Session: 09-01-01: Curriculum Innovations, Pedagogy and Learning Methodologies

Paper Number: 140882

140882 - Shaping the Future of Engineering Education: Exploring Trends and Insights in Asme-Imece Engineering Education Conference Papers Past Years 

The Engineering Education track in the ASME-IMECE conference has been publishing papers related to the Engineering Education learning methodologies, methods, labs, tools, and competencies in all fields of Engineering since 2004. Over time, the primary concern has shifted in response to the prevailing topic. However, regardless of the changes, the main objective remains consistent: to contribute to the discussion about improving the student's learning experience by providing them with active learning methodologies or to repeat new creative forms of engaging students to assume the leading role in their learning.

The track on Engineering Education encompasses various aspects, with frequent focus on curriculum innovations, pedagogy, and globalization of engineering programs. Emphasis is placed on accreditation, curricular reforms, sustainability, industry competencies, and ethical dimensions. Applied mechanics, fluid dynamics, and renewable energy applications feature prominently alongside problem-solving techniques and research methodologies. Additionally, attention is given to distance and online education, pre-college STEM initiatives, and collaborative industry alliances. The importance of hands-on experiences, teaching laboratories, and novel manufacturing concepts, alongside advancements in mechatronics, robotics, automation, and cybersecurity within the engineering discipline, are underscored.

Each year, the diligent track and topic organizers meticulously review and refine the selection of topics to stay abreast of current concerns and trends. The track has successfully accumulated contributions from numerous educational researchers and teachers. Those teachers who have shared their experiences demonstrate a willingness to receive feedback and recognize this exchange as a valuable pursuit for professional and personal improvement. Additionally, the track serves as a platform for networking and connecting with like-minded researchers.

However, it is worth noting that only a limited number of teachers have shared their innovative practices and shown enthusiasm for promoting engaging activities for students. Undertaking such initiatives is challenging, requiring educators to step outside their comfort zones. Unfortunately, the dedicated efforts of these teachers often go unnoticed by their peers and higher education organizations, leading to an increased workload. In higher education, the pedagogical component tends to be marginalized, overshadowed by other responsibilities teachers must fulfill. Despite these challenges, being an active and caring teacher can be immensely self-fulfilling and can significantly contribute to the enlightenment of the teaching profession.

In this paper, the authors present an overview of publications in the EE track spanning the past twelve years (2012-2023), conducting an analysis encompassing quantitative and qualitative aspects of over 500 papers. As an initial step, this project features bibliometric analyses. Some key aspects include analysis to identify frequently occurring keywords and terms to understand the dominant themes and topics within the field, the geographic distribution of research activity to understand regional contributions and collaborations, and leading institutions/companies and their contributions to engineering education research. A large language model (LLM)-enabled platform will also be used to efficiently extract key points, trends, and outcomes from each abstract of each conference paper. This approach will enable us to provide comprehensive insights into the evolving landscape of Engineering Education research.

The primary goal of this analysis is to uncover and elucidate emerging trends in the field of Engineering Education, thereby offering valuable insights that can shape the future research agenda. Beyond this scholarly exploration, the authors aspire to actively promote the work of the numerous authors whose papers have been published. Moreover, they aim to inspire others within the academic community to contribute to the discourse by sharing their research through publication.  

Presenting Author: Anabela Alves University of Minho

Presenting Author Biography: Anabela C. Alves is Assistant Professor at the Department of Production and Systems/School of Engineering/University of Minho (UMinho). She holds a PhD in Production and Systems Engineering. She is an Integrated Member of Centre ALGORITMI/LASI. Her main research interests are in the areas of Production Systems Design and Operation; Lean Thinking applied to different fields, namely, Healthcare, Services, Product Development, Project Management; Production Planning and Control and Engineering Education, with particular interest in active learning methodologies (e.g. PLE and PBL) and Lean Education. She is the author/coauthor of more than 250 publications in international journals, books, editions of conference proceedings, and book chapters. She supervised 5 PhDs and more than 100 Master dissertations in the areas of IEM. She is a "Top Peer Reviewer", having done more than 170 reviews for international journals. She is a founder member of the PAEE association (http://paee.dps.uminho.pt) and a permanent member of the Scientific and Organizing Committee of PAEE/ALE conference. She has been co-organizing the track of Engineering Education in ASME-IMECE. She was involved in 3 funded projects and 1 in progress with industry. She has been organizing workshops about Lean Education and PBL. She was a visiting scholar at Oakland University, US and a mobility teacher at 3 universities under Erasmus+. She is also a member of the following societies and networks: SOCOLNET; SPEE; ASME; LEAN; EPIEM. She won the pedagogical award of UMinho School of Engineering in 2021. She was distinguished in the “World’s Top 2% Scientists 2022”, study of Stanford University (EUA) and the Elsevier Group. She is collaborating with General Inspectorate of Education and Science as expert external examiner of public Portuguese Schools.

Authors:

Anabela Alves University of Minho
Subha Kumpaty Concordia University Wisconsin
Gary Shimek Milwaukee School of Engineering
Diogo M. Alves University of Minho
Celina P. Leão University of Minho