Abstract
There is a need for more complex collaborative and innovative competences in engineering education all over the world and more student-centred curricula are means to meet this. However, research has shown that it is challenging to implement student-centred learning, and there is a need for change agents that are familiar with the context, culture, the subject area and new teaching and learning methods, and who have the ability to facilitate the transformation of practice in collaboration with local academic staff. In this chapter, I will present design-based research (DBR) as a research methodology that is suitable in the change process in engineering education. Three Ph.D. students at the UNESCO Chair in Problem Based Learning in Engineering Education at Aalborg University in Denmark have tried out this methodology as part of their Ph.D. study. A framework for DBR as a combined research and change strategy will be presented in this chapter together with experiences from the three Ph.D. projects in which DBR methods have been utilized, adjusted and experienced in an Asian context when implementing student-centred problem- and project-based learning (PBL) at their home institutions. The conclusion of the chapter is that the DBR method can definitely be used as part of the process of curriculum change; however, there are a lot of issues concerning academic standards, educational change and individual courage to work on cultural boundaries.
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Acknowledgement
Thanks to Andrew Jamison for encouraging me to write this contribution and to Mohamad Termizi Borhan, Prarthana Coffin and Vikas Shinde for their contributions and collaboration during the DBR process.
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Kolmos, A. (2015). Design-Based Research: A Strategy for Change in Engineering Education. In: Christensen, S., Didier, C., Jamison, A., Meganck, M., Mitcham, C., Newberry, B. (eds) International Perspectives on Engineering Education. Philosophy of Engineering and Technology, vol 20. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16169-3_18
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