From Assignment to Authorship: Review Paper Writing as a Pedagogical Approach in a Blockchain Course

Abstract

This paper presents a pedagogical approach adopted in a Blockchain Technologies course offered to undergraduate engineering students in Information Technology. As part of the course, students were engaged in collaborative review writing on diverse applications of blockchain across domains such as healthcare, agriculture, and finance. The initiative was designed to foster analytical thinking, communication, teamwork, and presentation skills, while simultaneously deepening students’ conceptual understanding of blockchain. Students received structured guidance on topic selection, academic writing practices, and the effective use of AI tools to support content development. The outcomes indicate that, in addition to acquiring technical knowledge, students enhanced a range of 21st-century skills considered essential for engineering graduates. This paper discusses the pedagogical design, implementation process, outcomes, and broader implications for engineering education research. The approach underscores the significance of experiential learning, wherein students actively contribute to content creation, thereby bridging the gap between theoretical instruction and practical application. The outcomes demonstrate significant improvement in both technical learning and 21st-century skills: 80% of students scored above 85% in CO6-mapped assessments, and the experimental group achieved 77% higher-order grades (S/A/B) compared to 45% in the control group. The initiative also resulted in 26 scholarly outputs. The findings suggest that integrating collaborative writing projects not only enriched students’ understanding of blockchain technologies but also better equipped them to address real-world challenges in their future professional practice.