فصلنامه آموزش مهندسی ایران
پیاپی 100 (زمستان 1402)

A framework has been proposed to improve the content of civil engineering undergraduate education with a focus on transferring entrepreneurial skills. Using a mixed-exploratory research method, 11 university experts were interviewed and a conceptual model with 9 components (ecosystem, tests and evaluations, structure, incentives, general/theoretical courses, projects (structural and road design), internship, complementary courses and Kehad, extracurricular activities) was developed. Based on the sub-components, solutions have been presented for improving the content of civil engineering undergraduate education by transferring entrepreneurial skills. Then, based on the model, a questionnaire including 35 Likert-scale questions and 2 ordinal questions was designed and distributed to a sample of working civil engineers (experts). The obtained data were analyzed with the Friedman test, and the questions were ranked according to the priority of the experts. Finally, based on the top 20 priorities, suggestions were made to policymakers, professors, entrepreneurs, and students. For example, visiting construction sites as extracurricular activities was the suggestion of professors and the first priority of experts, also, the lesson proposal under the title “Innovative Project” was one of the 20 primary priorities of experts.

The purpose of this study was to the engineering Implemented graduate curriculum at Shiraz University based on the sustainable curriculum framework. The research method was descriptive survey design. The statistical population included all engineering graduate students. By using a stratified random sampling method, 400 students were selected. The research tool was the sustainable curriculum scale, which was distributed among the sample students after calculating the validity and reliability. To analyze the data, the T-test method of a sample of SPSS 19 software was used. The results of the research showed that: the logic, objectives, and content of Shiraz University engineering courses implemented curriculum, the general objectives of this curriculum, and its academic content headings, skill headings, and attitude headings, are align with the logic of the curriculum. They are stable and correspondence. However, based on the student’s point of view, the role of the instructors in teaching and learning and the teaching and learning methods used in the implemented curriculum, educational resources and educational assistance, engineering students’ learning activities, course time, educational space for implementing the curriculum, methods, based on the students and the evaluation methods used, are not consistent with the sustainable curriculum elements. According to the results of the research, it can be seen that that sustainable engineering education is a vital component in dealing with climate change and promoting a greener future. With the increasing demand for sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy sources and environmentally friendly technologies, the engineering curriculum of Shiraz University must adapt to these needs.

The aim of the present research was to examine the relationship between self-efficacy in mathematics, computer science and engineering students’ academic performance. This research was applied and descriptived and correlational. The population of this research includes all engineering students of Isfahan University of Technology in the academic year 1402-1401 and multi-stage cluster sampling method. Questionnaires used to collect information include mathematical self-efficacy questionnaire (MSES), Murphy, Kuro and Owen self-efficacy questionnaire and Henderson Questionnaire were used to measure science self-efficacy. The validity and reliability of this questionnaire has been confirmed in past researches. In this research, the validity of these questionnaires has been checked and confirmed by subject experts, and its reliability has been confirmed by Cronbach’s alpha. The data obtained from the questionnaires were used by means of descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation and inferential statistics such as Pearson correlation and multiple regression. The results of the data analysis indicated that having self-efficacy in mathematics and computers can predict academic performance and science has a correlation with academic performance. Meanwhile, mathematics self-efficacy has the greatest power to explain mathematics performance, followed by computer and science self-efficacy, which has the power to explain the academic performance of undergraduate engineering students.

Engineering education, alongside various fields of engineering, requires research and importance. In engineering sciences, numerical simulation using computer software is one of the important research tools for engineers. MATLAB/Simulink software is one of the practical engineering software. Due to its wide range of applications, training in this software is of particular importance. In this paper, a training method based on a coherent set of blocks used for engineering systems is introduced. This method is based on images and the goal is to implement the blocks in the Simulink environment. Factors such as the name, appearance, and performance of block components are important. The proposed method is effective in improving the recognition and mental maintenance of these factors. Examples of implementing this idea at different levels are introduced as assignments or tests. The experience of implementing this method over several semester shows that it can be easily implemented on various engineering systems. The results from surveys on sustainability, recognition, and psychological aspects are analyzed. The effectiveness of the proposed package is investigated through pre- and post-test.

This paper proposes a new combination of contents and a teaching approach for the ‘English for Electrical Engineering’ undergraduate course. This proposition targets the current and future needs of an electrical engineer, focused on reading, comprehension, and writing, and slightly touches upon speaking and listening as well. The structure of the course is based on in-class delivery of the content in such a way that it maximally attracts the participation and contribution of students. For reading and comprehension, a wide variety of scientific and technical texts are used including textbooks, laboratory instruction manuals, user manuals, catalogues, brochures, and also datasheets. The texts are chosen to cover various subspecialties within the electrical engineering discipline. Captured from the texts discussed in the class, a rich vocabulary is gradually formed comprising numerous word clusters. Feedback of the students on the content and delivery of the course was collected through a questionnaire in three parts. According to the evaluation results, around 87% of the students participated in the class were satisfied with the fulfillment of their English language needs and expectations through the proposed course structure and content, as well as the teaching approach.

Under the influence of psychology and learning theories, education and the field of education have experienced significant changes; Thus, paying attention to the internal processes in learning provides a platform for dealing with topics such as “discussion”. The current research was conducted with the aim of identifying the components of discussion skills in the form of indicators, goals and dimensions and how to use them in architectural design education. The current research strategy is of qualitative type and for data analysis meta-composition and content analysis methods have been used consecutively. The results of the coding of documentary data and interviews in NVIVO software show that the components of discussion skills include 9 indicators, 3 goals and 2 dimensions. Indicators include: “participatory discussion”, “constructivist discussion”, “discussion connection and memory function”, “discussion link and accurate expression skills”, “discussion role in professional activities”, “discussion as an oral test”, “discussion as a design language”, “discussion as an interactive aspect of the design process” and “discussion as a visual test”. The purpose of the discussion has three basic reasons: first, to inform; second, to convince; third, to solve the problem. Finally, due to the special and unique nature of the visual sense in the field of architecture, if the two dimensions of “verbal discussion” and “visual discussion” are used in teaching architectural design at the same time based on the provided educational solutions, in addition to the attractiveness of learning and its potential cognitive benefits, it causes effective areas of learning development.

In recent years, in the world as well as in Iran, there is little interest of engineering and basic sciences, and the number of high school students who choose mathematics and sciences is decreasing. Despite the fact that the number of engineering colleges in the country has increased in recent years, the number of applicants for education has decreased sharply. This decrease in the long term will cause a shortage of efficient specialists in the country’s industries because weaker students will be attracted to engineering fields, which will be rare talented among them even if the number of graduates does not decrease. There are many reasons for this decreases, which are discussed in this article. It is tried to find ways to increase the interest of students in the mentioned fields in the future and reduce the severity of the problems that the country will face in the coming years. Students’ lack of knowledge about engineering fields and the factors that lead to choosing other fields have been studied. It is found that investment in engineering education is the basis of economic development, and it is the existence of expert and skilled forces that makes the investment of large companies possible.