sustainability in their respective fields, only 17% students know the basic definition of sustainability, and 12% of students have just an idea of how sustainability is related to technology education. It is also observed that the current curriculum of technology education does not sufficiently cover specific subjects or topics that can help students understand the concepts of sustainability. This study highlights the gaps in the offered curriculum for building the desired competence of students in technology education.

Exploring Care Providers' Perceptions and Current Use of Telehealth Technology at Work, in Daily Life, and in Education: Qualitative and Quantitative Study.

BackgroundA telehealth technology education curriculum designed to integrate information technology and telecommunication well has great potential to prepare care providers for health care delivery across space, time, and social and cultural barriers. It is important to assess the readiness level of care providers to use and maximize the benefits of telehealth technology in the health care delivery process. Therefore, this study explored care providers’ existing experience using technology in various use contexts and compared their familiarity with telehealth technology’s relevant features.ObjectiveThis study’s objective was to explore care providers’ familiarity with using technology in different settings and their perceptions of telehealth-driven care performance to lay a foundation for the design of an effective telehealth education program.MethodsThe study used quantitative and qualitative analyses. The online survey included four items that measured care providers’ perceptions of care performance when using telehealth technology. Advanced practice registered nurse students rated each item on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (“strongly disagree”) to 7 (“strongly agree”). They also responded to three open-ended questions about what kinds of health information technology they use at work, after work, and in their current educational program.ResultsA total of 109 advanced practice registered nurse students responded to the online survey and open-ended questionnaire. Most indicated that using telehealth technology enhances care performance (mean 5.67, median 6.0, SD 1.36), helps make their care tasks more effective (mean 5.73, median 6.0, SD 1.30), improves the quality of performing care tasks (mean 5.71, median 6.0, SD 1.30), and decreases error in communicating and sharing information with others (mean 5.35, median 6.0, SD 1.53). In addition, our qualitative analyses revealed that the students used the electronic health records technology primarily at work, combined with clinical decision support tools for medication and treatment management. Outside work, they primarily used video-text communication tools and were exposed to some telehealth technology in their education setting. Further, they believe that use of nonhealth technology helps them use health information technology to access health information, confirm their diagnoses, and ensure patient safety.ConclusionsThis research highlights the importance of identifying care providers’ existing experience of using technology to better design a telehealth technology education program. By focusing explicitly on the characteristics of care providers’ existing technology use in work, nonwork, and educational settings, we found a potential consistency between practice and education programs in care providers’ requirements for technology use, as well as areas of focus to complement their frequent use of nonhealth technologies that resemble telehealth technology. Health policymakers and practitioners need to provide compatible telehealth education programs tailored to the level of care providers’ technological familiarity in both their work and nonwork environments.

Development and Validation of a Technological Literacy Survey

Technological literacy (TL) as the goal of technology education guides the construction of the technology education curriculum in China. Previous studies investigating technological literacy were limited to K-12 students and had some ambiguities in the definition of technology, theoretical framework, and assessed criterion, and a measurement instrument for use among the Chinese public is lacking. To address this need, the Technological Literacy Scale for the Chinese Public (TLSCP) was developed in this study. Based on DeVore’s infrastructure of technology and seven taxonomies of technologies proposed by the International Technology Education Association, the complexity, contents, and components of technology in the TLSCP were ensured. Combined with previous dimensions proposed by the National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council and the goal of classification in the Chinese High School General Technological Curriculum Standards, a new classification of technological literacy incorporating technological attitude (TA), technological knowledge (TK), and technological capacity (TC) was developed. Through a 4-point Likert-type scale, Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Objectives, and Quellmalz Taxonomy, the content of the items in the TLSCP can be evaluated objectively. Data obtained from 1117 people in 31 provinces and municipalities were included in a pilot test investigating the reliability, validity, difficulty and discrimination ability of the TLSCP. The three dimensions of the TLSCP were reliable [TA (α = 0.889), TK (α = 0.693), and TC (α = 0.726)], the content validity was verified by seven experts in the fields of technology education, machinery and materials, and psychological assessment, and the construct validity (λ > 0.5) was good. Moreover, the difficulty of the items (p between 0.35 and 0.67) was appropriate, and item discrimination (rpb between 0.30 and 0.67) was acceptable. The TLSCP was useful for addressing the deficiencies in TL measurement instruments in China and improving the theoretical basis of international TL evaluations. It may be a good template for others who want to develop such an instrument in a different culture.

