Discusses creativity in higher education and argues that it is analyzed as an intentional act related to ideas from cognitive psychology. States that the culture of engineering education holds a narrow view of creativity and is based on outdated learning theories. Deeper philosophical implications of creativity, i.e., the quest for meaning, must…

In engineering education, creativity and communication processes have become necessary in complex structures such as technological networks and virtual reality. A new sociotechnical approach describes the engineering profession in aspects other than technology such as tasks, views, organization structures, and cooperation. Describes a…

Focuses on ways to foster and access creativity in engineering students. Presents three case studies that demonstrate the importance of establishing freedom in the learning process as well as providing motivation be it extrinsic or intrinsic. Describes how to monitor the level of success in fostering creativity in students. (Author/PVD)

Discusses the use of assessment to stimulate creativity and communication skills in engineering students. Describes full-scale studies for students in engineering, physics, computer science, and mathematics at two universities in Sweden. New examination methods include continuous assessment, seminars, mini-conferences, oral presentations, written…

Describes the use of final-year projects as a showcase for engineering students' creativity. The project may be any combination of research, design, or developmental work and culminates in a written, oral, and visual presentation to a professional audience. The students' own creativity determines the format of the three presentation forms and…

Argues that the world of technical education suffers from contradictions caused by the necessity to divide teaching efforts between groups of subjects consisting of classical theories, numerical methods, and practical skills and knowledge. Considers different aspects of these contradictions and proposes some recommendations to minimize the…

Emphasizes the need to accommodate growing cultural and educational diversity among first-year college students. Describes several programs designed to address freshmen needs including a two-day orientation program; a mentoring scheme; and a course unit to improve teamwork and communication skills, increase awareness of university facilities, and…

Examines the benefits of introducing finite element methods into the curriculum of undergraduate courses. Analyzes the structure of the computer-assisted-design module and the extent to which it fulfills its main objectives. Discusses the efficiency of modern teaching and learning techniques used to develop skills for solving engineering problems;…

Presents a study that focuses on atypical patterns of contextualized learning engagement that are often difficult to interpret because they exhibit varying degrees of conceptual dissonance. Addresses how the question of how dissonance can be interpreted and modeled. Provides an example of an observed interference model of student learning. (CMK)

Presents a study that focuses on the dissonant study orchestrations of high-achieving university students. Examines the relationship between study orchestrations and study success. States that advanced psychology students' dissonant study orchestrations were compared with previous findings of advanced medical students orchestrations. Includes…

Reports on the development of the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST). Incorporates a revised version of the Approaches to Studying Inventory. States the questionnaire was completed by first-year students (n=1284) at six British universities, at a Scottish technological university (n=466), and at a South African university…

Presents the findings of an interview study of first-year engineering students' approaches to studying. Focuses on the data to illustrate the construct of dissonant study orchestration as it is manifested in the everyday academic reality of these students' learning behavior. Includes references. (CMK)

Reports in detail on the results of a study indicating that physics students' prior understandings of key concepts are systematically related to the way they approach their studies, their perceptions of learning context, and the quality of the outcomes of their studies. Includes references. (CMK)

Explores dissonance in students' way of learning from a regulation of learning perspective. Examines consonant patterns of interrelations among learning elements and investigates several studies that used an Inventory of Learning Styles (ILS) as a research instrument for indications of dissonant patterns of interrelations among the learning…

Presents the results of a study that explored the management of subject-verb agreement in second -to seventh-grade children studying the French language. Examined whether agreement with imperfect tense may have a lesser cost than agreement with the present. Finds that imperfect tense is acquired more rapidly than present tense. (CMK)