The conceptual nuances of technology-supported learning in engineering

ABSTRACT

Enabling theory-practice bridging in engineering education is essential for developing twenty-first century graduate capabilities. Massification, resource constraints, and technological development have resulted in significant shifts to alternative forms of practical engagement, such as the use of online laboratories, but how do these contribute to learning? Based on three illustrative case studies at a research-intensive institution in the Global South, this paper offers a conceptualisation of the degrees of complexity entailed in multimodal approaches to teaching Fluid Mechanics, Finite Element Analysis and Control Systems at different stages of their respective programmes The paper examines the different levels of abstract-concrete learning when students engage with verbal, symbolic, graphic and physical representational artefacts designed to enable cumulative learning. The conceptual instruments are theoretically and methodologically drawn from Legitimation Code Theory dimensions, which lend themselves to the graphic analysis of knowledge practices. It is suggested that the explicit integration of and shifting between levels of abstraction and complexity with different kinds of technologies enables the kind of cumulative learning necessary to prepare technically-equipped graduates for complex twenty-first century engineering contexts.

KEYWORDS:

• Engineering practicals
• legitimation code theory
• cumulative learning
• technology-supported learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a South African University Capacity Development Grant.

Notes on contributors

Karin Wolff

Karin Wolff is the Teaching & Learning Advisor and associate professor in the Faculty of Engineering, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. She draws on Social Realism, particularly Legitimation Code Theory, to analyse and design knowledge- and knower-building practices in engineering education. Her current research focus is on facilitating community-of-practice development among engineering educators in the African context. She also serves as a board member of the South African Society for Engineering Education (www.sasee.org.za) and on the editorial board of the Southern Journal for Engineering Education.

Karel Kruger

Dr Karel Kruger is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering at Stellenbosch University (South Africa). He received his PhD in 2018 with a dissertation on the use of the Erlang programming language for holonic control implementations in manufacturing systems. He is the co-leader of the Mechatronics, Automation, and Design Research Group, which conducts research into the development of digital twins and the effective integration of humans in cyber-physical systems and Industry 4.0 environments.

Robert Pott

Robbie Pott is a professional engineer and associate professor in the department of process engineering, Stellenbosch University. His research covers both technical content in bioprocess engineering, as well as research in education. His particular research foci in engineering education include the use of Legitimation Code Theory to understand how students learn and grapple with difficult engineering content, as well as understanding the links between grit and postgraduate success in research degrees.

Nico de Koker

Nico de Koker is a computational physicist and structural engineer, currently serving as Head of the Department of Civil Engineering at Stellenbosch University. Following many years specialising in thermodynamics and heat transfer in materials at extreme conditions, his current research focus is the analysis of uncertainty in engineering calculations, and its expression in design via risk and reliability.