Turning Tedious to Terrific: An Authentic Learning Experience to Engage Engineering Students in Project Management
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Background: Project management is often perceived as boring and tedious by undergraduate engineering students as the traditional ways of teaching the subject often lack context and relevance to practice. Nevertheless, soft skills such as project management, leadership and communication are very important graduate attributes which are often a core part of the duties performed by graduate engineers. Non-traditional teaching pedagogies such as project and problem based learning are found effective in developing such competencies.
Purpose: This paper discusses an innovative approach to enhance student engagement in an engineering project management subject by using mixed-mode teaching which includes face to face lectures and active student-centred project-based learning through an authentic industry project. The main objectives of embedding an industry-based project in the subject are to give students an exposure to real world challenges and opportunities to implement the project management skills and tools they learnt in the classroom in a real-life scenario. Having a real industry project also helps to add context and authenticity, which in turn helps to keep students engaged and motivated.
Design/method: As a part of the project management subject, an industry project based on an actual ongoing project was embedded in EG3000 (Engineering Project Management) at James Cook University. The class was divided into groups of 9-10 students, each group consisting of students from different engineering disciplines. Each group of students represented a project management team to manage and execute the project. As a part of this project, student teams were required to conduct planning and feasibility analysis and define project scope, liaise with key stakeholders to identify their needs and to report status of the project; conduct risk analysis; consider sustainability aspects during the project delivery; and apply appropriate project management tools and concepts for performance evaluation, budgeting, auditing and successful delivery of the project.
Results: Mixed-mode teaching which included face to face lectures plus project-based learning through an authentic industry project significantly improved student engagement in the undergraduate third year engineering project management subject. Involvement of industry in delivering the project briefing and a site visit added authenticity and context to the project.
Conclusions: Instead of the traditional chalk and talk pedagogy, a mixed-mode of delivery was successfully trialled in the undergraduate project management subject using a combination of in-class lectures and student-centred project-based learning. An authentic large scale industry project used in the subject gave students invaluable opportunities to apply project management knowledge and skills in a realworld scenario and to appreciate the challenges they will face as graduate engineers.Keywords:
Project-Based Learning
Project manager
Soft Skills
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In order to enhance the understanding of important concepts and strengthen the awareness of software process, students need to learn from their experiences in process-specific project practices. However, it's often difficult to design and carry out such practices in tertiary education environment. Typical challenges may include: 1) the difficulty to separate process-specific project practices from other (e.g., technical) practices in a software project, which may result in students paying more attention on technical aspects than process-specific aspects. 2) The limitation of a habitual technical-alone perspective may neglect concerns of other project stakeholders (e.g., project owner). We designed a special project-practicing course in Nanjing University as an attempt to solve these issues. The course is composed of 6-hour lecture and 32-hour bidding game. We found several positive results with this new education approach on process-specific practicing course. For example, it was short and flexible, which is easy to be placed in a regular semester. Besides, students were also forced to pay close attention only to process-specific aspects of the practice project. What's more, students were able to think from different perspectives, e.g., the senior management and customers.
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Transforming engineering students into student engineers through multi-course project-based learning
Background: The undergraduate learning and professional work environments differ in many ways. One difference relates to how projects and tasks are approached and managed. Within the learning environment there is wide variability in how students approach assessment tasks and assignments. Some students start their work at the earliest opportunity and some students leave their work until as late as possible. Conversely, within the professional work environment projects are formally planned, monitored and controlled through defined project management tools and processes. The inclusion of project management tools and processes within the undergraduate engineering curriculum is not new. Their use is an element of the Engineers Australia's Stage 1 competency standard, and activities such as the Final Year Engineering Project (FYEP) can provide the opportunity for students to demonstrate their application. However, not all FYEPs use this opportunity and other opportunities exist within degree programs. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of, and challenges associated with, requiring students to apply formal management processes and tools to a design project undertaken in a concurrent course. Method: A project based learning (PBL) exercise was developed in the third year Engineering Management and Planning course to introduce students to the fundamentals of project management. In preference to constructing a scenario, or providing a case study for use, students were required to formally plan and manage their own design project in a concurrent course. The plan, documented evidence of its implementation, and an individual reflection at the conclusion of the project were used for assessment. The student reflections were also used by teaching staff to assess the effectiveness of the exercise and identify areas for improvement. Results: The introduction of the PBL exercise from a teaching perspective has been beneficial overall but has also been challenging, particularly in relation to the timing of suitable design projects in concurrent courses. From a student perspective the individual reflections indicate varying levels of engagement with the exercise, resulting in varying student outcomes. Conclusions: Project management tools and processes are used in the professional work environment to maintain standards and/or improve project outcomes. By requiring their use at the undergraduate level the difference between how students and engineers approach their work has the potential to be reduced, thereby better preparing graduates for employment.
