“I study Engineering and I’ve got Problems”: Conceptions of

Engineering in Problem-Based Learning

Preman Rajalingam

Centre for Educational Development (CED), Republic Polytechnic, Singapore (738964)

preman_rajalingam@rp.edu.sg

Abstract
This paper shares the results of a pilot study on the conceptions of engineering held by 71 students
studying in a polytechnic in Singapore where Problem-Based Learning is the dedicated approach
to teaching and learning. The data are both visual and textual in nature and were coded within a
phenomenographic perspective to reveal the qualitatively different conceptions held by students.
The visual data when analysed together with the textual data, revealed information about student
perspectives on the nature of engineering through its „outcomes‟. In-depth analysis of the textual
data alone revealed student perspectives on the „processes‟ that engineers and engineering
students are involved in. The findings illustrate the conceptions and possible misconceptions that
students have about engineering.

Keywords: Engineering Education, Student Conceptions, Qualitative, Photographic Data

1. INTRODUCTION
The doubling of engineering knowledge every 10 years[1], a general decline in student interest [2] and a
need to prepare students to solve open ended problem in the workplace [3] are but three of many issues
faced by engineering educators around the world, and Singapore is no exception. As the profession of
engineering evolves, inevitably so do the approaches to teaching and learning adopted by engineering
educators. Among the many approaches, Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is thought to have a natural fit
with engineering and has been generally embraced by engineering educators. There is also strong
evidence that PBL is very suited for the teaching and learning of engineering [4]. While the literature
suggests that PBL has an impact on knowledge acquisition, knowledge integration and problem solving
skills, there is a gap in terms of how PBL impacts students‟ conceptions of engineering.

A better understanding of students‟ conceptions of engineering and how they are formed may:-

 Tell us why students pursue and persist in engineering courses,

 Clarify critical connections between engineering education and practice,
 Illuminate potential naive conceptions of engineering, and
 Provide insight for constructing curriculum and pedagogy.

While such research into such engineering epistemologies has been identified as a priority area for
research in engineering education [5], the literature is this area is modest as compared with the literature
on student conceptions about other domains such as science and mathematics.

2. BACKGROUND AND PARTICIPANT ANALYSIS

The five polytechnics in Singapore cater to the largest segment of students in the tertiary education sector.
Polytechnics in Singapore conduct 3-year diploma programmes as pre-employment education for mainly

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O-Level holders. Polytechnic diploma holders who have performed well usually gain direct entry to
university undergraduate programmes at a senior level. Of the five polytechnics, the newest one setup in
2002, aims to achieve the Ministry of Education‟s mission of developing “practice-oriented and
knowledgeable middle-level professionals” by adopting Problem Based Learning (PBL) as its dedicated
pedagogy. This means that the entire curricular content is designed as a series of PBL problems. In
applying PBL, this Polytechnic has implemented a unique process termed as a One-Day, One-Problem™
approach which entails students spending exclusively one whole day working on a problem that is centred
around an idea or a concept [6].

The 71 participants of this study were all students of this particular polytechnic at the end of the academic
year 2008/2009. They ranged in age from 17 to 24. They were from all three years of study and were
enrolled in various technology oriented diplomas ranging from the traditional disciplines of engineering,
sciences and information technology, to industry practices related to arts, sports, hospitality and leisure.
st
For the purpose of this study the students were grouped into foundation year students (in their 1 year)
nd rd st
and higher year students (in their 2 and 3 years). This made sense as students in their 1 year of study
took the same general modules, such as mathematics, science and cognitive processes, regardless of
their diploma programme. TABLE 1 shows the demographic breakdown on the participants.

Subgroup N Male Female Foundation Higher

Year Years
(Yr 1) (Yr 2-3)
Engineering 32 22 (69%) 10 (31%) 15 (47%) 17 (53%)
Diplomas
Non Engineering 39 19 (49%) 20 (51%) 6 (15%) 33 (85%)
Diplomas
TABLE 1. Demographic information about the 71 participants in this study

3. RESEARCH OUTLINE

This study employs a qualitative research design and analyses photographs as visual data and written
reflections as textual data. Using participant generated photographs and text together is an effective
qualitative method for revealing students‟ conceptions of engineering. While the photographs themselves
are tools that alone may not be sufficient for addressing research questions, when combined with other
data, they have been found to be highly effective in improving research in the social sciences [7].

Benefits of using this type of research include:-

 Elicitation of rich descriptions that can be more comprehensive than other research methods,
 Genuine engagement of the participants in coming up with and describing the photographs, and
 An ability to represent how people understand the context of engineering visually.

3.1 Data Collection - Photo Activity and Reflection on Engineering

In April 2009, at the end of the academic year 2008/2009 an email was sent to all students requesting
their participation in a research project to find out more about their thoughts about engineering. The 71
students who volunteered were requested to electronically submit two pieces of work that they came up
with or put together themselves.

These were:-

A. A captioned photograph or photo-montage that captured their answer to the question “What is
engineering?” , and
B. A written reflection on the question “What does learning or doing engineering mean to me?”

