Research in Engineering Education Symposium 2011 - rees2009

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learning. Furthermore, these tendencies may be compounded by academics’ believing that
students have a preference for passive rote learning, structuring their teaching and
assessment accordingly (Kember 2000).
Kember (2000) uses evidence from over 90 action research projects to disprove the
common assertion that Asian students prefer passive learning and resist teaching
innovation. While undertaking collaborative activities may be more difficult when
students are not being taught in their primary language, Kember reports that students will
adjust and engage in collaborative learning activities if given the opportunity.
The University of Technology, Sydney teaches an undergraduate engineering science
program in Hong Kong, where subjects are delivered in block mode. Students have
typically undertaken previous engineering studies often at a local polytechnic. The authors
had found it initially difficult to motivate students to participate in collaborative learning
activities and in particular those that involved them using their own judgement or critical
analysis. In this paper, we discuss the results from an evolutionary research investigation
examining the effectiveness of integrated collaborative peer learning activities to address
this issue.
Background
A number of researchers and government-sponsored reports (Hargreaves (1997), Jones
(2003) Markes (2006), & Chung et al (2008)) discuss a gap between skills typically
developed in engineering education and a range of skills required for professional practice
such as communication, critical thinking, leadership, teamwork skills and life long learning
capabilities. This requires not only considering what is taught but how it is taught
(Hargreaves, 1997). Workplace learning and certainly practice is often collaborative
(Littlejohn, Margaryan & Milligan (2009). It follows that students’ preparation for entering
this environment should include opportunities to practise collaborative learning with
their peers.
Collaborative learning is also attractive from the perspective of the constructivist model of
learning (Jawitz and Case, 2009). Hagstrom (2006) argues that “…contexts for new
knowledge construction include a blending of people … that gives rise to differences in
interpretation and provides the occasion for the construction of new knowledge….If
educators simply tell students what they need to know, they encourage reliance on
memorization of facts. For students to make cognitive changes, the learning experience
must begin with each student becoming aware of his or her own present understanding”
(Hagstrom, 2006, p28). Dana (2007) reports that compared to traditional competitive or
individualistic learning environments, benefits of collaborative tasks such as small group
or team based learning include higher student achievement, greater use of higher level
reasoning and critical thinking skills, more positive attitudes toward the subject matter
and satisfaction with the class, and better interpersonal relationships among students and
between students and instructor.
While few would argue the benefits of collaborative learning these benefits are not
automatic. Thoughtful design including scaffolding to motivate desired approaches and
Proceedings of Research in Engineering Education Symposium 2011
Madrid, 4 th - 7 th October 2011