Collaborative Research: Research Initiation: Defining 21st Century Lifelong Learning Skills for Engineering Practice

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Lifelong learning is critical for the engineering field because of technological advancements, changing regulations, interpretation and synthesis of massive data, and a host of other factors. Furthermore, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, professional licensure boards, and engineering education research have identified that lifelong learning needs to be promoted to better meet industry needs. Currently, educators do not have a clear, and data proven, picture of what skills require additional study post-graduation, how practitioners engage in lifelong learning, or how student perceptions of lifelong learning may differ from practitioner's reality. The goal of this research is to investigate practitioner experiences and perceptions of lifelong learning to determine the skills developed and methods of learning utilized. The research will also investigate how those skills and methods change throughout career progression and how closely they match student perceptions of lifelong learning. A better fundamental understanding of what and how practitioners study and develop skills as they progress through their career will inform the engineering education community about what learning abilities are required to be prepared for lifelong learning as professional engineers.This study seeks to understand three research questions: 1) What skills are most developed by practitioners at different career positions, 2) How do practitioners find and consume information on the skills they want to develop, and 3) What perceptions do undergraduate students have about the skills they will need to develop throughout their career and how do they think they will develop those skills? A research plan has been developed to investigate and answer these questions first by conducting qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews of practicing engineers in the Pacific Northwest. Interview recordings and transcripts will be analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis to obtain a rich understanding of practitioner perspectives of lifelong learning. Then, the project will conduct quantitative analysis of lifelong learning survey results of practicing engineers and undergraduate students. Lastly, researchers will compare the practitioner and student survey results to identify differences in perceptions about lifelong learning. The outcomes of the mixed-methods study will quantify lifelong learning skills developed during engineering practice and their relationship to career position, which will increase our fundamental understanding about what skills practitioners study as they progress through their career. Identifying gaps in knowledge and perceptions between student beliefs about lifelong learning and the realities of practice will provide insight to the engineering education field about what skills may be lacking or less developed and how future work could further improve engineer formation and preparation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.