Education for Chemical Engineers 28 (2019) 45–53

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Education for Chemical Engineers

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ece

The introduction to engineering course: A case study from Universiti

Teknologi Malaysia
Aziatul Niza Sadikin a,∗ , Khairiyah Mohd-Yusof b , Fatin Aliah Phang b ,
Azmahani Abdul Aziz c
a
School of Chemical & Energy Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
b
Centre for Engineering Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
c
School of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: As part of an effort to enhance students’ first year experience, all Chemical Engineering students in
Received 17 July 2018 Universiti Teknologi Malaysia are required to take the Introduction to Engineering course. This course
Received in revised form 29 March 2019 is designed to stimulate students’ passion and strengthen motivation for further engineering studies, as
Accepted 2 April 2019
well as to enhance their technical knowledge and relevant professional skills. To investigate the impact
Available online 6 April 2019
of the course on students’ knowledge of engineering, an exploratory study is conducted through an open-
ended survey, given at the beginning and end of the semester. The analysis shows that the ITE course
Keywords:
successfully served the purpose of raising awareness about engineering profession among students, while
Cooperative learning
Problem-based learning
motivating them through student-centred learning approaches. A qualitative study is also conducted by
Professional skills analysing reflection journals submitted by students to identify the improvement on professional skills
Reflective journals that students have developed as they go through the course. This study concludes to show that first year
engineering students who have gone through the activities in the course have understood the role of
engineers and their job functions. They have also managed to develop professional skills as part of their
initial journey to become good engineers.
© 2019 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction out really understanding ‘what is engineering’, and its importance.

Basically, the students are from various socioeconomic status and
The requirements to face the challenges of the 21st century background, with limited understanding and experience of their
necessitate chemical engineering graduates to be technically com- potential contributions to society as engineers and wider impact of
petent, and well equipped with professional skills and strength their professional decisions. They do not realise the extent of the
of character. A report from the Royal Academy of Engineering in complexity of the content and the efforts required to develop the
2007 highlights the need for higher educational institutions to offer needed skills and attitude to be good engineers. Without the proper
courses that equip engineering students with knowledge and pro- understanding of engineering, the context of its applications and
fessional skills to effectively work in a constantly evolving industry their future roles, students do not have the motivation to put in the
(The Royal Academy of Engineering, 2007). The World Economic required effort. Thus, it is not surprising that some students drop
Forum report on the Future of Jobs published in 2016 highlights out of engineering programs (Becker, 2010), even whilst in their
the top 10 skills needed for graduates, with complex problem solv- first year (Tamara et al., 2005).
ing, critical thinking and creativity being the most important skills For this reason, the first year in engineering has always been
(World Economic Forum, 2016). seen as crucial in providing support on an overall view of engi-
Nevertheless, developing future chemical engineers who are neering so that students will be better equipped and have a better
fit for these challenges requires students who are motivated and idea of what is to come, as well as the potential that they have
willing to undergo rigorous education and training. In UTM, many ahead of them if they were to continue on as engineers. Many
students are enrolled into the chemical engineering program with- institutions have developed introductory courses to help first-year
engineering students to think and function as engineers, and to
help them gain a better understanding of what it means to be an
∗ Corresponding author. engineer. These introductory engineering courses vary in content
E-mail address: aziatulniza@utm.my (A.N. Sadikin). and do not apply the same design and learning approach. Various

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ece.2019.04.001
1749-7728/© 2019 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
46 A.N. Sadikin et al. / Education for Chemical Engineers 28 (2019) 45–53