A future-focused approach to the technology education curriculum: the disparity between intent and practice

The recently revised New Zealand Curriculum in technology education [Ministry of Education (MoE) Digital technologies: Hangarau Matihiki, Wellington, 2017. https://education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Ministry/consultations/DT-consultation/DTCP1701-Digital-Technologies-Hangarau-Matihiko-ENG.pdf] presents opportunities for teachers to provide a future-focused approach to learning. Teacher perceptions about the nature of their subject and the discourse within their school however, influence how the curriculum is interpreted, for enactment. This article reports findings from Ph.D. research that explored the disparity between the intent of the technology curriculum and the practice of five technology teachers, in two secondary school settings. There is a focus on the ways that teachers might be supported to navigate challenges and enable change in their practice, if they are motivated to enact technology education in a future-focused way. Teachers’ interpretation and enactment of the New Zealand curriculum are heavily influenced by others’ understanding of their subject, and the organisational structures in their school. A threshold concept is presented as a strategy to transform teachers’ thinking, when making meaning of the curriculum, and to develop their knowledge for practice. Recommendations are made regarding the necessary changes in thinking and practice in technology education in New Zealand, to address a further disparity between what school-based practitioners believe students need and what academic researchers assert is important in contemporary education. Initial Teacher Education Programmes are briefly discussed as a means of addressing this issue from another perspective, to ensure that student teachers are exposed to future-focused conceptions of the curriculum at University, to compensate when such practice is not observed during their school placements.

Academic Performance Improvement Procedure of University Students Applying Total Quality Management: A Case of Bangladesh

The main focus of this case study is developing academic performance and sustainable improvement of academic knowledge. Most Engineering students get depressed when they can not understand the topics and fail to cut a good figure in the semester final exam. It is an alarming reason why their Cumulative Grade Point Avarage become poor. About 80-90% of engineering students in Bangladesh blame the curriculum and system but it is not easy to change the system rapidly. The irony of fact is that memorizing books is the most effective way for good academic performance in Bangladesh. The Engineering Education Curriculum is mainly memorizing based. Students have to learn a lot of theory and write them for the exam as given in reference books to get good marks. This system makes students bookish and discourages them from creativity and innovation. The evaluation system in this educational system only represents how much a student spends time for academic studies not the creativity, intelligence, passion and dedication etc. This makes frustrated who are involved in innovative projects, research or contests. Without creativity and innovation, it is not possible to advance the science and technology which is the main purpose of Engineering. A way or method is required to improve performance and result in the existing condition. In this research, a structured method has been developed to achieve a satisfactory academic result besides other innovative activities.

Analysis of iTeach 2017 Contest Works and Suggestions for Educational Technology Students Training

iTeach contest works is the display window of educational technology students’ ability of instruction design, computer programming, software UI, and so on. It can also give out lots of information about China educational technology curriculum implement status, and students training focuses. The analysis of iTeach contest works is not only an inspection of the training quality of educational technology students, it’s also a process of communication of training experience of educational technology students. The article takes 196 educational technology students’ works from 2017 annual contest as samples, and conducts quantitative statistics from six aspects, including qualifications of contestants, work types, target users, distribution types and authoring tools. The analysis of the works shows there are many fresh work topics, creatively used technologies, specific information technology application in the contest works. The statistics also reveal some points should be paid attention to during the course of educational technology student development. Lastly, based on contest experts' interview, the article puts forward some suggestions for educational technology student training, including the reflection of curriculum structure, the construction of authentic curriculum resources, the implementation of curriculum quality standards, the integration of practical teaching system and scientific research feeding back teaching.

