How is it possible to create and continuously improve a quality learning environment for our students? We present our one-year course on engineering thermodynamics as a case study in which we investigate the learning environment based on a competency model from the students' perspective. Based on the analysis of our course structure and exam…

Cognitive learning strategies are seen as a central element for successful learning. Acquiring knowledge about its worth, can support persons in sophisticated groups in attaining academic success. Consequently, the authors are interested in domain-specific learning strategies for mathematics in the academic disciplines of economics and engineering…

This study evaluates the implementation of a collaborative/game-based learning strategy on final year B.Sc. students focused on reinforcing the Taylor theorem (a mathematical concept previously learned, usually forgotten over time and widely used in chemical engineering) and analyses its effect on their academic performance. To this end, the…

Physical education in colleges plays an increasingly important role in cultivating high-quality innovative talent. The main factors that affect college students' approaches to learning physics remain unknown. This study examined the relationships among college engineering students' epistemic views of physics, conceptions of learning physics, and…

We analyse the predictive power of learning strategies for engineering students' performance in mathematics. Learning strategies play an important role in self-regulated learning. Based on a new learning strategy questionnaire that takes into account the specifics of mathematical learning at universities, we investigated what were the strategies…

This study investigates the relationship between first-year higher education students' (N = 405) approaches to learning and academic performance on engineering mathematics courses. In addition, we study what combinations of approaches to learning students apply, how these combinations change over time, and whether they are linked to the…

We explored chemical engineering students' approaches to learning, study-related burnout, and perceptions of peer and self-assessment in a challenging physical chemistry thermodynamics course. Cluster analysis revealed three learning profiles based on students' approaches to learning: students who scored high in both organised studying and the…

Engineering educators naturally gravitate toward visual means for communicating concepts that would otherwise be extremely difficult to convey using words and numbers alone. With the emergence of three-dimensional (3D) printing as an accessible and cost-effective technology, it is now possible to develop customized models that enable students to…

The increase in digital teaching and learning methodologies creates the opportunity for new educational approaches, both in terms of pedagogical practice and in the availability of new technological tools. The flipped classroom as an active teaching methodology is one example of blended learning (b-learning), which aims to harmonize and enhance…

To stimulate a flexible lifelong learning system students can enter university via lateral entry. Unlike traditional first-year students, lateral entrance students are not well-studied. Therefore this study focuses on comparing first-year students with a specific group of lateral entrants, namely bridging students at the Faculty of Engineering…

Future global challenges that engineering graduates face have placed demands on engineering education and how graduates develop competency in collaborative problem-solving. Such demand has seen an increase in the use of pedagogies like problem-based learning (PBL) that provide opportunities for developing collaborative problem-solving skills. PBL…

This article reports on a study investigating the relationship between university students' self-reported use and application of learning and study strategies and student success indicators (timeframe and student type, namely low-performing, average-performing, or high-performing). Participants were 1,439 engineering students enrolled for academic…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to implement and evaluate active learning strategies to support engineering students in the development of research competences, contributing to the growing need for a closer relationship between research and teaching. Design/methodology/approach: This study was developed using an action research approach. The…

This study presents a new blended learning model that combines a computer-assisted learning system called Cognitive Apprenticeship Programming Learning System (CAPLS) with instructor co-teaching in an introductory programming course. CAPLS, as its unique aspect, functions as a master in cognitive apprenticeship, guiding learners throughout their…

Approaches to learning have been identified as crucial factors that influence students' mathematics performance. However, there have been mixed findings on which of the different approaches improve performance in undergraduate mathematics. Thus, this study aimed to unravel the specific effects of prior mathematics knowledge and approaches to…