model in implementing the introductory courses in the first year, In Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), the Ïntroduction to
leading to different outcomes of students’ development. Questions ¨
Engineering(ITE) course has been in the curriculum of the chemi-
arise whether one should provide an overview of the fundamentals cal engineering program since its introduction in the first semester
first, or help to inspire first year students on the vast possibili- of the 2005/06 academic year. Designed based on the How People
ties and potentials of engineers so that they become motivated Learn (HPL) framework (Bransford et al., 2004) and Constructive
(Baillie, 1998). Many of the introductory engineering courses aimed Alignment (Biggs and Tang, 2007), the course aims to support stu-
to motivate, engage and retain students in engineering through var- dents to bridge the gap between learning in a school environment
ious teaching and learning approaches. Various approaches exist in and learning to be an engineer in the university. The ITE course
stimulating and motivating students’ interest in engineering, such provides supportive student-centred learning environments that
as using hands-on design projects to provide realistic engineering allow students to develop important skills to learn, as well as under-
experiences (Gustafsson et al., 2002; Gu et al., 2006). While there stand and develop abilities required to be good engineers when
are institutions that focused on specific introductory engineering they graduate. The course also aims to help students understand
fields, which made it easier to focus on projects relevant to the what engineering actually is, in everyday and professional con-
area (Esparragoza et al., 2013), there are also institutions that offer texts, and the need for good engineers, especially in facing up to
a general introductory engineering course (Aloul et al., 2015; Nesbit the challenges of the 21 st Century. The ITE course has integrated
et al., 2005). various student-centered learning approaches, such as active learn-
A particularly interesting design-based approach is ing, cooperative learning and problem-based learning to improve
the Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate (CDIO) approach. student understanding on the content, as well as to enhance pro-
Gustafsson et al. (2002) presented a study of four first-year fessional skills development.
engineering introductory courses, from different universities that While there are similarities in the aim of the UTM Chemi-
collaborative participate in the CDIO Program (Gustafsson et al., cal Engineering ITE course with other introductory engineering
2002). The program aimed to provide students with an education courses described earlier, especially in helping students to under-
that emphasize fundamental engineering knowledge and to sustain stand engineering, one of the aims of the ITE course to bridge
productivity, innovation and excellence. The program prescribes the gap between learning in school and learning to be an engi-
improvements in increasing hands-on learning, emphasizing neer is not common among other introductory engineering courses.
problem formulation, increasing active, experiential and group This aim to bridge the gap means that the ITE course is designed
learning, as well as enhancing feedback mechanisms. Similarly, with many scaffolding activities both in the cognitive and affec-
the College of Engineering at Shantou University has adopt the tive domains to support students towards becoming self-directed
CDIO Initiative and redevelop new curricula for all five engineering leaners in preparing themselves to learn engineering in the univer-
programmes based on the CDIO framework (Gu et al., 2006). The sity. The scaffolding includes, for example, the way the real-world
introductory engineering courses that utilized a design-based sustainable development-themed problem is design and divided
approach reported increased motivation and retention among into three parts, and the use of the Cooperative Problem-Based
students. Learning framework to support students in learning and solving
Other than design-based approaches, there are also introduc- the problem in part, which were all geared to instill the awareness
tory engineering courses that utilized open-ended problems and of the important role of engineers and develop skills in engineering
authentic real-world tasks. Esparragoza et al. (2013) described a processes.
first-year course in the mechanical engineering curriculum at Tech- This paper describes the design and implementation of Intro-
nical University Federico Santa Maria (Esparragoza et al., 2013). duction to Engineering course for first year chemical engineering
This introductory course aims to stimulate students’ interest and students. The findings of a qualitative exploratory study conducted
strengthen their motivation for mechanical engineering through to determine the impact of ITE on developing student understand-
open-ended problems and authentic real-world tasks, individually ing about engineering is presented. The results of the study are
and in teams. Aloul et al. describes a common first-year under- useful to understand how students can be taught in a manner that
graduate engineering course for various engineering disciplines to motivates and supports them to learn, and thus provide ideas and
freshmen in the College of Engineering at the American University improve the way an introductory engineering course is conducted.
of Sharjah (Aloul et al., 2015). This course was aimed at developing In addition, the educational principles used as the basis of the
an understanding of the major roles of engineers, encouraging col- design of the ITE course is included so that they may be used as
laboration among engineering disciplines, building a foundation in the underlying principles when there is any need for modification
problem solving and instituting ethical responsibilities in students. to suit to the needs or constraints of another institution.
This course also allowed students to get to know the different engi-
neering disciplines so that they could make an informed choice on
which specific engineering area they would major on after their 1.1. Underlying educational principles
first year.
At Lafayette College, the Engineering Division has developed The ITE course is designed based on the How People Learn
an innovative first-year engineering course, which introduces the Framework (HPL) (Bransford et al., 2004) and Constructive Align-
engineering method and design approach (Nesbit et al., 2005). ment (Biggs and Tang, 2007). Based on constructivist principles,
The course goals are to improve student motivation and retention, Constructive Alignment asserts that both the teaching and learning
stimulate interest in and build bridges to mathematics, sciences, activities (TLAs) and the assessment tasks (ATs) should be aligned
and the humanities courses, and to teach the first-year engi- to and support the development of the learning outcomes among
neering students about engineering and how an engineer solves students. The HPL Framework, which comes from a meta-analysis
problems. This introductory course was important for first year of strong learning theories and research on learning, consists of
engineering student because they can help to shape the imagi- four overlapping lenses that define an effective learning environ-
nation about what the engineering profession really is, how to ment: knowledge, learner, assessment and community centered. To
think and function as an engineer, so they can act like engineers. incorporate both educational principles, Problem-Based Learning
As a result, this course lead to increased students’ satisfaction, (PBL) and Cooperative Learning (CL) are implemented as the teach-
a greater sense of community, and higher program retention ing and learning approaches to learn and solve problems based on
rates. sustainable development.
 A.N. Sadikin et al. / Education for Chemical Engineers 28 (2019) 45–53 47

Fig. 1. The Cooperative Problem-Based Learning (CPBL) Framework (Mohd-Yusof et al., 2011).