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3.2 Data Analysis

The analysis of the photographic and the written data were done within a phenomenographic perspective
[8] to investigate the qualitatively different ways in which students experience or think about engineering.
All photographs and written reflections were digitally cut from the student submissions and inserted into a
separate document. In this document the identifiable information about each student was removed and
replaced with a unique identification code. All qualitative analysis was done based on the data within this
document.

It was found that analysis of the photographs alone were highly subjective, but when the individual
photographs were combined with the reflections from each student it immediately became clear to the
researchers what the students perception of engineering was. Therefore the photographs and written
reflections were analysed together. The researcher, in negotiation with two other researchers, came up
with six different categories that were reflective of this data. The three researchers then independently
grouped the data into these categories, assigning each student to a single category. They discussed their
analysis and resolved any ambiguities or misalignments through discussion, hence improving the reliability
of the results.

Secondly an in-depth analysis was carried out on the written reflection alone, which is in itself a rich
source of data. Keywords and phrases in the reflections were first marked and then grouped into ten
different categories by the researcher. In this case a single reflection from a single student may contribute
to multiple categories. Another researcher verified the categories to ensure reliability.

4. KEY FINDINGS

The six categories uncovered by the analysis of the photographs and reflection together clearly reveal the
outcomes that students associated with engineering (see TABLE 2). The outcomes in this case refer to
the final products, end result or consequences of engineering. All students‟ submissions were sorted
except for three submissions that the three researchers could not agree upon, and were left unassigned.

The ten categories uncovered by the in-depth analysis of the student reflection tell us about the processes
that students associated with engineering (see TABLE 3). In this case processes refer to an action or an
activity that students associate with engineering.

4.1 The outcomes that students associate with engineering

The analysis identified six qualitatively different outcomes that students associated with engineering.
These are listed and described in TABLE 2 below. Even though all the six categories are distinct, the
researcher found that they could be further categorised into abstract and concrete outcomes associated
with engineering.

The abstract categories were DESIGN, INNER and SOCIAL, the first three in TABLE 2. They reflect the
somewhat abstract, intangible products and outcomes associated with engineering. At very least they
reflected the outcomes that were below the surface and not immediately visible.

The concrete categories were TOOLS, BUILDING and TRANSPORT, the last three in TABLE 2. These
categories reflect concrete, visible and tangible outcome of engineering. In many ways these outcomes,
such as cars, computers and bridges, are what the layperson typically associates with engineering.

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CATEGORY DESCRIPTION EXAMPLES FROM THE TEXT VISUAL EXAMPLES
AND PHOTOS
DESIGN Planning, schematics, blueprints, circuit
drawing, diagrams, engineering sketches,
designing and Design and Technology
connecting projects, conceptual diagrams
different
components
INNER Inner workings mechanical gears and pulleys,
of a device, gears of a bicycle, IC chips,
technology Printed Circuit Boards,
below the electronic components, engine
surface parts, close up of engine

SOCIAL Impact of freedom, changes the fabric of

engineering on society, progress, social
economy, engineering, ethics, politics,
society or economy, money from
human progress engineering

TOOLS Everyday toothbrushes, mobile phones,

products and bicycles, computers, laptops,
tools mostly for gaming devices, cameras,
personal use, watches, TVs, message chair,
that make life electric drill, bench tools,
easier screwdrivers, pliers
BUILDING Stone, concrete, construction sites, historic
steel or glass structures, buildings,
structures that skyscrapers, architecture ,
involve bridges, expressways, port
construction cranes , city skyline

TRANSPORT Vehicles and MRT line, cars, planes, busses,

other methods vehicles, lorries, vehicles
of transporting travelling on roads
people or things

TABLE 2. Categorisation of data that indicate student perspectives on engineering „outcomes‟

4.2 The processes that students associate with engineering

The ten categories that were identified from the student reflections on engineering give an overview of the
process that students typically associate with engineering. Though these categories were not generated a
priori to data analysis, many of the categories resonate with other similar research in a Swedish
engineering context [9]. This indicates the transferability of these categories.

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CATEGORY DESCRIPTION TEXTUAL EXAMPLES

