This paper reflects on the teaching of science fiction texts to first-year engineering students at the University of the Witwatersrand as part of a Critical Thinking course that uses literature as a vehicle through which to develop competence in critical literacy and communication. This course aims to equip engineering students, as future…

Educators have used argumentation to help students understand mathematical ideas which often appear abstract to the novice learner. A preliminary investigation was conducted to determine if collaborative argumentation is a strategy that can improve the student's conceptual understanding of the topics taught in the engineering course commonly…

This qualitative study examined how Latina/o engineering students, members of a student organization, used their emergent resistant capital in their academic trajectories. Their emergent resistant capital, as evident by three main themes, was characterized as a movement from conformist resistance toward transformative resistance. This study finds…

The evolution of digital technologies over the past couple of decades has contributed to a paradigm shift in education where the internet and web-based applications have become ubiquitous in primary and secondary classrooms (Glassman & Kang, 2011). With this shift came the digital phenomena known today as Web 2.0 technologies. Web 2.0…

This study analysed the status of TPACK knowledge and its impact on the quality of technical and engineering education. The research was a case study of 20 lecturers who were purposefully sampled from the School of Engineering and Technology at a university in Zimbabwe. The lecturers had no prior training in pedagogy. The purpose of the study was…

Targeted teacher recruitment is suggested as a way to alleviate the teacher shortage in specific content areas such as agricultural mechanics. Learning experiences are linked to increased selfefficacy and increased interest in specific career pursuits. The Agricultural Mechanics Power & Design (AMP'D) Experience was developed as a learning…

The purpose of this study was to examine student perceptions of the learning environment in their program major and general education classrooms. The participants were 870 undergraduate students majoring in engineering, fine arts, education, economics and nursing programs at a university in Thailand. We found significant differences in the…

This study investigates students' motivation in college English learning under production-oriented approach by means of a questionnaire. Forty students in their first-year study participated in this survey. They came from four different disciplines: electronic engineering, automatic engineering, mechanic engineering and power engineering. They…

e-Learning is changing the way students learn in the classroom. However, one of the least emphasised aspect in e-learning design concerns with aesthetics. Recent research in multimedia aesthetics highlighted the need to understand interaction from a multidisciplinary perspective. Aesthetics research in e-learning usually focuses on exploring the…

This is a research study of design and engineering classes that use a problem-based learning (PBL) approach in digital fabrication makerspaces in two middle schools. In these studies, teachers employ a PBL approach and provide an ill-structured problem scenario to facilitate design and engineering lessons in the FabLab (fabrication laboratory).…

Traditional teaching approaches are generally teacher-directed, where students are taught in a manner that is conducive to sitting and listening. It is often argued that these approaches may not provide students with valuable learning skills, and rather that non-traditional approaches to teaching and learning might better endow students with such…

Teamwork is increasingly seen as an important component of engineering education programmes. Yet, prior research has shown that there are numerous ways in which teamwork is gendered, and can lead to negative experiences for women students. This article presents the first interview findings on professors' perspectives on gender and teamwork.…

Contribution: Student engagement and interest in engineering is compared between virtual and physical laboratory projects, designed to be realistic and replicate engineering practice. Reported motivation and engagement was greater in the virtual project than the physical projects. Results are interpreted in terms of the different affordances for…

This paper considers the effects of both free optional mathematics learning support and engagement on the mathematics performance in a foundation mathematics subject of a cohort of engineering students entering university with poor mathematical skills. New engineering students were directed to either a foundation or standard mathematics subject…

Although engineering design is dependent upon the use of science and mathematics, the actual prototype, model, or solution that pre-college students generate can be accomplished without the students explicitly using scientific or mathematical concepts. It is therefore important to explore how students apply science and mathematics concepts when…