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Need for Strengthening the Transferability Skills in Undergraduate Civil Engineering Students

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Conference

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Portland, Oregon

Publication Date

June 23, 2024

Start Date

June 23, 2024

End Date

June 26, 2024

Conference Session

Civil Engineering Division (CIVIL) Technical Session - Effective Teaching 1

Tagged Division

Civil Engineering Division (CIVIL)

Page Count

14

DOI

10.18260/1-2--47802

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/47802

Download Count

79

Paper Authors

biography

Roshina Babu University of Utah

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Dr. Roshina Babu is a Teaching Assistant Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Utah and is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Utah. She teaches courses in structural mechanics, civil engineering materials, and computer tools. Dr. Babu is interested in instructional design and developing experiential learning activities for undergraduate students.

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biography

Praveen A APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University Kerala

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Dr A. Praveen is currently Professor in Civil Engineering and Registrar of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, Kerala, India. His research interest spans across Emergy approaches for sustainability evaluation, enabling intelligent responses of building systems and Engineering Pedagogy and . He has an experience of 22 years of teaching and research prior to a short stint with energy industry for five years.He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s in Civil / Environmental Engineering .

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Abstract

The conventional domains of engineering knowledge, like civil engineering, are undergoing a tremendous transformation with the emergence of newer technological solutions. The majority of these solutions require operational convergence, placing a heavy demand on the academic learning process to ensure that graduates possess the skill transferability required at the workplace. This study examines the transferability of design skills in undergraduate civil engineering students through a longitudinal study conducted at the Kerala Technological University. In particular, the study analyzes the impact of freshmen Design and Engineering course on the transferability skills demonstrated by the same group of students in a senior-year Group Project course in the civil engineering program. The findings show that although most students displayed commendable skill acquisition in the freshmen course, the application of these acquired skills in the senior year course was suboptimal. This suggests a misalignment between skills learned and their translation into learning adaptability. The proficiency of students in identifying and applying the learned skills to a different setting and situation, as well as the ability to converge different learned skill sets and apply them in a new situation, was limited. This study highlights the challenges faced and the need for implementing a structured approach to include and evaluate students’ transferability of learned skills throughout the program so that students can be prepared to leverage emerging opportunities in a knowledge-based economy.

Babu, R., & A, P. (2024, June), Need for Strengthening the Transferability Skills in Undergraduate Civil Engineering Students Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--47802

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