PBL embeds small groups of students and presents them with ple sections, facilitated by different lecturers. Student teams were
an unstructured, realistic problem to solve. The problem is crafted formed to ensure a heterogeneous group, including gender, eth-
to engage and immerse students in going through engineer- nic, cultural background and English proficiency. Heterogeneous
ing processes to solve sustainability related issues. Students are groups promote diverse thinking and provide opportunities for
guided through a Cooperative PBL (CPBL) cycle that helps them students to develop feelings of mutual understanding. Each group
to identify the problem, construct new knowledge and provide a needs to have diversity so that professional skills related to inter-
solution systematically. In this instructional framework, the team personal and team-working skills can be acquired. Referring to
members must practice the five tenets of CL to develop func- Table 1, students go through several ice-breaking activities during
tional learning teams (Smith, 1995). The five tenets are positive the first week of the course to help them bond and create a team
interdependence, individual accountability, face-to-face interac- identity. Each team wrote and signed a team contract containing
tion, appropriate interpersonal skills and regular self-assessment the rules of conduct, responsibilities and policies on how to handle
of group functioning. The CPBL framework, which is the infusion of conflicting issues and disputes.
CL principles into the PBL cycle, has three phases, as shown in Fig. 1. From Table 1, the course consists of a short project on overview
The framework can be used to visualize the CPBL process to support of engineering, the profession and its requirements, basic calcula-
students in grasping the whole process, as well as for facilitators to tions of common process variables and unit conversion using active
explain the significance of each step in terms of the outcomes and learning, introduction to engineering ethics using case studies and
activities in each block, as they go through each of the three phases a problem on sustainable development (SD) using cooperative
in the CPBL cycle. problem-based learning.
Phase 1 of the CPBL cycle consists of the problem identification The engineering overview assignment is the first team-based
and analysis. Students individually write a problem restatement assignment for the students in the course. Students are asked to find
and identification (PR & PI) to invoke construction of their own the definition of engineering from literature, and based on certain
understanding before coming to class for discussions with their specific questions on engineering, they are asked to interview at
team members. Phase 2 consists of learning, application and solu- least two practicing engineers. Students would produce a two-page
tion formulation. In phase 2, the aim is to have learners develop the report and give a short group presentation on their understand-
skill to learn new material, synthesize and apply them to formulate ing of engineering and the answer the question given, based on
a solution. The outcome is for learners to take responsibility for information found from literature and interviews with engineers.
their own learning. Phase 3 is generalization, internalization and A more detailed description and the impact of this assignment can
closure. In phase 3, the outcome is to have learners critically evalu- be seen in Mohd-Yusof et al. (2014).
ate the final solution from each team, and use meta-cognitive skills The problem given in the ITE course, as seen in Table 1, is set
to internalize and generalize the concepts and skills learned. More in a real world setting with the involvement of stakeholders and is
details on the CPBL model can be seen in (Mohd-Yusof et al., 2011). designed to integrate the three pillars of sustainable development.
The CPBL model has been shown to create an effective learning In the 2014/2015 session, the problem was focused on sustain-
environment that nurtures team-based problem solving skills as able water resources for communities in UTM and its surrounding
well as enhance motivation and learning strategies among under- areas. The problem is “packaged” properly to make it realistic for
graduate engineering students (Mohd-Yusof et al., 2016; Helmi immersing and engaging students. For example, brochures, posters
et al., 2016). or letters from the relevant authorities were made to describe the
main problem or issues, which can also be posed as a competition.
1.2. Course description A sample brochure can be found in Appendix A.
Since this problem is at an initial stage and it is for the first
The Introduction to Engineering (ITE) course is a three-credit year students, it is written in a straightforward manner. The prob-
hour course with 30–40 students in each class. There are multi- lem is designed in three stages to gradually challenge students
48 A.N. Sadikin et al. / Education for Chemical Engineers 28 (2019) 45–53

Table 1
Course outline.

Week Topic Topic Outcomes

Week 1 The semester system, Syllabus overview & expectations, Team Explain the concept of credit hours in semester system used in UTM.
Development Undergo the first stage of team development: team division, team
Teaching & Learning Activities (TLA): lecture and discussion on name, rule, motto and logo, ice breaking.
semester system and the ITE course syllabus and outcomes; team
formation & ice-breaking
Cooperative Learning (CL) Skills Explain traits that are required to learn and perform effectively as a
Week 2-3 TLA: lecture and discussion on CL and types of learning teams responsible member of a team according to the principles of CL
Engineering Overview Project Guide students to find ways to link with engineers for their teams
TLA: interview engineers, short video, assignment report, reflection Craft questions to ask engineers in interview sessions.
journal, peer rating assessment Presentation and closure Engineering Overview.
Chemical Engineering and 5 M Concept Explain what is chemical engineering based on the basic 5 M concept.
TLA: lecture and discussion on defining chemical engineering and its
importance
Week 4-5 PBL Case Study: Part 1 Explain sustainable development, discuss current world scenario and
TLA: go through CPBL cycle to find information and learn about SD in analyse information from several countries to benchmark current
local and global scenario, and present critical analysis of findings. efforts in Malaysia compared to other nations around the world.
Week 6 Introduction to Basic calculation Perform unit conversions for basic dimensions and derive simple
TLA: flipped classroom, assignment, quizzes & test calculations for commonly used dimensions in the chemical industries.
Week PBL Case Study: Part 2 Design data collection of students’ and their families, or a local industry
7-10 TLA: go through CPBL cycle to plan and collect required data at consumption or generation of assigned resource to estimate and
(includes 1 residential collage and homes, perform data analysis to determine determine behaviour pattern, refine data and analysis to benchmark
week semester pattern for bench-marking. Use data to justify problems to be focused with local and global information to propose possible solutions.
break) on proposed solutions.
Introduction to Basic calculation Perform calculations using commonly used basic and derived
Week 11
TLA: flipped classroom, assignment, quizzes & test dimensions in the chemical industries.
Ethics Case Study Explain professional ethics as defined by the Board of Engineers
TLA: assignment and class discussion Malaysia (BEM) and the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM)
Week 12-14 PBL Case Study: Part 3 Propose engineering solutions to a specific problem, get feedback on
TLA: go through CPBL cycle to design an innovative solution, perform problem and possible solutions from stakeholders and focus on the
economic assessment on propose solution, and fieldwork to get design and economic analysis of proposed solution.
feedback from stakeholders.

