Purpose: Collaboration between universities and industry is increasingly perceived as a vehicle to enhance innovation. Educational institutions are encouraged to build partnerships and multidisciplinary projects based around real-world open problems. Projects need to benefit student learning, not only the organisations looking for innovations. The…

The digital transformation of our societies is moving ahead, changing the way that we work and interact. It is also changing learning environments and the need for digital skills. This paper argues for a differentiated approach by universities to digital skills, identifying three groups of learners: (1) ICT [Information and Communication…

The Transformative Pedagogy Project (TPP) at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), is an interdisciplinary and intergenerational learning community seeking to develop ways of knowing and ways of being that do not only augment individual and collective understanding of social structures and social relations, but also transform them…

In this paper, we discuss the history of the concept of function and emphasize in particular how problems in physics have led to essential changes in its definition and application in mathematical practices. Euler defined a function as an analytic expression, whereas Dirichlet defined it as a variable that depends in an arbitrary manner on another…

Higher education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) faces a number of challenges. There are many calls for STEM education to make significant changes moving forward, including calls for competency-based learning and greater integration of the humanities. These efforts require systemic change. Systemic change has significant…

Some students want to broaden their perspectives while others want to deepen their knowledge, and it is vital to challenge students to the level of their ability and interest. However, in regular degree programmes the possibilities for individualization and differentiation in content and didactics are often limited. The main focus of a regular…

Design-based learning (DBL) is an educational approach in which students gather and apply theoretical knowledge to solve design problems. In this study, we examined how critical DBL dimensions (project characteristics, design elements, the teacher's role, assessment, and social context) are applied by teachers in the redesign of DBL projects.…

21st Century Skills, including critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity and innovation, self-direction, global and local connections, and using technology as tools for learning, are considered essential for success in the workplace by employers. To meet these career needs, many universities use a variety of instructional methods…

To create a learning experience which replicates the process by which consultants, systems developers and business end users collaborate to design and implement a business application, a cross-functional student team project was developed and is described. The overall learning experience was distinguished by specific components and characteristics…

Within the past 10 years severe weather has been responsible for an annual average of 278 fatalities in the United States (National Weather Service, 2013). During severe weather special populations are populations of high concentrations of people that cannot respond quickly. Schools show both of these characteristics. The average lead time for…

For a structural engineer, effective communication and interaction with architects cannot be underestimated as a key skill to success throughout their professional career. Structural engineers and architects have to share a common language and understanding of each other in order to achieve the most desirable architectural and structural designs.…

Despite many positive developments in South Africa (SA), the education system and educational outcome face many challenges and require further improvement. This is reflected by elevated school dropout rates and suboptimal annual pass rates in various grades (Grades 7-12). Over the years, a plethora of studies has identified methods through which…

This article will illustrate how a problem-based learning (PBL) course (Savery, 2006) can be used in a writing program as a vehicle for both creative and preprofessional learning. English 420: Writing, Publishing, and Editing is offered every fall, and its counterpart, English 423: Writing, Publishing, and Editing is offered each spring. The…

The challenge of better reconciling individual and collective aspects of innovative problem-solving can be productively addressed to enhance the role of PBL as a key focus of the creative process in future higher education. This should involve "active learning" approaches supported by related processes of teaching, assessment and…

The aim of the study was to investigate progress in reasoning capacity and knowledge base appraisal in a longitudinal analysis of data from summative evaluation throughout a medical problem-based learning curriculum. The scores in multidisciplinary discussion of a clinical case and multiple choice questionnaires (MCQs) were studied longitudinally…