Students' learning strategies, motivation and project-management skills during interdisciplinary projects in Covid times

In this study, we investigated an interdisciplinary project-based learning program. Students were confronted with interdisciplinary challenges in the form of complex and authentic problems, like building a racing car or making a mobile laboratory for genetic analysis. These hands-on educational formats had a clear aim to develop skills required in students’ future careers, as well as bridge the gap between theory and practice. In this paper, we show preliminary results of an on-going mixed method study where the students’ learning strategies, motivation, and project management skills were measured through a survey using a pre and post-test approach. Quantitative results were contrasted with qualitative input from interviews with projects’ coaches and students’ focus groups. The results provided evidence of gains regarding professional skills (e.g. risk assessment in projects), but also shed light on difficulties and needs to implement meaningful experiential learning content within engineering education (e.g. collaboration). On top of this, the research took place during COVID-19 lockdown, hence both students’ and coaches’ reflections accounted for ways in which this situation did impact the projects.

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Concepts associés (7)

Interdisciplinarité

L’interdisciplinarité est l'art de faire travailler ensemble des personnes ou des équipes issues de diverses disciplines scientifiques. L'intérêt est d'enrichir les approches et solutions en favorisant la créativité et la sérendipité, de faciliter l'atteinte d'un but commun en confrontant des approches différentes d'un même problème. Des concepts proches et complémentaires sont la pluridisciplinarité, la transdisciplinarité et la métadisciplinarité.

Preuve empirique

Preuve empirique, données ou connaissance, aussi appelée expérience des sens, est un terme collectif pour désigner la connaissance ou les sources de la connaissance acquise au moyen des sens, en particulier par l'observation et l'expérimentation. Le terme vient du mot grec ancien pour expérience, ἐμπειρία (empeiría). Après Emmanuel Kant, il est habituel en philosophie d'appeler une connaissance ainsi acquise connaissance a posteriori. Cela en opposition à une connaissance a priori, connaissance accessible à partir de la pensée spéculative seule.

Engineering education

Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education (bachelor's and/or master's degree), and any advanced education and specializations that follow. Engineering education is typically accompanied by additional postgraduate examinations and supervised training as the requirements for a professional engineering license. The length of education, and training to qualify as a basic professional engineer, is typically 5 years, with 15–20 years for an engineer who takes responsibility for major projects.