Self-Reliance through Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competency of Technical/Engineering Polytechnic Students in Nigeria

The study aimed at assessing the adequacy of innovative and entrepreneurial competency of Technical /Engineering students of Plateau State Polytechnic for self-reliance. It was primarily sought to determine whether they were opinions of final year Technical and engineering students. A descriptive survey design was adopted where 120 respondents were randomly selected from the School of Technical Education and Engineering. 45 items structured questionnaire was used for the collection of data related to innovation and entrepreneurship competency in order to be self-reliant. The instrument was validated by three experts; two from Plateau State Polytechnic and one from the private sector. Data were analyzed using the descriptive statistic to determine the mean and the standard deviation of respondents. The findings of the study revealed that final year students need innovative and entrepreneurial competencies for self-reliant after graduation. The study also showed that the training provided is not sufficient for the prospective graduates to be able to face the challenges in the myths of job scarcity. Recommendations based on the findings of the study was highlighted which includes the need for a complete overhauling of Technology Education curriculum to reflect the current realities.capable of setting up small-scale business after graduation. Three research questions were formulated to seek

Manpower development through relevant technology education curriculum for sustainable poverty alleviation

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the present curriculum being used to the development of technological manpower in our technical colleges is relevant, adequate in content, effective and enough to make the recipients self-employed for sustainable poverty alleviation. A total of 50 respondent comprising 20 technical teachers and 30 final year students from technical colleges formed the sample of the study. A set of questionnaire was used for data collection while the target population was all teachers and students. A total of three research questions were and simple percentage was used to analyze the data collected. The findings revealed that, the currently used curriculum in technical colleges is inadequate, not very relevant, no enough time for practical and cannot earn the products self-employment for sustainable poverty alleviation.
 Keywords: education, sustainable development, curriculum, sustainable development, poverty alleviation, poorness, life standard

Perspectives and Issues on the New National Curriculum of Technology Education from a Viewpoint of Technological Literacy

Perspectives and Issues on the New National Curriculum of Technology Education from a Viewpoint of Technological Literacy

Content Analysis of Curriculum Syllabus for the Educational Technology Discipline Based on Entrepreneurial Competencies

Background: Entrepreneurship education seeks to provide students with knowledge, skills, attitudes, and motivation to encourage entrepreneurial success in a variety of settings. The purpose of the present study was to perform content analysis of curriculum syllabus for the educational technology discipline based on entrepreneurial competencies. Methods: The research population consisted of all 763 academic curriculums of the educational technology discipline at the University of Tehran during years 2016 to 2017, where the census sampling method was used for their selection. To select them, the purposive sampling method in the entrepreneurs section and census sampling method in the educational technology course syllabus section were used. The research tool in this study was a semi-structured interview and a content analysis checklist was used. This study used a summative qualitative content analysis approach. Initially, interviews were carried out with 12 entrepreneurs to extract entrepreneurial competencies. Then, based on their competencies, a content analysis checklist, including 46 entrepreneurial competencies, was designed in a subset of 6 categories, so that the presence of entrepreneurial competencies in the syllabus of the undergraduate educational technology curriculum was analyzed. To determine the validity of the tool, content validity was used and a check list was provided to three educational specialists and was approved and used after correction. The content analysis construct validity was verified by supervisors, consultants, and entrepreneurs and its reliability was calculated as 94% using William Scott’s method. Results: The results showed that the presence of entrepreneurship competency structure among the curriculum syllabus of educational technology at Tehran University did not have a desirable condition. Conclusions: Therefore, it is imperative that higher education professionals and curriculum developers should take the necessary steps to push students towards entrepreneurship in terms of reviewing the curriculum in educational technology at Tehran University.