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1. INTRODUCTION Projects are taking a more prominent position in strategic planning and organizational success in today's competitive environment. Industry has indicated a desire for universities to produce graduates with critical thinking, leadership, collaborative problem solving, and technical skills related to project management (Smith et al., 2008). Universities are responding to the increasing industry demand by developing project management courses, degree offerings, and certificate programs (Smith, et al., 2008). Within the literature there is significant coverage related to teaching project management, much of it related to different approaches to developing the necessary skills required to successfully manage organizational projects. Problem-based learning has been proposed as an effective way to utilize project work to engage students in a life-like environment (Guthrie, 2010). The importance of assigning interdisciplinary teams that mimic the diversity organizational functional units (Kruck and Teer, 2009) has been addressed. Programmatic approaches to teaching project management have been offered, including: the need for specific project management courses, integration of project management skills into a degree program, and the evolution of long-term projects that span the life of a degree program (Smith et al., 2008). Davis (2007) illustrates the effective use of mini-cases in order to broaden student thinking by raising difficult and focused questions without the overhead of working with a larger case. While the focus of each of these activities remain important to graduating students that obtain relevant project management skills in a real world experience, there is currently a void in the literature related to innovative ways of incorporating industry professionals to both participate in and inform activities in the classroom. We propose that collaborating with professional organizations within industry is an effective way to incorporate real world experience into the classroom itself. However, balancing the role of industry within the classroom can be a problematic. The goal of this article is to address the void in the literature by exploring the question, how can university information systems departments provide effective industry connected project management courses and programs for its students? We report a single case that describes and defines one approach to developing a project management program through the development of academic course offerings in a collaborative effort between a university and a local chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI). The result of this collaboration is an undergraduate project management minor program created within information systems department in which members of the PMI are continually and actively engaged in the program and are an integral part of ongoing classroom activities and projects. This collaboration is designed to incorporate current industry demands into academic offerings in order to bring hands-on experience into the classroom while addressing the academic rigor of the university milieus. This paper proceeds as follows. First, the evolution of project management in industry and the demand for project management programs in universities that graduate students that meet industry demand is presented. We then report a case that describes the evolution of a collaborative effort between a university information systems department and a local chapter of the PMI, resulting in a project management minor program designed to meet both industry and academic needs. Specific course activities, outcomes, and implementation experiences are described. Finally we present a lessons learned section that captures both successes and challenges throughout the evolution of the program. 2. BACKGROUND AND RELATED WORK The motivation for this paper is derived from the intersection of increasing industry demand for competent and qualified project managers and the attempts of universities to develop project management classes and programs that graduate students with the skills to meet industry needs. …
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Context: The CQUniversity Bachelor of Engineering (Co-op)/Diploma of Professional Practice (Engineering) is a four and one half years program which includes a minimum of 48 weeks of work placement in the student's relevant discipline. The CQUniversity engineering program incorporates Project Based Learning and Co-operative Education with Professional Practice, providing learning in context, both in formal and informal learning environments (e.g. in workshops and classes and project studios) and in industry employment; which is integrated into the student's study program. Teamwork and problem solving skills are learned alongside the technical content in a real-world engineering environment. Purpose or goal: Applied learning is primarily an approach that links the 'real world' to the concepts being taught in the classroom (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2006). Theory is a vital part of applied learning. The theory and the practical application are linked by the context (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2006). This paper will examine the CQUniversity Bachelor of Engineering (Co-op)/Diploma of Professional Practice (Engineering) to determine to what extent the project based curriculum supports applied learning. Approach: The introduction of project based learning for engineering co-op students has better prepared these students for work placement which in turn prepares them for a career as a professional engineer. Project based learning, for all engineering degrees, ensures that those students opting to study the Bachelor of Engineering, which does not have work placement, are also prepared for entry into the work force. Using applied learning theory to guide the observations, the analysis of the conditions to applied leaning will be identified. Actual or anticipated outcomes: The introduction of project based learning for engineering co-op students has better prepared these students for work placement which in turn prepares them for a career as a professional engineer. Project based learning, for all engineering degrees, ensures that those students opting to study the Bachelor of Engineering, which does not have work placement, are also prepared for entry into the work force. Using applied learning theory to guide the observations, the analysis of the conditions to applied leaning will be identified. Conclusions/Recommendations/Summary: When applied learning is incorporated into engineering courses, students are able to relate the skills and knowledge acquire directly to the field in which they are preparing to enter (Blake, 2007). Choi, Hui, Lee, and Chui (2010) found that through work placement students were able to fine tune skills they learnt in an academic setting. Work placement exposes students to values and situations they will experience in the work force while cementing the theoretical concepts learnt. PBL can support the development of skills required for the workplace (Howard and Jorgensen 2012)., however, real world projects give students the experience to complete real engineering project in a safe learning environment.
