Social Learning in Engineering Education

Abstract

Today, many engineering educators are concerned that their students do not receive enough practical knowledge of engineering and its context. Many engineering faculty members believe the educational solution lies in taking a more constructive approach, where students construct knowledge and connections between nodes of knowledge as opposed to passively absorbing knowledge. In this paper we are focusing on 1). Observational learning and 2). Identifying strategies for promoting social learning. Social learning has grown rapidly in the past few years in colleges requiring instructors to learn effective ways to build communities of learners. There are barriers to avoid, as well as key components to include, when creating social learning environments. Educators see social-learning as a way to both implement a constructivism in engineering education as well as match the teaching styles to the learning styles of typical engineering students.