with increasing difficulty. Each stage moves the student closer and 1.3. Objectives of the study
closer to the final goal, the final documentation of the problem solu-
tion. Although these stages are sequential, feedback exists between The objectives of the study are to investigate the impact of the
stages, which systematically provide the necessary support to scaf- course on the students’ understanding on engineering and to iden-
fold students’ learning. tify the professional skills enhancement that students developed
Stage 1 is for learning about SD, finding information on current as they go through Introduction to Engineering course. This study
world scenario, and bench-marking. Stage 2 is focused on the spe- was conducted on 135 first year chemical engineering students in
cific element of SD, data collection and analysis of the students’ the Introduction to Engineering course during the Semester 1 of
and families’ consumption or generation, and pattern of behaviour. 2014/2015 academic session.
In Stage 3, students propose some of the best engineering solu-
tions and cost analysis. All team members will have worked on all
2. Methodology
three analytical problems and interact with their team members, as
well as with students from other teams. At the end of the semester,
A qualitative research design was employed to achieve the
during the competition, the panel of judges, consisting of experts
research objectives. There were 30 to 45 students in a class, in
in the area would be invited to evaluate students’ innovative
three groups or sections, facilitated by a two lecturers. In the first
products.
phase, a simple survey instrument was designed to evaluate the
At the end of each stage, progress reports would be submitted
impact of the course on the student’s understanding on engineer-
and assessed based on team efforts. Marks received by individual
ing. The survey was administered to all students at the beginning
student from the project report are multiplied with an auto-rating
of the semester to investigate students’ background, assess their
factor (Kaufmann et al., 1999) calculated based on the peer rating
understanding on engineering, its importance and the need for
at the end of each problem. Finally, after the report presentation
good engineers. The student demographics are predominately tra-
and submission, students are expected to write a reflection journal.
ditional students who come both from the urban cities and rural
To ensure that they take the journal and the peer rating seriously,
towns in Malaysia. All students are Malaysian citizens. The instruc-
explanations are given on the purpose of all activities, and what
tor formulates a diverse membership for the teams at the beginning
they would get from doing them. For example, the reflection is
of the course using demographics information like gender, eth-
for evaluating their own actions and thoughts, and internalizing
nics, cultural background and English proficiency. Students have
what they have learned from the assignment, and how they can
a different viewpoint and perception of what engineering is, how-
improve or do things better in the future. The peer rating is to eval-
ever, this paper does not analyze the relationship between student
uate their team performance, and what they need to do to improve
demographics and students’ understanding on engineering. Stu-
and develop better team working for the coming assignment. To
dents were given the same instrument at the end of the semester.
assess their team performances, the students are basically asked to
The response rate was 100% (n = 135), and the results were sub-
do a p̈lus-deltaf̈ormat, where the plus are positive actions that are
jected to thematic analysis looking for broad themes.
practiced and should be maintained, and the deltas are the mat-
In the second phase, qualitative data were collected to explore
ters or actions that need to be taken to improve how the team
the professional skills gained using reflection journals. Students
works.
were guided on the format of a reflective journal reflecting their
 A.N. Sadikin et al. / Education for Chemical Engineers 28 (2019) 45–53 49

