Realistic student enquiries, global challenges and the role of a development charity

Kahn, Peter and Pullen, Keith (2007) Realistic student enquiries, global challenges and the role of a development charity Engineering Education, 2 (2). pp. 16-25. ISSN 1750-0044, 1750-0044

Text Engineering Education_postprint.doc - Author Accepted Manuscript Download (106kB)

Abstract

Engineering programmes within higher education have significant scope to make a contribution to global challenges such as sustainable development and solutions to world poverty. Alongside such a contribution to society, universities are also exploring ways to focus student learning around realistic enquiries. It is therefore important to explore approaches that address such challenges and pedagogies, which indeed also offer a way forward in attracting and motivating students, and in preparing them for suitable careers. We report here on an evaluation of a student-based engineering design service for development organisations, involving a partnership between a charity, a university and development professionals. The service involves teams of undergraduate students designing, making and testing intermediate technologies. The paper explores a model based around enquiry-based learning, and draws on a set of naturally-occurring reflective accounts provided by the students involved. While learning about technical issues was important, the study shows how a realistic developing-world context motivated student work, enhancing students’ confidence and readiness to make a difference. Various technical issues emerged with scope to hamper the educational experience, as did the challenge of ensuring fairness across different enquiries. Strategies are proposed to manage rather than ignore or reduce such variation, an issue which has received relatively little attention hitherto in relation to project work or enquiry-based learning.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	## TULIP Type: Articles/Papers (Journal) ##
Uncontrolled Keywords:	3901 Curriculum and Pedagogy, 3903 Education Systems, 40 Engineering, 39 Education, 4010 Engineering Practice and Education, 4 Quality Education
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	06 Mar 2017 11:38
Last Modified:	22 May 2026 23:31
DOI:	10.11120/ened.2007.02020016
Related Websites:	Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3006226
Disclaimer:	The University of Liverpool is not responsible for content contained on other websites from links within repository metadata. Please contact us if you notice anything that appears incorrect or inappropriate.