Design of an authentic innovation project in Swedish upper secondary technology education

Recent studies on the Swedish work force show that about half of all jobs demand a high degree of self-governing. In preparing students for the future, the World Economic Forum suggests that schools should also teach social skills, creativity and critical thinking. According to the Swedish upper secondary curriculum, the subject of technology should allow students to develop entrepreneurial skills, defined as supporting curiosity, confidence, creativity and courage, resulting in the ability to act, in innovation and problem solving. This vision is related to the notion of authentic learning. Reeves, Herrington and Oliver define authenticity through nine key elements, namely, authentic context, authentic task, presence of expert performances, multiple perspectives, collaboration, reflection, articulation, metacognitive support and authentic assessment. The aim of this study is to map these key elements of authentic learning onto the development and design of a five-week innovation project for implementation in a Swedish upper secondary school context. The mapping process involved first synthesising literature in the area of authentic learning in conjunction with studying Swedish technology education curriculum materials. This was followed by describing the characteristics of each key element of authentic learning in terms of proposing activities for implementation as an innovation project (IP). The results of this study show how criteria of nine elements of authentic learning could be used in designing an innovation project (IP) module in an authentically cogent way. Thus the authenticity framework served as a valid theoretical tool to produce the authentic learning module.

Soft Skills in Pedagogical Practices with Different Curriculum for Engineering Education

The rapid growth of the economy in Malaysia is a benchmark for the country’s progress. The demand for skilled worker has started to increase from year to year resulted in the implementation of reforms and necessary skills will be applied to each of the graduates who will step into the nature of work. Therefore, a study was conducted to identify the level of soft skills among students in higher education institutions. The study was conducted at the Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) and involved 302 samples of final year students from Faculty of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. There are several types of soft skills have been viewed on the students such as creative thinking skills, teamwork skills, communication skills, decision-making skills, interpersonal skills and leadership skills. The analysis results show that all of the soft skills are on the high level. Furthermore, the results of ANOVA showed a significant difference in soft skills mastery among Civil Engineering students and Mechanical Engineering students. As a conclusion, the overall level of soft skills mastery among Faculty of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering students is on the high level. The soft skills elements are very important in order to produce skills workers that suitable with the industry.

The effects of activities about knowing our body unit to students 'success, scientific process skills, attitudes

In this study was intended to investigate the activities of the unit “Meet Our Body” in the Science and Tecnology course of the fourth grade in primary school education and whether there is a significant difference between this unit and the alternative activities designed by the researchers for the unit in terms of the accesablity of the target behaviours. In the study, both survey model and experimental model have been used. First, the opinions and suggestions of 50 primary education class teachers in Bursa regarding the current curriculum was handled. Then, development activities designed by the researchers was applied on the sample group consisting of 70 fourth grade students. The applications, which were planned as three hours per week, lasted 6 weeks in 2010- 2011 academic year spring term. The Unit Achievement Tests, The Teacher Curriculum Sight Survey, The Scientific Process Skills Scales, The Teacher Activity Assessment Survey and developed by the researchers and The Attitude Scale Towards Science and Tecnology Courses were used as data collection instruments in the present study. In the data analysis, the SPSS 11.5 statistics program was used and mean score, frequency, percentage, standard deviation, variance and t-test calculations through this program. Consequently, it was found that the alternative activities are more efficiently than unit activities on solving the basic problems the matter of time and the crowded classes. Furthermore, it was found that the alternative activities are more efficiently than unit activities on students’ achievements, attitudes towards to Science and Tecnology and the development of scientific process skills. It is thought of that, the development activity designs are assisted the usage of the Science and Technology education curriculum more efficiently. Keywords: Curriculum development, science education, activity, attitude, scientific process skill

Benchmarking the Intended Technology Curricula of Botswana and South Africa: What Can we Learn?

