Learning To Do Knowledge Work: A Framework For Teaching Research Design In Engineering Education

The purpose of this article is to describe and evaluate a framework for active learning to enhance research skills among engineering students. Following a tradition of experiential learning, we have developed a conceptual framework to support such learning. We use the term 'PROE' to refer to the framework suitable to characterize a research design in terms of four related aspects: purpose, research, outcome, and evaluation. The PROE framework is a model of as well as for research. It can be used to design, redesign, and evaluate a research process by involving not only the ability to apply specific techniques and follow specific procedures but also the higher-order competences of alignment and adjustment. As such, it is an educational framework, actively promoting the teaching-learning research activities in engineering education. We evaluate and discuss the effects on student learning by looking at data from personal observations, course evaluations, and student research projects. Thus, we contribute to the field of active learning in engineering education with a presentation of PROE as an educational framework for active learning to advance research in engineering education as well as an evaluation of the students' and our own (as lecturers) learning experiences.