ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799908923532

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

The need for an international, or at least European, system of recognition of academic and professional qualifications increases as the professional job market becomes more and more international. On the contrary, no widely accepted European system exists at present, not even in engineering, although in this field the situation appears more advanced than in others, thanks to the comparatively great international experience and exchanges in the academic and professional worlds. Thus, notwithstanding a European Community Directive of 1989 that intended to make easy the trans-national mobility of all professionals, and the 1997 ‘Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications Concerning Higher Education in the European Region’ promoted by the Council of Europe and UNESCO, international exchanges and mobility still encounter difficulties, due partly to long-standing prejudices, but also to insufficient mutual knowledge of the different national systems and significance of the degrees awarded. This paper summarizes briefly the present situation in the European Union with regard to recognition and accreditation of engineering degrees and qualifications, illustrates the actions undertaken by Working Group 2 of the EU-supported Thematic Network ‘Higher Engineering Education for Europe’, and advances a tentative proposal with regard to the gradual, bottom-up establishment of a system for mutual recognition and accreditation of degrees and professional qualifications in engineering.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799908923533

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

In the framework of an ISO 9001 certification, a permanent evaluation system of an educational programme has been installed. All students evaluate very frequently the quality of courses and seminars. The evaluations are summarized and made public in such a way that they constitute a regular, quantitative teaching appraisal for every professor and teaching assistant. This system has some advantages, but also unexpected disadvantages: it engenders a lot of work; there are interpretation difficulties; it causes some uneasiness among staff members; and, most importantly, it reinforces the student's attitude of non-involvement.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799908923534

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Comprehensive evaluation is often ignored in much of the development of computer-facilitated learning materials. We need to understand what learning difficulties students have, offer them experiences which allow them w construct coherent and useful mental constructs, and then find out whether we are successful. Formative evaluation involves considering how students perceive elements such as navigation, visual material, formats used for questions, etc. This process of information interchange between developers/teachers and students can provide valuable insights into how students approach learning. Summative evaluation focuses more on whether students can demonstrate attainment of certain learning objectives. Both formative and summative evaluations are needed. In this paper qualitative methods of evaluation will be emphasized. Some evaluation questions are posed in the paper and suitable evaluation strategies which can assist in answering these questions are suggested, such as expert reviews, usability testing, instructional modelling, observations, individual and group interviews, questionnaires, performance measures, and computer logging of student work. Evaluation data from three innovative science projects will be described in the paper.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799908923535

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

The ever faster changes in economy have made quality control an important tool for production and services. There is no problem understanding the wish of industries to implement quality management in education as well. How should schools react then? Is it not so that there is a difference in the notion of quality between industrial and educational needs? The quality of educational processes cannot be measured in time units or expressed in space. Time and space are not unimportant to learning, though. Still, the quality of teaching and learning used to depend mainly on the teacher's competence, dedication and the curricula used. Implementing quality management in education may not just mean giving up a time-honoured attitude. It could also be revolutionary. Why? In a later part, a case study and some reflections on bad teachers are discussed.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799908923536

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

The objective of this paper is to describe a pedagogical strategy for gradual enhancement of creative performance among students by using interdisciplinary hands-on projects. A study was conducted comparing 66 students' performances on creativity in three classes—Fall 1996, Spring 1997 and Fall 1997—consisting of juniors and seniors at Temple University. All the students were tested on the creative opportunities actually taught by the projects presented to the students, theoretical aspects of creativity on a specially designed test and the learning process. The results of evaluation on the creativity of the models, the theory tests and the learning process indicated that the pedagogical strategy did help in gradually enhancing the creativity performance of the students.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799908923537

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

For some time lecturers in a number of UK and other European universities have suggested that some entrants to undergraduate programmes in engineering have lacked basic and necessary mathematical skills. There are now numerous reports that provide evidence supporting this suggestion. This paper describes the results of surveys of students' confidence in basic mathematics and the subsequent diagnostic testing of basic mathematical skills. These results have been used to identify learning needs and to develop ways in which students can be supported. In particular, it has been possible to select those topics that cause students the most concern. They also form the basis of a number of recommendations related to mathematics provision in undergraduate programmes in engineering.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799908923538

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

This paper assesses whether cost engineering is an academic discipline or not. Cost engineering is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on the scientific approach towards management issues in engineering. It is still in a dynamic stage in that its domain is revised periodically. Despite the rapid expansion of its role in practice, it is found that cost engineering is not an academic discipline. In particular, it possesses most of the key attributes that an academic discipline should uphold, but it lacks attributes that are vital for an academic discipline: the expression of human imagination, and a generalized syntactical and conceptual structure. More work is therefore needed to establish cost engineering as an academic discipline. Apart from cultivating the vital attributes, partnerships between the cost engineering industry and academia can also be introduced.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799908923539

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Formal engineering education has about 150 years of tradition in Finland, but engineering as a profession has more than 200 years of tradition. The first Finnish engineers were men of practice, trained by the apprenticeship system, and used the title The Factory Master. In the year 1849, formal education began, but Finnish industry did not begin to employ formally trained engineers until the beginning of this century. The first formally educated engineers were, themselves, not interested in working in industry. The success of formally trained engineers in Finnish industry was reflected later on in the increasing value attached to research and new technologies. This view of science as an important force for production was strengthened further when the Helsinki University of Technology established and expanded its own laboratories.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799908923540

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

This paper focuses on the current situation of engineering education in Israel, the debate over the ways to manage it, and the prospects that a balanced education policy can entail for socio-economic development. Two degrees in engineering, the BTech and BSc, are described. It transpired that the BTech failed to meet the expectations. From the on-going debate about the situation, the need for a balanced policy for engineering education has emerged. This policy is outlined and it is shown that it can not only improve the BTech situation, but also Israel's national innovation system by viewing ‘research’ and ‘applied’ engineers as complementary to, rather than competing with, each other. It is also suggested that this balanced policy should implement project-based instruction in the engineering curriculum, both in the BTech and BSc programmes.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/03043799908923541

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1999

数据来源: Taylor