ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/0304379980230101

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Creativity in higher education is analyzed as an intentional act and related to a number of ideas from cognitive psychology. It is claimed that the culture of engineering education entails a too narrow view on creativity and is based on outdated learning theories. The deeper philosophical implications of creativity, i.e. the quest for meaning, will have to be readdressed if engineering education is to prepare its graduates for future tasks.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/0304379980230102

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Creativity and communication processes in engineering education have become more and more necessary in highly complex structures such as technological networks and ‘virtual’ reality. These issues also include an educational challenge for university: all education for the future has to be based on experiencing reality. A new socio‐technical approach describes the engineering profession in all aspects beside technology, such as tasks, views, organizational structures or cooperation. Therefore, university and higher education have to change into self‐similar structures to support the learning of complexity in real life. The experiences of the Department of Computer Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Technology in Aachen, as a socio‐technical, self‐similar and creative system, show such learning processes of students (and staff) in undergraduate education, research and organizational structures.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/0304379980230103

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

I began this journey with the notion that creativity is somehow linked to having the freedom to explore and discover and dissemble and reassemble in whatever form we choose. This notion is compared with the ideas of researchers in the field of creativity. As an engineer who believes in a holistic approach, I am most comfortable with the idea of creativity as a multifarious beast, influenced by both personality and the cultural, social and professional environment in which engineers, in this case, find themselves. This being the case, engineering educators therefore have some opportunity to influence these factors, and hence the development of creative thinking in our students. I then examine a case study of a design project in second‐year chemical and environmental engineering in an attempt to ground these ideas about creativity in engineering education practice, and present the lessons learned from this experience.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/0304379980230104

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

In order to prepare engineering students for a changing future and to help them develop their own capacity for independent innovative thought and creative problem‐solving, we are faced with the need to explore ways of fostering creativity in students within engineering programmes. We see the need to focus on how to access creativity, how to develop an environment which is less constrained and which will allow creative flow. Three case studies are presented which demonstrate the importance of establishing the freedom of the learning process as well as providing motivation, whether extrinsic, in terms of the assessment scheme, or intrinsic. This latter might take the form of helping students to realize that the process of learning is a process of invention in itself and that students need to recognize their existing creativity and capacity for engagement. The very important and yet elusive issue of evaluation is also considered for each course. We discuss how to monitor the level of success in achieving the given objective of fostering creativity in students.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/0304379980230105

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Changing the assessment method is a way to influence the students’ attitudes towards their studies; their ways of working to a large extent are determined by the assessment methods. One way to take advantage of this is to use the assessment to stimulate creativity and communication skills. This has been tried in full‐scale studies for students in engineering physics, computer science and mathematics at Uppsala University and Vdxjö University, both in Sweden. Undergraduate education in engineering, computer science and mathematics has by tradition emphasized training in skills. The examination often consists of problems that the students solve individually. It is difficult to give complex and/or loosely defined problems in such an examination. The students are not encouraged to analyze, judge, communicate or discuss these skills. In fact, in the authors’ experience, traditional examinations can actually inhibit the development of the students’ independence and creativity. Both projects have been supported by the Council for Renewal of Undergraduate Education, Sweden.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/0304379980230106

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Final year projects are a showcase for engineering students’ creativity. All final year engineering students at Swinburne University of Technology are required to spend part of their final semester of studies developing and completing various aspects of a major project. The theme of the project work is defined either by industrial sponsors or academic supervisors or by both. In addition, project guidelines are provided by the university for the final submission and completion of the work. The project may be any combination of research, design or developmental work. Within the constraints required by these factors, students’ creativity in their approach and execution of the project work may be both limited and expanded to simulate conditions experienced in a work environment. The culmination of the project work is in a written, oral and visual presentation to a professional audience. It is the students’ own creativity which determines not only the format of all three forms of presentations, but also their assessment which is again limited or enhanced by constraints of time and resources. Examples of project work creativity are presented which highlight and emphasize the broad spectrum which such creativity can encompass.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/0304379980230107

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

The progress of technology has resulted in substantial changes in the process of modem engineering education. Three domains of subjects constituting the curriculum can be distinguished in this process. With time, certain contradictions between this triad of domains have developed. These contradictions manifest themselves in both negative and positive ways. This paper considers some aspects of this confrontation and proposes some recommendations to minimize the negative effects in education and to strengthen the positive outcomes.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/0304379980230108

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

The transition to university is considerably more complex for both students and staff than it was a few years ago. For example, class sizes and the cultural diversity of students have increased, while the academic ability of students has decreased. If we are to produce engineering professionals who possess the necessary attributes for lifelong learning, then there needs to be a paradigm shift in the way first‐year students are treated. To this end, an orientation programme designed to break the ice between students and staff and among students, and a staff‐student mentoring scheme have been implemented in the School of Mechanical, Manufacturing and Medical Engineering at the Queensland University of Technology. A new course unit, Technology and Society, designed specifically to improve the teamwork and communication skills of students, has also been implemented. This unit is designed to increase students’ awareness of the university's facilities and its expectations and to provide an overview of the many facets of the engineering discipline. Each programme has been considered to be a success by both students and staff. This paper emphasizes the need to accommodate the growing cultural and educational diversity of first‐year students, the impersonal feeling of a university, the ‘little fish in a big pond’ feeling, the feeling of not knowing any university staff, especially academics, and not knowing what is really expected of them, especially in terms of learning strategies and how their chosen field of study fits into the more global aspects of the community.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/0304379980230109

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

This paper examines the benefits of introducing finite element methods in the curriculum of undergraduate courses. It looks at the structure of the CAA/CAD module and examines to what extent it fulfils its main aims and objectives. It discusses the efficiency of the modern teaching and learning techniques used as an aid for developing the necessary skills in solving engineering problems, and monitors the developing ability and confidence of the students to tackle many stress/structural analysis and design problems, which often have no clearly defined brief, data, or even solution. Project management, leadership, presentation skills and teamwork are encouraged and assessed among students. A short account is written about the behaviour of a family of joist hangers under direct loading conditions and their subsequent mode of failure. This is followed by a design optimization study and a series of tentative conclusions. A great deal of consideration was given to the development of a finite element model, simulating a component and its support system. Theoretical results were compared with those from a laboratory investigation. Satisfactory agreement was obtained between the measured vertical displacements and the calculated ones. Satisfactory, also, was the agreement between experimental and theoretical stresses in the supporting web, the flanges and the flange/web interface. The paper includes a discussion of the results and the conclusions drawn from them. Emphasis is given to the experience built up in running a module, which is considered to be essential for students wishing to pursue further studies, research, or a career in industry. Finally, the interface between the CAA/CAD module and other related modules, its usefulness and effectiveness are discussed.

ISSN:0304-3797    

DOI:10.1080/0304379980230110

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:1998

数据来源: Taylor