Table 2 development, engineering ethics, interest, future career, challenge,

Frequencies of responses at the beginning and end of the term.
problem solving, leadership and interpersonal skills were tabu-
No Code Beginning End of lated. At the final phase, the codes were reexamined by comparing
of Semester Semester the slices of data at the second phase to the original full transcripts
1 Applied mathematics, physic 17 56 of the reflective journals. This is to ensure that the quotations taken
and chemistry out were not interpreted out of context. Finally, conclusions were
2 Problem solving 18 48 made and these are shown in Section 3.
3 Invent/create product 29 28
4 Better life 7 29
5 Innovation/creativity 4 23
6 Sustainability 3 17 3. Results and discussion
7 Safety 1 6
8 Cooperate/work with people 7 5 Analysis and coding of data from open-ended surveys are pre-
9 Do research 4 5
sented and discussed through the use of quotes and narratives. The
10 Leadership 3 0
open-ended items on the survey had the students responded to
prompts; such as, “What is engineering? What does an engineer
do – in terms of activities at the workplace and roles in a nation?”
Tables 2 and 3 show the frequencies of responses to this question,
and its sample responses respectively. The finding of this study
shows that the first year students who went through the ITE course
are able to define the engineering profession, as well as the role of
engineers.
Analysis of the survey at the beginning of the semester shows
that the students’ insight on engineering was lacking. Students’
viewed engineering profession as innovating and creating prod-
ucts. However, at the end of the semester, most students considered
engineering as a profession of applied mathematics and science.
According to Shobrook (2004), first year engineering students often
Fig. 2. Components of Data Analysis, after Miles & Huberman. lack comprehensive knowledge of the engineering field (Shobrook,
2004). A large number of students arrive at university simply
learning through various teaching and learning activities in the ITE because they are competent in science and mathematics, and uni-
class. At the end of the semester, after all the reflection have been versity study in engineering subjects is the next logical step to take.
collected, a qualitative data analysis technique recommended by Nevertheless, it has been shown (Table 3) that the students who
Miles and Huberman (1994) was employed (Miles and Huberman, participated in the survey at the end of the course were able to
1994). The technique has four phases, as shown in Fig. 2, consist- define the engineering profession, as well as the role of engineers.
ing of data collection, data reduction, data display and conclusion The majority defines that engineering as the application of math-
drawing and verification. ematics, physic and chemistry to invent, innovate, design, build,
The first step of data analysis was carried out by download- research, and improve machines, system, materials, and processes.
ing all the reflection journals from the course e-learning site into From the beginning, an engineering overview assignment given
printed texts. Each reflection journal was read at least three times. in the course aims to support students to learn about engineering,
One of the researchers needs to familiarize with the data by read- and to motivate them to see it as their future career. Concerning the
ing and rereading it, while noting them down in codes. The next engineering profession that related to safety aspects, the frequency
step of data analysis was to reduce the data into a manageable vol- in the post test were increase because the assignment emphasized
ume to answer the research questions. By focusing on the research deeply about the real situation in engineering safety, the different
questions, information that was not important can be put aside. types of engineers and what engineers do on a daily basis.
Keywords and phrases that could answer the research questions In engineering overview assignment, the team members must
were highlighted. At the third stage, the codes that are consistently practice the five tenets of cooperative learning. There was a general
repeated, such as communication skills, team working skills, time agreement that the team was necessary, nevertheless the students
management skills, motivation, technical knowledge, sustainable mentioned the lack of commitment in the survey and repeatedly

Table 3
Examples of quotations for codes from open-ended questions.

Code Student Example of quotation

Applied mathematics, Student A20 Engineer is a profession where mathematics and scientific knowledge is applied in solving a problem.
physic and chemistry
Problem solving Student A57 Engineer design material to solve a problem by considering the effect of environment, social and economy.
Invent/create product Student A73 Engineering is a study of knowledge where invention of products based on creativity and innovation is carried out
regarding the use of materials to produce high-quality products.
Better life Student A66 An engineer’s role in a nation is to help improve the life of the human.
Innovation and Student A22 Engineers are significant in the aspect of creative thinking as well as critical thinking to innovate more new product.
creativity
Sustainability Student A29 Engineer will solve problem based on the three pillars of sustainability, which are economic, environmental and social.
Safety Student A74 Engineer responsible with the safety of human being as if any problem occur in factory or plant will cause long term
effect to world
Cooperate and work Student A16 Engineers must work as a team but not individually.
with people
Research Student A62 Engineer do research and design new chemical process to create new products that will benefit on sustainability
development.
Leaders Student B56 Work as a leader in team which gives instruction to others to complete a project.
50 A.N. Sadikin et al. / Education for Chemical Engineers 28 (2019) 45–53

Table 4
Example quotes for codes from open-ended questions.

Code Student Example of quotation

Project / Exhibition Student A20 The WASCAM project actually helps me many in term of learning process and report writing.
Presentation Student A69 I think throughout this subject, a lot of presentation has been done and this improves my presentation skills a lot.
Group discussion & Student A23 Group discussion because we get to discuss our view during discussion and we can learn from each other.
brainstorming
Ethics Student A63 In engineering ethics, I learn the heavy responsibilities an engineer has to bear when performing his/her tasks.
PR & PI Student A6 PR and PI improve the ability to identify problem.
Peer Teaching Student A86 Peer teaching session help me to develop communication skills and understand topic easily.
Session
Interview Student A73 Interview with engineers enables us to discover the scope of engineering and the difficulties that they have face in
engineers that area
Seminar Student A38 The talk program develop my knowledge about engineering ethics, skills and abilities that must we have to
become an engineer.
Industrial Visit Student A22 Activity that I think help to develop my abilities as an engineer is in industry visit which help us know the
environment of the workplace
Basic Calculation Student A75 I had learnt about the unit conversion, scientific notation, and significant figures, process variables, which will be
used by engineer to do research or create new chemical reactions.

