Promoting Lifelong Learning, Integrated Knowledge, and Professional Identity in Undergraduate Engineering Students Through a Portfolio Development Process

本研究将解决的问题，是否整合和反思活动，通过发展专业档案袋对学生的影响？终身学习能力、职业认同的发展以及整合知识的能力。它将使用三管齐下的准实验在投资组合开发的本科工程学生学习的奖学金。这三种实验性治疗方法是：（1）一个为期一年的课程，学生在其中开发一个全面的专业投资组合，（2）一个为期四分之一的课程，学生在其中开发一个集中的专业投资组合，（3）一个竞赛，邀请学生自己开发专业投资组合，并提交他们考虑获奖。这些治疗需要参加治疗的学生以及主办治疗的机构做出不同程度的承诺。除了调查这三种治疗方法的影响外，还将记录与提供每种治疗方法相关的资源，以便更好地了解每种治疗方法的可扩展性。为了有效地为21世纪的工程做好准备，学生必须获得与工程相关的知识，技能和态度;对这些能力的综合理解是专业知识的标志;以及终身学习技能和专业工程身份，使学生能够在快速变化的背景和情况下应用他们的理解。工程教育研究人员才刚刚开始了解如何有效和可行地支持终身学习技能，专业工程身份和综合知识的发展。为了实现这些复杂而相互关联的目标，学生需要各种各样的学习经验。他们还需要有机会理解和表达他们从教育经历中学到了什么，以及他们所学到的与他们作为工程师的未来有什么关系？基础性和批判性反思的机会。该项目有可能改变本科工程教育，而不是通过改变现有课程的课程，而是通过使工程专业的学生实现这些课程所支持的成果，并发展成为终身学习者。如果成功的话，这个项目中提出的想法将是可扩展的，以适应几乎任何工程学院的需求。

This research will address the question of whether integration and reflection activities via developing a professional portfolio have an impact on students? lifelong learning competencies, their development of professional identity, and the ability to integrate their knowledge. It will advance the scholarship on undergraduate engineering student learning using a three-pronged quasi-experiment in portfolio development. The three experimental treatments are: (1) an academic year-long program in which students develop a comprehensive professional portfolio, (2) a quarter-long program in which students develop a focused professional portfolio, and (3) a competition that invites students to develop professional portfolios on their own and submit them for consideration for an award. These treatments require different levels of commitment from students who participate in them, as well as institutions that host them. In addition to investigating the impact of these three treatments, the resources associated with offering each treatment will be documented in order to better understand the scalability of each. To effectively prepare for engineering in the 21st century, students must acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes relevant to engineering; the type of integrated understanding of these competencies that is a hallmark of expertise; and the life-long learning skills and professional engineering identity that enable students to apply their understandings in rapidly changing contexts and circumstances. Engineering education researchers are only beginning to understand how to effectively and feasibly support the development of life-long learning skills, professional engineering identities, and integrated knowledge. In order to accomplish these complex and interrelated goals, students need a variety of learning experiences. They also need opportunities to understand and articulate what they have learned from their educational experiences and how what they have learned relates to their futures as engineers?opportunities for both foundational and critical reflection. This project has the potential to transform undergraduate engineering education, not by changing the curriculum of existing programs, but by enabling engineering students to achieve the outcomes espoused by those programs and to develop into lifelong learners. If successful, the ideas proposed in this project will be scalable to fit the needs of almost any college of engineering.