Following a transformation of experience-based handicraft education, Technology education was introduced in Botswana and South Africa in 1990 and 1998, respectively, with the intention of developing technologically literate societies, as well as to develop learners’ skills for the world of work. Despite these optimistic intentions, limited comparative research is available regarding the intended Technology curricula of these two Southern African Development Community countries, specifically regarding strengths and potential areas for improvement. Framed in the ‘curriculum evaluation as grading practice through process’ theory, this study analysed the intended Technology education curricula in comparable high school phases of Botswana and South Africa for benchmarking purposes. The study identified information that could be utilised to strengthen the curriculum of each country. Document analysis was applied to analyse particular design elements and their contribution to the quality of the curriculum using a validated structured curriculum benchmarking instrument developed by Umalusi, the South African Council for Quality Assurance. The study revealed that both the Botswana and South African Technology curricula have several strengths, including explicit guidance for the preferred subject-specific assessment to be used, as well as extensive coverage of a number of similar topics. Areas for curriculum improvement also emerged from the study, in particular the avoidance of some irrelevant subject matter, modifying the emphasis away from preparation for continuing training in Technology education, the inclusion of enterpreneurial learning and increased subject-specific pedagogical guidance. Several of the strengths and areas for improvement identified were used to frame a set of recommendations for strengthening the quality of the two curricula. Through these recommendations, the study made an important contribution to the fulfilment of the original intentions for the subject, which are to develop technologically literate societies and help learners to prepare for the world of work.

INDUSTRY 4.0 LEARNING FACTORY DIDACTIC DESIGN PARAMETERS FOR INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

To manage the impact of Industry 4.0 on industrial engineering (IE) education curriculum requirements, realistic teaching and learning infrastructure such as a learning factory are required. This paper scans the literature to determine Industry 4.0’s principles and interactions with IE and a learning factory, surveys relevant universities by questionnaire to determine its current status and practices, and formulates didactic design parameters for an Industry 4.0 learning factory to support IE education in South Africa, making use of existing models of cyber-physical systems and learning factory morphology. In other results, the technical universities are discovered to be more positively disposed, in general terms, to developing an Industry 4.0 learning factory than are the traditional programmes which, with one exception, prefer computational facilities. Of ten universities that offer IE, only one — a traditional programme — has made significant progress towards creating an Industry 4.0 learning factory.Â

Changes in Curriculum for the Technology Subject of High School in Korea

이 연구의 목적은 고등학교에서의 기술교과 교육의 변천 과정상의 특징을 찾고 그 특징을 분석하는 것이다. 이 연구에서는 교육과정 변천의 특성에 따라 시기를 구분하고 시기별 과목명의 변천과 주당 이수시간의 변화, 각 교육과정별 교육 목표, 주요 내용, 지도 및 평가상의 유의점을 비교 분석하여 변화 추이를 알아보았다. 교육과정의 시기별 구분은 기술 과목이 독립적으로 존재하느냐, 통합과목의 일부 영역으로 존재하느냐에 따라 ‘독립 과목기’와 ‘통합 과목기’로 구분하였다. 독립 과목기는 제1기(1969. 9. 개정교육과정시기), 제2기(1974. 12. 개정교육과정시기), 제3기(1981. 12. 개정교육과정시기), 제4기(1988. 3. 개정교육과정시기)로 구분하고, 통합 과목기는 제5기(1992. 10. 개정교육과정시기), 제6기(1997. 12. 개정교육과정시기), 제7기(2008. 9. 개정교육과정시기), 제8기(2011. 8. 개정교육과정시기), 제9기(2015. 9. 개정교육과정시기)로 구분하여 시기별 교육과정의 목표와 내용, 평가 및 지도상의 유의점을 분석하여 변천의 특징을 분석하여 다음과 같은 결론을 도출하였다. 첫째, 고등학교 교육과정에서의 기술교육은 제1기부터 제5기까지는 ‘기술’과의 명칭으로 독립된 과목으로 존재하다가 제6기부터 ‘기술․가정’과로 과목명이 바뀌면서 다른 교과와 통합된 형태로 변화하였다. 둘째, 양적인 측면에서 시수의 감축 및 필수교과에서 선택교과로의 변화 등 고등학교 교육과정에서 기술교육이 차지하는 중요성이 점차 낮아졌다. 셋째, 질적인 측면에서 기술의 영역을 중심으로 단원을 설정하였던 것에서 핵심 개념 중심으로 기술교육의 내용을 구성하는 방식으로 변화하였다. 넷째, 기술교육의 목표가 직업에 관련된 기술적 능력을 중시하던 것에서 일반교육으로서의 기술적 소양을 강조하는 것으로 변화하였다. 다섯째, 기술교육의 방법과 평가방법이 지식의 전달이나 전통적인 실습, 결과 중심의 평가에서 학생의 활동 중심 수업과 수행 및 과정 중심 평가로 변화하였다.The purpose of this study is to find out the characteristics of transition process of technology education curriculum at Korean high school and to compare and analyze its characteristics. In this study, the transition period of the curriculum was divided into the period when the technology subject was an independent course and the period when it was a part of the integrated course, educational objectives, main contents, guidance and evaluation. The period of the curriculum is divided into ‘independent subject’ and ‘integrated subject’ depending on whether the technology subject exists independently or whether it exists as a part of integrated subject. The independent subject period is divided into the first period(revised curriculum in 1969), the second period(revision curriculum in 1974), the third period(revised curriculum in 1981), the fourth period (revised curriculum in 1988) and the 5th period(revised curriculum in 1992). The integrated courses are divided into the 6th period(revised curriculum in 1997), the 7th period(revised curriculum in 2008), the 8th period(revised curriculum in 2011), the 9th period(revised curriculum in 2015). The characteristics of the transition were analyzed by analyzing the goals, contents, evaluation and guidance points of the curriculum by period. First, the subject name of high school changed from ‘Technology’ to ‘Technology․Home economics’. Second, in terms of quantitative aspects, the importance of technology education in the high school curriculum is lowered. Third, in terms of qualitative aspect, we changed the method of constituting the content of technology education centered on core concept from the fact that the unit was set up based on the area of technology. Fourth, the goal of technology education changed from emphasizing technological ability related to job to emphasizing technological literacy as general education. Fifth, the teaching method and evaluation of technology education changed from knowledge transfer, traditional practice, result-based evaluation to activity-based instruction and performance-based and process-based evaluation of students.