MAKE Constructing, “To create and produce practical and helpful things in our life, ranging
making, from a variety of objects from construction, aviation, automotive and
manufacturing or software. Engineering creates and develops things that have not existed
building physical in the natural world and satisfy human desire or need.”
things.
FUN Engineering as a “To me, engineering is far much more than all these. Engineering can be
fun, enjoyable or as interesting as what other courses can be. Well I think being a part in
pleasurable pursuit this engineering world is interesting and fun.”
IMPROVE Improving or “This on the other shows the role of engineering in constantly refining the
refining existing ways that human being interact with machines and it is though this
technology constant refinement that we would be able to do things better and more
efficiently than ever.”
CREATIVE Being innovative or “And lastly innovation because not everybody are able to come up with
creative designs for mundane things like machinery or equipment. It takes
creativity to engineer something that works yet is pleasing to the eye.”
HUMAN Changing human “Imagine our days without the engineering knowledge? I think we would
life and society still be trying hard to get fire by rubbing stone under the sun. So all in all,
learning engineering means enhancing human life, brings comfort to us
and revolve all around us, we can‟t live without it really”
NEW Contributing new “One such example of this would be making use of raw materials or
ideas and things learning how to use the raw materials to combine them into something
that is totally new, another example would be learning the physics of
machine and their design.”
SOLVE Finding solutions or “Engineering careers are all about solving human problems! Engineers
solving problems put their skill, imagination and reasoning to work using the application of
technical and scientific knowledge that they require in order to come up
with new solutions to problems faced by humans or news ways to solve
old problems.”
TEAM Teamwork, working “Nevertheless, Teamwork is everything. As from what I see, Engineers
together and don't work by themselves. They tend to work in small teams, which expect
collaborating to and require creativity, speed, and interaction. The better you learn to work
achieve a goal with a team, the easier your projects will go.”
SUBJECT Knowing the “And to design something, it must have its geometry, dimensions, and
foundational characteristic numbers and that‟s‟ where mathematics comes in.
knowledge Therefore, engineers have to learn mathematics, science, mechanics to
connected to be able to design, construct, operate and maintain the systems”
engineering
UNDERSTAND Understanding how “So in relation to what engineering is, learning engineering to me would
things work or be learning how things work and making use of the different things that
realising something we have to make them something that is useful to us”
new
TABLE 3. Categorisation of textual data that indicate student perspectives on engineering „processes

4.3 The prevalent conceptions of engineering among students

The findings of this preliminary study illustrate the conceptions and possible misconceptions that students
hold about engineering. Regardless of the diploma programme they are enrolled in, students interact with
technology daily and studying technology related subjects (like programming and science). Therefore it is
reasonable to expect them to have a perspective about engineering. The most common „outcome‟
associated with engineering was BUILDING (and construction). Fewer than 10% of the students
recognised one of the central „outcomes‟ of engineering, DESIGN. This suggests that despite the relatively
advanced level of study many students associate the most visible and obvious outcomes with engineering.
(See FIGURE 1)

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 FIGURE 1. Chart showing the percentage of students who associate engineering with each of the
„outcomes‟

It is not surprising then that the strongest conception among the „processes‟ was MAKE. Once aging
perhaps reflects a strong association of engineering with construction and machines. It is surprising that
despite studying in a PBL environment that TEAM was not a more prominent conception. However, it is
encouraging to know that almost a quarter of students actually associated engineering with FUN.

FIGURE 2. Chart showing the percentage of students who associated a certain „process‟ with engineering

4.4 Relationship between demographic factors and student conception of engineering

One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were conducted to evaluate the relationship between the
student demographic factors (as listed in TABLE 1) and these conceptions of engineering. The

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demographic factors, that were the independent variables, were gender (male or female), field of study
(engineering or non-engineering) and year of study (foundation year or higher years). The dependent
variables were the outcome and process categories listed in the previous sections. It was found that the
ANOVAs were not significant any of the dependent variables and, no further tests were conducted. The
small number of items in the sample could be the reason why the ANOVA test did not indicate
significance.

5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Conceptions of engineering that involve design, problem solving and team work are highly valued by
engineering educators and PBL seems to be an obvious means to promoting some of these conceptions
[10]. Therefore it comes as a surprise that this study suggest that these conceptions do not feature
strongly in how students perceive engineering. At this stage, based on the relatively small sample size and
the exploratory nature of this study, it is premature to make any generalisation about the larger population
or the efficacy of PBL in shaping students conceptions of engineering. However the categories uncovered
from the rich student data are useful in helping us recognise patterns within various educational contexts.
The results of this pilot study do not challenge the suitability of PBL for engineering, but hopefully they do
raise the question of whether we are doing enough in PBL to promote the “right” conceptions of
engineering among students. Or even the question of what is the “right” conception of engineering to
have.

Locally, the findings of this study will be used by engineering educators to help them design curriculum
that helps students to develop an understanding of engineering that is more robust and accurate. It is
likely that it will also generate debate around the nature of engineering and how best to investigate
conceptions of engineering. Coming to a better understating of the student beliefs about engineering,
opens the door to examining how such beliefs affect approaches to learning and choices in professional
domains. A next step in the furthering this research would be to verify and rank these six outcome
categories and ten process categories, against what engineering educators and working engineers think
of engineering. Further verification and even reduction of these categories can form the basis of an
instrument that can be used to quickly and easily gather information on student conceptions of
engineering.

A secondary purpose of this paper is to promote the use novel data sources such as photographs and
other visual media in research in engineering education. While engineers have been often accused of
having a bias towards hard data and objectivity, there are certain insights that can only be gained
interpreting this type of qualitative data. In any research, the research question being investigated should
drive the adoption the data that is analysed. Bogdan and Biklen (1982) [11] recommend that when using
photographs in qualitative research in education the researcher ask “What value does it have for me and
how can I make use of it in my own work?”.

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