International field school for first-year engineering students
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Issue Date
2020-06-16
Authors
Dick, Brian
Nguyen, Thai Son
Sillem, Mackenzie
Subject
Abstract
Engineering graduates increasingly find that
they are part of teams that draw a multi-disciplinary
membership across a broad range of cultural, socioeconomic,
and linguistic backgrounds. Although
engineering students often have the opportunity to
participate in international projects (e.g. co-operative
education programs, study abroad), formal international
field schools are not typical within engineering curricula,
particularly at the first- and second-year level.
To provide an early introduction to intercultural
perspectives, first-year engineering students at Vancouver
Island University (VIU) participated in a field school at
Tra Vinh University (TVU) in Tra Vinh Province, Vietnam
over a period of three weeks. This field school consisted of
a number of cultural and engineering activities, and
involved pairing of students at both TVU and VIU for the
duration of the experience.
To measure student response during the field school,
participating VIU students completed the on-line
Intercultural Effectiveness Scale questionnaire pre- and
post-experience. Students at both institutions also
completed reflection exercises throughout the three-week
period. This feedback suggested each student pairing
continuously developed skills necessary to overcome
linguistic, cultural, and technical barriers to learning and
growing over their time together. Students described an
enhanced understanding of self, and an increased
likelihood to further participate in intercultural
experiences.
Description
Conference Proceedings: Proceedings of the 2020 Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA-ACÉG) Conference
This paper was originally published as: Dick, B., Nguyen, T.S., & Sillem, M. (2020). International field school for first-year engineering students. Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA-ACÉG) Conference. Canadian Engineering Education Association. https://dx.doi.org/10.24908/pceea.vi0.14185
This paper was originally published as: Dick, B., Nguyen, T.S., & Sillem, M. (2020). International field school for first-year engineering students. Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA-ACÉG) Conference. Canadian Engineering Education Association. https://dx.doi.org/10.24908/pceea.vi0.14185