| dc.description.abstract | For many years, domestic and foreign higher education institutions have already shifted from an input-oriented system to an output-oriented system. In the face of a large number of fresh graduates who lack the ability required by Taiwanese companies, various tertiary institutions are gradually placing more emphasis on developing critical core competencies among students in order to prepare graduates for the workplace. This study aims to explore students’ learning experience in a classroom setting and the impact of classroom learning with respect to the development of students’ core capabilities.
In order to achieve the objectives of this study, qualitative and quantitative methods were adopted, and a “Student Critical Competency Survey” was also developed based on past literature reviews and discussions from researchers. The subjects of the study were 581 freshmen who enrolled in either the College of Engineering or the College of Engineering & Computer Science during 2014. Out of the 581 students, 397 were randomly selected to participate in the survey, and 203 valid responses were received for a response rate of 51.1%.
Ten freshmen from six different departments under the College of Engineering and the College of Engineering & Computer Science were selected for interviews. The following conclusions were established based on our study results and data analysis:
I. Professors’ teaching methods help students learn to apply their mathematical skills, science/engineering knowledge, and use modern tools to solve various engineering problems.
II. Students have different views when exploring problems on their own, designing/planning, analyzing lab results, interpreting data, executing engineering projects, as well as on their own professionalism.
III. Inadequacies in professional expression, verbal, and writing skills.
IV. The effectiveness of teamwork was not as high as expected.
V. Low levels of teacher-student interaction can actually increase students’ self-learning capabilities.
Although Lattuca (2006) took into account the development of core competencies from the perspective of students, teachers, college heads, and employers, there has been very little study conducted based on the domestic sphere. This study can serve as a reference for teachers when designing and teaching a curriculum, for schools as a basis to promote related measures, and for expanding the research in the future. | en_US |