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The aim of this book is to describe the characteristics of Project-Based Learning that could be implemented in an educational institution. This book also shows how evaluation of Project-Based Learning could be conducted. The book describes the Project-Based Learning approach that is implemented in the future workplace. In order for the Project-Based Learning to be effective, the supervisors need to possess adequate technical knowledge and to apply supervisory duties effectively. In terms of finding ideas, the students should find real and authentic problems. In addition, supporting tool such as e-SOLMS is helpful to assist students to complete their project. In terms of project duration, to complete a project, the students need good planning and sufficient time. Adequate tools and equipment should also be put in place in order to produce competitive project. In terms of the product, students should come out with marketable product in terms of design and aesthetic. The authors believed Project-Based Learning could improve students' creative thinking skills, communication, collaboration and problem-solving skills which are needed in the future workplace.
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To ensure that students are prepared for positions in the construction industry, construction management education programs expose students to industry relevant construction management (CM) theory and practice. Traditional transmission teaching methodologies, while arguably effective for teaching management theory and practice, are not as effective for the transfer of practical leadership skills and knowledge of construction specific processes. As an alternative teaching strategy, many CM programs incorporate service-learning (S-L) into curricula; providing students practical experience, focusing on the acquisition of knowledge through goal setting, thinking, planning, experimentation, observation, and reflection. However, from a practical standpoint, the development of a service-learning project can be a daunting task for the educator. Beyond determining a suitable project, a great deal of work must be undertaken to ensure a successful learning experience for the learner, as well as a successful project for the project owner or community partner. Processes must be put in place to ensure that the project is well developed, the student is practicing relevant CM skills, the project is completed in a timely manner to the satisfaction of the owner, and that the student learns through active reflection. Thus, this paper is presented not as a project specific case study, but an attempt to simplify for CM educators the development of CM S-L projects and to provide a step-by-step process to facilitate a successful learning experience.
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We have developed a training course where both undergraduate students and engineers in industry collaboratively learn a construction of information systems through project-based learning. The project is composed of two to four students and a project manager from an IT company. They try to develop a tiny information system for real clients and users. Through this project, students develop communication skills to acquire the client's requirements. They are able to learn from several different companies' philosophies and engineering methodologies by observing multiple projects. Project managers from the IT industry can experience the difficulty of project management such as clarifying the project scope, balancing between delivery and quality, and problem- finding/solving in the project. Our experience showed that although projects are very small in scale, common problems that are similar to actual large-scale projects occurred, due to the students' lack of skills.
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An international association advancing the multidisciplinary study of informing systems. Founded in 1998, the Informing Science Institute (ISI) is a global community of academics shaping the future of informing science.
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In the actual covid-19 crisis, Moroccan universities have been obliged to convert face-to-face education to online education context. This situation is much more challenging for students who are appealed to work collaboratively on their final project as well as for teachers who must monitor the project progress and students’ performance. This paper presents an experiment report of initial implementation of agile strategy in remote project management of undergraduate students. The study is approached from two point of view: communication and collaboration; data centralization and efficient monitoring. The discussion is based on student’s online activity analysis and structured survey of students’ perception on the applied method. The results reveal that the integration of the agile strategy has a significant positive impact on students’ performance in online project management and offers an interesting tool for teachers supervising project teamwork.
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Many colleges and universities are confused about how to manage the course of software project management.Applying traditional teaching model will lead to boring teaching and learning,moreover,students are unable to grasp practical project experience and handle project problem.A new teaching mode in software project management course is explored in this paper,and the teaching mode has already been applied in practice.Two key points in software project management teaching was proposed:firstly,specific projects and practice in teaching are emphasized, secondly,traditional assessment methods must be changed to the practice and application evaluation.If doing so,the boring courses would have been transformed into active and practical one.Of course,students will like learning and teachers are willing to teaching as well.Finally,this project-operating course get the good results in real teaching practice.
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