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ERIC Number: EJ1395360
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0018-9359
EISSN: EISSN-1557-9638
Available Date: N/A
Exploration of Skills Required by Engineering Faculty to Mentor Freshmen Undergraduate Students for Interdisciplinary Design Projects
IEEE Transactions on Education, v66 n5 p450-456 2023
Contribution: This study identifies the skills required by the faculty to mentor first-year interdisciplinary design projects. The findings are compiled as a set of themes that can act as a guide for engineering educators in mentoring interdisciplinary design projects. Background: The National Academy of Engineering's (NAE) Engineer of 2020 report states that developing solutions to real-world problems requires engineers to possess skills to access, understand, evaluate, synthesize, and apply information and knowledge from multiple disciplines. However, most engineering students possess strong monodisciplinary expertise and skills, which are insufficient when students graduate and work in the industry. In order to equip engineers to solve real-world problems, engineering education should focus on building competencies and bringing the flavor of interdisciplinary education into the undergraduate engineering curriculum. While there is a growing call to introduce interdisciplinary courses to undergraduate engineering students, the ability of the faculty to teach and mentor students from multiple disciplines is a concern. Research Question: This study qualitatively investigates the question, "What skills do engineering faculty consider important to mentor first-year interdisciplinary engineering projects?" Methodology: The study is situated in a project-based learning course offered at first-year engineering at a university in India. It identifies the skills a faculty needs to possess to mentor students working on interdisciplinary (mechatronic) design projects through thematic analysis of faculty and student interviews. Findings: Performing qualitative analysis on the data collected from the two sources, including semistructured interviews with the faculty and students focus group discussion, reveals three dimensions on which the engineering faculty needs to be trained on. It included project management and interpersonal and interdisciplinary skills.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854. Tel: 732-981-0060; Web site: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=13
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A