Teaching customer-centric operations management – evidence from an experiential learning-oriented mass customisation class

ABSTRACTThe increase of individualised customer demands and tough competition in the manufacturing sector gave rise to more customer-centric operations management such as products and services (mass) customisation. Mass customisation (MC), which inherits the ‘economy of scale’ from mass production (MP), aims to meet specific customer demands with near MP efficiency. Such an overarching concept has multiple impacts on operations management. This requires highly qualified and multi-skilled engineers who are well prepared for managing MC. Therefore, this concept should be properly addressed by engineering education curricula which needs to keep up with the emerging business trends. This paper introduces a novel course about MC and variety in operations management which recalls several Experiential Learning (EL) practices consistently with the principle of an active learning. The paper aims to analyse to which extent EL can improve the efficiency of the teaching methods and the retention rate in the context of operations management. The proposed course is given to engineering students whose’ perceptions are collected using semi-structured questionnaires and analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The paper highlights the relevance (i) of teaching MC, and (ii) of active learning in engineering education, through the specific application in the domain of MC.

Effects Of Web-Based Interactive Modules On Engineering Students’ Learning Motivations

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of a newly developed modules, Interactive Web-Based Visualization Tools for Gluing Undergraduate Fuel Cell Systems Courses system (IGLU), on learning motivations of engineering students using two samples (n1=144 and n2=135) from senior engineering classes. The multivariate analysis results revealed that the participants had a significant increase in their learning motivation after the treatment with the IGLU modules. This result was cross-validated with the two samples, in which the motivation mean posttest scores are significantly higher than the mean pretest scores, systematically (Sample 1: the mean score is increased by 2.09 [.32, 3.87] points, p = .021; Sample 2: the mean score is increased by 1.38 [.14, 2.61] points, p = .029). With the use of instructional technology prevailing in current university courses, the education initiative of the IGLU system and the assessment of its impact on student learning motivation provide us information to improve the modules to serve a more diverse student body. It will greatly help the development of engineering educational curriculum. With regards to the statistical inference, it is desirable to conduct further studies with a quasi-experiment control group design to assess the program effect focusing on student learning and its associations with student learning motivations and learning styles.