The present work has its focus on university-level engineering education students that do not intend to major in computer science but still have to take a mandatory programming course. Phenomenography and variation theory are applied to empirical data from a study of students' conceptions of computer programming. A phenomenographic outcome space…

The key idea is that 50 minutes of teacher talk with passive student listening is relatively ineffective in developing student learning. Teachers can create silences for productive active student learning. Students can also change from passive listeners to active talker-discussers of their learning. Ideas are given about how to overcome silences…

This article reports on a collaboration project between South Africa and Sweden, in which we want to investigate whether the emphasis in undergraduate mathematics courses for engineering students should be more conceptual than the current traditional way of teaching. On the basis of a review of the distinction between conceptual and procedural…

Task-based language learning using the benefits of online computer-assisted language learning (CALL) can be effective for rapid vocabulary expansion, especially when target vocabulary has been pre-arranged into bilingual categories under simpler, common Semantic Field Keywords. Results and satisfaction levels for both Chinese English majors and…

The theme of this special issue is timely as the world becomes increasingly flat and globally connected (Friedman, 2007). By focusing on an international perspective in problem-based learning (PBL), it puts culture squarely in the center, whether it is a national or disciplinary culture. The articles in this special issue represent Thailand, South…

Diversity has taken on many meanings, depending on the context in which it is used and the person using it. Today's engineering students have come to embody diversity as an extension of their home, academic and social environments. The result is a group of students that often show indifference to diversity (however defined) and the impact it will…

An engineering technique invented in the 1920s remains unused by most engineers today because their instructors are unaware that software applications have simplified the exceedingly complex calculations required. The technique is called the design of experiments (DOE), a method that optimizes products and processes. This process outshines…

Although technology has become embedded in our everyday life, researchers and practitioners constantly strive to find ways of incorporating technology in education, with language learning being one of those fields (Garrett, 2009). Numerous publications on this subject are available, mostly on condition that one is affiliated with a university, and…

Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University, in collaboration with the marine industry and local school systems, is improving STEM preparation using innovative experiences for students and teachers in the nation's major shipbuilding and repair areas through MarineTech and SBRCD (Shipbuilding Repair and Maritime Career Day) projects. The…

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is a problem-centered teaching method with exciting potential in engineering education for motivating and enhancing student learning. Implementation of PBL in engineering education has the potential to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Two common problems are encountered when attempting to integrate PBL into…

This study investigates the relationship between student influence and academic self-efficacy in a sample of 275 students in two Master's programmes in Engineering. Students in only one of the programmes studied according to problem-based learning (PBL). Results indicate that students choosing strategies to influence course content or structure,…

Chalmers University of Technology is actively promoting learning for sustainable development in its educational programmes. A compulsory part of the bachelor curricula is five full-time weeks of studies on environment and sustainable development. This paper presents an inventory of the contents in these courses performed as a series of discussions…

Our classrooms are filled with engineering majors who take a semester-long course in static equilibrium. Many students find this class too challenging and drop their engineering major. In our introductory physics class, we often breeze through static equilibrium; to physicists equilibrium is just a special case of Newton's second law. While it is…

Students worldwide are gaining access to powerful computing devices and services. They are learning from each other how to find and share information, how to carry out useful tasks such as editing images and video, where to find the best entertainment, etc. Classrooms, especially in the UK, are changing to make better access to computer technology…

To achieve effective intervention of engineers in the public sector, engineers should develop skills to comprehend their ethical and professional responsibility, and they should gain the necessary education to understand the possible impact of engineering solutions in a global and social context. An active learning process has been conceived,…