An Approach to Developing Independent Learning and Non-Technical Skills Amongst Final Year Mining Engineering Students

Autor/inn/en	Knobbs, C. G.; Grayson, D. J.
Titel	An Approach to Developing Independent Learning and Non-Technical Skills Amongst Final Year Mining Engineering Students
Quelle	In: European Journal of Engineering Education, 37 (2012) 3, S.307-320 (14 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0304-3797
DOI	10.1080/03043797.2012.684673
Schlagwörter	Evidence; Reading Assignments; Independent Study; Innovation; Engineering; Psychometrics; Job Skills; Engineering Education; Higher Education; College Students; Curriculum Development; Educational Change; Student Projects; Questionnaires; Foreign Countries; South Africa + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Evidenz; Selbststudium; Maschinenbau; Psychometry; Psychometrie; Produktive Fertigkeit; Ingenieurausbildung; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Collegestudent; Curriculum; Development; Curriculumentwicklung; Lehrplan; Entwicklung; Bildungsreform; Schulprojekt; Fragebogen; Ausland; Südafrika; Süd-Afrika; Republik Südafrika; Südafrikanische Republik
Abstract	There is mounting evidence to show that engineers need more than technical skills to succeed in industry. This paper describes a curriculum innovation in which so-called "soft" skills, specifically inter-personal and intra-personal skills, were integrated into a final year mining engineering course. The instructional approach was designed to promote independent learning and to develop non-technical skills, essential for students on the threshold of becoming practising engineers. Three psychometric tests were administered at the beginning of the course to make students aware of their own and their classmates' characteristics. Substantial prescribed reading assignments preceded weekly group discussions. Several projects during the course required team work skills and application of content knowledge to real-world contexts. Results obtained from students' reflection papers, assignments related to "soft" skills and end of course evaluations suggest that students' appreciation of the need for these skills, as well as their own perceived competence, increased during the course. Their ability to function as independent learners also increased. (Contains 2 figures.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10