Research in (Inter)Action. Collaboratively Exploring the Potential of the "Action Research" Framework for Engineering Education

As social, civic, corporate, industrial, educational and environmental standards and customs are evolving at an ever-increasing pace, so the claims made to curricula of 21st-century engineering education are becoming, at once, more diverse, urgent and complex. The challenges that institutions of higher engineering education face include, but are not limited to: enabling transitions from traditional teaching based on knowledge transfer and “canned engineering” exemplars to problem-based and competency-oriented modes of teaching and learning stimulating creativity and critical thinking; from entrenched conceptions of the engineer as a technological specialist towards educating “T-shaped engineers”, who are also proficient in communication, teamwork and project management; from immediate-return presuppositions to a (global and local) community-oriented focus on sustainability and social equity. In short: if the catchword of today’s age is “disruption”, then how can Engineering Education prepare its graduates for recognizing and welcoming the new as it emerges, and harnessing it as a socially and environmentally benevolent force? One part of the answer is that Engineering Education is to look beyond the confines of the institution. What the stock-taking MIT report “The global state of the art in engineering education” (2018) identifies as one of the main trends in leading engineering curricula around the world is “a move towards socially-relevant and outward-facing engineering curricula” (p.iii). It is, at least partly, by reaching out towards the (local and global) communities in which they are embedded that institutions of Engineering Education will be able to develop an agenda for new learning. What this workshop explores is the extent to which the inherently outward-oriented framework of Action Research (AR) opens up pathways towards successfully and comprehensively coping with the complex and diverse demands on contemporary engineering curricula. Action Research refers to a “family” of approaches that share a dedication to improving immediate, real-world situations by well-planned actions based on a rigorous practice of inquiry (mixed method data gathering, analysis, and reflection). Typical of this systems-oriented, post-positivist approach is that the researcher is not a detached observer (in the dominant objectivist, hypothetico-deductive tradition) but an openly biased participant-collaborator, who actively - but always critically and reflectively - strives towards enhancing the real-world conditions of a “community”, however defined.The promises of AR to be critically and practically explored in this workshop are:- that it breaks open the walls of academia and inspires projects with a societal impact; - that it has the potential of uniting technical or technological challenges with a modus operandi that requires social, communicative, ethical and research skills and attitudes;- that it stimulates students of Engineering Education to “explore the future by doing” (p. 11) rather than “downloading patterns from the past” - to use terminology by Otto Scharmer, whose Theory U is directly informed by AR – and thus prepares them for the disruptive innovations yet to come;- that it provides at once a methodology and a praxeology for engaging engineering education stakeholders into cycles of progressive transformation.In this workshop, participants first acquaint themselves with some definitions of Action Research, the different perspectives, and approaches within the Action Research family, and some examples. After this introductory part, the participants explore what Action Research could potentially mean in the context of their courses, curricula, and communities – whether educational, institutional, professional, regional or otherwise. Working together in small groups, participants are guided along a typical Action Research, first-cycle trajectory, including steps to:a) identify a need, a problem, a question or challenge;b) envision a desirable future or solution;c) map the key actors, stakeholders and/or communities and their relationships;d) identify suitable ways of gathering data (by exploring a “toolbox” with typical Action Research research tools);e) consider possible actions or interventions;f) consider ways of evaluating the process, the actions, and the results;g) consider ways of assessing learning outcomes;h) consider how this AR project could connect to other curricular components;i) consider obstacles to be overcome. Participants are seated together at 4 to 6 person tables. In the introductory section, participants at each table explore, compare and discuss AR definitions and examples and distill essential characteristics. In the next phase, participants individually or in pairs execute steps a), b) and c) from the above scenario, using a paper or online canvas for documentation. Then, participants present their AR “germ” to the table. After discussion, coalitions are formed so that each table develops a selection of AR scenarios more fully, by going through stages e)-i). Each scenario is documented using an online canvas (a rubricated Padlet), which is shared with the other group tables. These canvasses provide a tangible, take-home report that can provide inspiration for curricular efforts in the future. In the final stage of the workshop, participants debate on whether, or to which extent, the AR framework succeeds in following through on the above-listed promises. Participants take home a theoretical and practical understanding of what Action Research means and what it can signify in the attempt at coping with the many challenges that institutions and curricula of engineering education currently face. More specifically, participants gain an understanding of the usefulness of AR as a framework for designing inquiry-based and project-based learning approaches and for aligning the engineering curriculum with professional and social realities, including the complex and ethically laden relationship of the engineer as actionable agent to power holders.

ISBN:978-2-87352-018-2

Jaar van publicatie:2019