in the reflective journal. The absences of commitment to the team activities were fruitful. The use of real problems which introduce
were describe as frustrations for other team members or failed to challenges were also highlighted by students as being useful. This
add the value of the teamwork. Hence, the frequency in the post- shows that the CPBL implemented in this course was successful
test was decreased which shows that the student undervalued the in conveying the nature of engineering and its practices to stu-
opportunities being in a team. In future, the emphasis is more focus dents, as well as demonstrating the use of fundamental engineering
on group work and team dynamics such as team roles and different concepts in realistic applications. The findings agreed with Helmi
kind of personalities to improve learning outcomes and allow more et al. (2011) that undergoing CPBL increased students’ understand-
authentic problems to be assigned. ing of skills required to solve engineering problems, awareness
In addition to learning from the literature, students also inter- of the relationships between academic content and real-world
viewed at least two practicing engineers to produce the group engineering, and perceptions of their own learning (Helmi et al.,
report and presentation for the assignment. The analysis of the 2011).
reflection has also shown that the assignment gave positive impacts Some students also agreed that they had a greater apprecia-
on students’ perception on engineering. A student remarked: tion of the interview activities during the engineering overview
assignment. Students appreciated the new experience of making
Engineer is a person that creates new inventions to improve
appointment with practicing engineers, schedules, meeting dead-
quality of life. We as future engineers must practice the
lines and negotiating to reach compromise and consensus. The
principles of sustainable development during the design, man-
interview had a strong impact on students, where many begin to
ufacturing, construction, production and operation stages in
understand engineering better from their discussion with the engi-
order to meet the need for economic growth of our country
neers. Although most students mentioned in their reflections that
without compromising the need for future generations [Student
it was challenging to find and interview engineers, they appreciate
R1].
the opportunity to talk to them and found that the information and
The activities increased students’ interest, enabling them to advice obtained to be highly beneficial and became motivated to
successfully describe a general idea on engineering. Lindsay et al. be engineers. For example, student R2 reflected:
(2008) mentioned that the purpose of student-centred project work
Through this assignment, I had a chance to interview and meet
was to change students’ mind set into thinking and working more
some prominent engineers. The experience was very beneficial
like an engineer (Lindsay et al., 2008). Results from the survey
for me. I had a chance to broaden my knowledge about engi-
included that 72% of students enrolled in engineering courses were
neering from this interview. Besides getting a clearer exposure
influenced by their teachers, parents and peers who perceived that
regarding this field, I believe I had made a good choice [Student
engineering is among the “elite” careers in Malaysia. Therefore, this
R2].
assignment set them into the right perspective of what they need
to focus on while pursuing their study in the university to prepare The activities in the course promote interaction and life-long
themselves to become good engineers. learning. The activities in the ITE were designed for students to con-
The next step in the analysis is focused on assessing students’ struct knowledge, be actively involved and learn how to learn. The
perception of the activities in the course, and how this activity analysis of students’ responses also provides useful feedback about
relates to the skills required to be a good engineer in the future. the course content. This feedback can be used to improve curricu-
The open-ended item on the survey had the students respond to lum and enhance students’ engagement. Krause and Coates (2008)
prompts like, “What are the activities and topics that you think pointed out that in first year studies, it is crucial to encourage and
help develop your abilities and skills to be an engineer?” Table 4 assist student engagement as the foundation for successful study in
contains responses to these questions. later years (Krause and Coates, 2008). This engagement influences
The results in Table 4 show that students understood the students’ sense of belonging and involvement in learning (Crosling
value of activities learned. This provided an interesting insight et al., 2008).
into students’ perceptions about important activities that help From Table 5, it is also evident that the students are able to iden-
them develop skills to be good engineers. The students found the tify skills required to be good engineers. Interestingly, the gains
problem-based learning activity and exhibition to be most bene- that have emerged from the analysis of both surveys and reflec-
ficial. Many found it challenging yet enjoyable. The results from tion journals written by the students also give almost the same
the survey included that 46% of students responded that their themes and results. There are four key themes that are dominant
interest level was raised by the “real” experiences and that the
 A.N. Sadikin et al. / Education for Chemical Engineers 28 (2019) 45–53 51

Table 5
Examples of quotations for codes from open-ended questions.

Code Student Example of quotation

Problem solving Student A80 The WASCAM project involved a lot of critical thinking and team working skills; it may help us to increase our
skills creativity in solving the problems.
Team working Student A22 Group research project instill the value of teamwork in each graduate as we know that engineers did not work as
individual, instead work in team.
Communication Student A69 My communication skill has been improved as well as throughout all the discussion that we had done.
Time Management Student A93 I learned time management skill. We had given few tasks in a limited time. This tests our skills to distribute our
time according the priority of works.
Confident Student A63 Presentation session improved my speaking skills and it trained my confidence when presenting my ideas in class.
Critical thinking Student A78 Throughout the stages of CPBL, I have learnt think critically and to figure out solutions for problems encountered.
Ability search Student A23 Research on project boost up our level of knowledge because all the information we searched is new to us as an
information engineer.
Collect data Student A71 Throughout the project, I have learned how to do research, collect data and solve problem by introducing my own
innovation.
Leaderships Student A75 During the project, all team members have a chance to be a moderator. We can improve our leadership skill which
is important for a future engineer.
Writing skill Student A89 I learned about how to solve a problem, writing report and also presentation skills.
Entrepreneurship Student A92 Activities such as WASCAM requires us to thick holistic which enables us to develop our knowledge, critical
thinking, problem solving skills, communication skills and entrepreneurship skills.

