Integrating Global Sustainability Challenges in an Organizational Management Course

Javiera Constanza Jofré; Angeles Dominguez

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Conference: 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access
Location: Virtual Conference
Publication Date: July 26, 2021
Start Date: July 26, 2021
End Date: July 19, 2022
Conference Session: Environmental Engineering Division Technical Session 1: Intercultural Competency-infused Teaching
Tagged Division: Environmental Engineering
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 20
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--37359
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/37359
Download Count: 325

Paper Authors

biography

Javiera Constanza Jofré Universidad Andres Bello, Chile

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Javiera Jofré is Director of the Industrial Engineering Program and the Engineering in Logistics and Transportation Program at the Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile. Also, she is an Assistant Professor and a Researcher at the School of Engineering at the Universidad Andres Bello. She holds a bachelor's degree in Industrial Civil Engineering from the Universidad de Chile and a Master's degree in Marketing from the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain. For the last ten years, her undergraduate teaching expertise focuses on management, marketing, and organizational studies for engineering majors. Her main research areas are higher education on sustainable development, management education, and gender issues in STEM education. Recently, she is a member of a Gender Issues Committee that will focus on empowering women in Industry and Innovation by analyzing the current situation and proposing actions towards equity.

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biography

Angeles Dominguez Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico; Universidad Andres Bello, Chile orcid.org/0000-0001-6066-355X

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Angeles Dominguez is a Professor of the Department of Mathematics within the School of Engineering, a researcher at the School of Education, and Associate Dean of Faculty Development at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at the Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico. Also, she is currently collaborating with the School of Engineering at the University Andres Bello in Santiago, Chile. Angeles holds a bachelor's degree in Physics Engineering from Tecnologico de Monterrey and a doctoral degree in Mathematics Education from Syracuse University, NY. Dr. Dominguez is a member of the Researchers’ National System in Mexico (SNI-2) and has been a visiting researcher at Syracuse University, at UT-Austin, and at Universidad Andres Bello. She teaches undergraduate courses in Mathematics, graduate courses in Education, and is a thesis advisor on the master and doctoral programs on education at the Tecnologico de Monterrey. Her main research areas are faculty development, teaching methods, and gender issues in STEM education.

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Abstract

Previous studies indicate that there is a link between a country's engineering capacity and its economic development. Future professionals must be capable of integrating the social and environmental fields into their engineering solutions. Their vision of the world must answer a new development model that ensures resource availability and well-being for current and future generations. Thus, it becomes essential to update course assignments considering these new challenges to foster a model of engineering that incorporates a sustainable criterion. This study aims to measure the impact of a sustainable curriculum integration experience using problem-based learning in the organizational management course module in the School of Engineering at a private university in Chile (Universidad Andres Bello).

This study is a two-group design, having experimental and control groups. The intervention in a course module consisted of problem-based learning and teacher-led interventions. Both groups covered the same topics and similar activities. Data collection included surveys, class activities, and evaluations in both groups. The results showed that the intervention positively impacted students, particularly in how students' prejudices changed. However, the expected impact on their commitment to and awareness of equality was not as expected. Reflections made within the course assignment were relevant when taking an informed stand. A single course module intervention indicated that students improved sensitivity to sustainable development goals, but it was insufficient. The authors recognized the importance of including contextual problems with social and environmental considerations in future course modules, especially at the beginning of the course. The incorporation of other approaches during engineering training requires intention on the teacher's part and must be supported by different instances of curricular advancement.

This study's relevance rests on the fact that the management tradition in Chile only incorporates the economic dimension of problems, so this experience leads us to seek how to improve the current engineering training by developing sustainable and equitable solutions to change the way companies currently operate.

Keywords: sustainability, higher education, educational innovation, Sustainable Development Goals, future challenges

Citation
Format

Jofré, J. C., & Dominguez, A. (2021, July), Integrating Global Sustainability Challenges in an Organizational Management Course Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. 10.18260/1-2--37359

TY - CPAPER
AB - Previous studies indicate that there is a link between a country&#39;s engineering capacity and its economic development. Future professionals must be capable of integrating the social and environmental fields into their engineering solutions. Their vision of the world must answer a new development model that ensures resource availability and well-being for current and future generations. Thus, it becomes essential to update course assignments considering these new challenges to foster a model of engineering that incorporates a sustainable criterion. This study aims to measure the impact of a sustainable curriculum integration experience using problem-based learning in the organizational management course module in the School of Engineering at a private university in Chile (Universidad Andres Bello).

This study is a two-group design, having experimental and control groups. The intervention in a course module consisted of problem-based learning and teacher-led interventions. Both groups covered the same topics and similar activities. Data collection included surveys, class activities, and evaluations in both groups. The results showed that the intervention positively impacted students, particularly in how students&#39; prejudices changed. However, the expected impact on their commitment to and awareness of equality was not as expected. Reflections made within the course assignment were relevant when taking an informed stand. A single course module intervention indicated that students improved sensitivity to sustainable development goals, but it was insufficient. The authors recognized the importance of including contextual problems with social and environmental considerations in future course modules, especially at the beginning of the course. The incorporation of other approaches during engineering training requires intention on the teacher&#39;s part and must be supported by different instances of curricular advancement.

This study&#39;s relevance rests on the fact that the management tradition in Chile only incorporates the economic dimension of problems, so this experience leads us to seek how to improve the current engineering training by developing sustainable and equitable solutions to change the way companies currently operate.

Keywords: sustainability, higher education, educational innovation, Sustainable Development Goals, future challenges

AU - Javiera Constanza Jofré
AU - Angeles Dominguez
CY - Virtual Conference
DA - 2021/07/26
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Integrating Global Sustainability Challenges in an Organizational Management Course
UR - https://peer.asee.org/37359
DO - 10.18260/1-2--37359
ER -