for professional skills; such as, problem solving, team working, help make us open to different thought and perspective. Other
communication and time management. than that, working in a group helps us to be more tolerate with
Results from the survey also included that 61% of students each other [Student R4].
agreed that activities in the ITE course were perceived to improve
As reported by Johnson, et al., a cooperative team environment
problem-solving skills. Problems were posed so that the students
fosters greater motivation to learn, better relationships with peers,
would need to acquire some new knowledge before they can solve
more positive attitudes toward subject areas, lower levels of anx-
them. This is in agreement with Felder (1998) who proposed the use
iety and stress, and higher self-esteem (Johnson et al., 1991). The
of PBL to develop problem-solving skills for engineering students
students also demonstrated the ability to work with people from
(Felder, 1998). The importance of having a motivating environ-
different backgrounds. Managing conflict is another issue that has
ment, which encourages problem solving, was also highlighted in
been highlighted in their reflective journals. A student remarked:
students’ reflective journal. A student remarked:
It is normal thing in team that we have problems with team
I faced difficulty in interpreting and list down information
members when the project is executed, but then as a team we
because I found the question of stage 3 as a complicated task.
should try to communicate among members and try to over-
However, I managed to write it within the allocated time after
come the entire problem that we face [Student R5].
think sharply for few minutes and after read the instructions
few times. I highlighted the important points in the instruction According to Thomas and Clare (2011), bringing students
sheet in order to make me understand the problem very well together in engineering teams at a very early stage in their univer-
[Student R3]. sity life through working in groups provides an opportunity for the
development of peer interaction and collaborative learning rela-
The skills developed are consistent with studies on students who
tionships (Thomas and Clare, 2011). Compared to students taught
had undergone PBL for developing problem solving skills (Helmi
traditionally, students taught in a manner that incorporates small-
et al., 2011). Problem solving has been defined as higher-order cog-
group learning learn at a deeper level, retain information longer,
nitive process that requires certain pedagogical ways to improve.
acquire greater teamwork skills and gain a better understanding
Jonassen et al. (2006) stated that the purpose in engineering pro-
of the environment in which they will be working as professionals
gram is to prepare student for future work, which includes the
(Barbara et al., 2004).
ability to solve problem and to learn independently and collabora-
Students identify communication skills as another important
tively (Jonassen et al., 2006). The real big challenge of engineering
professional skill. Findings from the survey correspond with com-
education today is not only to produce student in engineering dis-
munication skills, which are highlighted within the students’
ciplines, but also to produce knowledgeable students who are able
reflection. A student noted:
to integrate and develop scientific knowledge in problem solving
process. It really suits me working in this environment for near future.
Further perceptions that become apparent during survey related I really improve my confidence and my communication skills. I
to motivation as in a well-functioning teamwork environment. Stu- hope that in years to come, there is a lot of program like this so
dents recognized the crucial importance of every team member’s that we can really learn something useful in our university life
contribution and commitment to the success of a given task. For [Student R6].
instance, the peer teaching activities in CPBL provide an environ-
Overall, 47% of students acknowledged that communication skill
ment in which students are encourage to teach each other and to
is important. As stated by George et al. (2007) the art of communica-
share skills and knowledge. They also learned that a team requires
tion is important for engineering graduates (George et al., 2007). In
working together concurrently to succeed, while disparate func-
their learning process, students learn how to analyse the problem
tioning of team members would adversely affect the attainment of
given among the small group members and develop an idea into
learning objectives. A student remarked:
discussion. Through these activities, students acquire communica-
I learnt how to work with others, working with someone I don’t tion skills in generating ideas. Furthermore, students added that
familiar with different races. Working in the group teaches me the presentations activities afforded them with opportunities to
to give and accept others’ ideas without condemning it. We will practice and acquire the ability for oral communication. Students
not always have brilliant ideas so hearing others’ opinion can
52 A.N. Sadikin et al. / Education for Chemical Engineers 28 (2019) 45–53

reflected that the practice was helpful and that they had more con- Negeri Sembilan and Selangor experienced water crisis caused by
fidence to speak in public. hot and dry seasons in Peninsula Malaysia due to the El Nino phe-
Another aspect that surfaces through the survey and reflec- nomenon. It was the worst water crisis in the state since the 1998
tive journal is time management skills. The findings show that Klang Valley water crisis. In Negeri Sembilan, the seven reservoir
the learning environment enhanced students’ self-regulatory skills, dams in the state suffered a substantial drop in water level. More
especially time management. Time management is an important than 8000 homes were effected, and on 19 February 2014, Negeri
life skill and one that is vital to their success in higher education. Sembilan Menteri Besar, declared a state of crisis following the
Time management is a process of determining needs, setting goals water shortage – the worst the state has seen in decades.
to achieve those needs, planning the tasks required, and prioritiz- In Selangor, the five reservoir dams in the state suffered a sub-
ing them. The students demonstrated the ability to plan in advance, stantial drop in water level. Water rationing imposed in the state
prioritizing their work, and adhering to the given schedules and starts on 25 February 2014. On 22 April 2014, Selangor Menteri
deadlines. A student remarked: Besar, announced that the water rationing in the state will con-
tinue as the water at the Sungai Selangor Dam is still at a critical
PBL was very beneficial for me as a first year student. It had given
level.
me lots of exposure about university life. It also helped me to
In Johor, scientists predicted that some of the rivers in the state
develop my soft skills especially time management which will
may dry up and cause water shortage. Scientists have found that a
be useful for me in the future. This kind of problem will equip
matured oil palm tree can consume up to 40 liters water per day.
me to become a better engineer in future [Student 7].
Imagine what a 10,000 ha plantation can do to a water catchment
There are a lot of things to do at once. It’s quite hectic for all of
area. With the clearing of forest trees for oil palm and also for indus-
us. From there, we learn on how to manage our time well and
trial and development purposes, the water catchment area cannot
not to procrastinate our work [Student R8].
perform its natural function and facing a net loss of water during the
dry season. If this is not looked into and allowed to continue, many
4. Conclusion rivers will dry up eventually and cause water shortage in Johor.
While our water resources are renewable, they are finite. To
In Introduction to Engineering course, the students learn the sustain our water needs, Syarikat Air Johor (SAJ) requires access
fundamental principles and basic calculation in chemical engineer- to reliable supplies of water. We shall share the responsibility to
ing. Although the students must learn the basic principles, the ensure a secure and sustainable water supply for our communi-
course learning objectives are to have the students understand ties, economy and environment. There are increasing demands on
those principles deeply. Hence, in the student-based environment, the water resources within the area of Johor Bahru, yet these same
student work mostly at the higher levels of Bloom’s cognitive tax- water resources are not limitless. There are community expecta-
onomy which leads to long-term memorization of deep learning of tions that a reliable water supply will be available for different
the material. Furthermore, in the problem-based learning environ- uses – drinking water, irrigation, power generation, fishing, kayak-
ment, student utilize higher levels of Bloom’s cognitive taxonomy ing and others. In other areas in Johor, problems have arisen when
which leads to deep learning of the sustainable issues for the pur- water supply and demand become unbalanced. What the commu-
pose of long term retention and behaviour change on sustainability nity is facing is a typical sustainable development problem that is
development. typical of those in developing economies.
The CPBL framework for a holistic approach to problem solving Recently, a representative from SAJ was given a project on water
was used for well-defined sustainability problems, since it requires sustainability and awareness in Kolej Tun Hussein Onn (KTHO),
the students to work at all level of Bloom’s cognitive taxonomy. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). The water expert group from
Also, this framework incorporates Cooperative Learning to foster SAJ is currently looking for manpower in UTM. The group has
teamwork, because it helps students to develop and gain confidence extended an offer to the students’ team. Since the teams are chem-
in their interpersonal skills. ical engineering students staying in KTHO, they would like to hire
Overall, the ITE course has been successful in helping students the teams to work as assistants with this group for the project.
to learn technical knowledge and professional skills that they need. In view of good performance, the group may consider taking the
The results indicate that the introductory course allows students to students as practical trainee or even hire them as a permanent
engage in engineering process and provide an early start to ensure consultant for their water project in Johor.
engineering graduates are equipped with a broader set of profes-
sional skills and greater experience of addressing ‘real’ engineering
problems. This is in accordance with previous studies (Aloul et al., Objective
2015), which has shown accrued enhancement of professional skills The objectives of this project are:
after going through the ITE course. Students agreed that they had
a greater appreciation of the engineering profession at the end of • To explain the need of water conservation to the environment to
the semester than at the beginning of the class. The ITE course has those in UTM and the surrounding communities.
also assisted students to make the connections between their own • To determine the water consumption of typical Malaysian college
learning, the academic world, and real-world engineering. students, families and college communities.
• To recommend engineering based solutions to address the issue
Appendix A of water in UTM and the surrounding communities.
• To find ways to educate the communities in UTM and its sur-
WATER SUSTAINABILITY CAMPAIGN (WASCAM) 2014 rounding areas regarding the importance of conserving water and
to help them minimize water consumption through engineering
Introduction thinking and solutions.
Water is essential to life. It is a resource and a life source. Water
is vital for the health of people and communities and the life- Stages of the Project
blood of the natural environment. Water is essential to support our There are three stages of the contest. All contestants must form
agricultural, horticultural, commercial, industrial and recreational a team and go through all the three stages. All teams will go into the
activities. These uses and demands are increasing. Early this year, final round where they will compete with other contestants for the
 A.N. Sadikin et al. / Education for Chemical Engineers 28 (2019) 45–53 53

grand prize in a Water Sustainability Campaign (WASCAM 2014) Helmi, S.H., Mohd-Yusof, K., Phang, F.A., 2016. Enhancement of team-based problem
Competition. The three stages are as follows: solving skills in engineering students through cooperative based learning. Int. J.
Contin. Eng. Educ. 32 (6), 2401–2414.
Stage I: Familiarization of Sustainable Development, Water Con- Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., Smith, K.A., 1991. Active Learning: Cooperation in the
servation and Benchmarking. College Classroom. Interaction Book Company, Edina, MN.
Stage 2: Determination of Water Consumption Begins Jonassen, D., Strobel, J., Lee, C.B., 2006. Everyday problem solving in engineering:
lessons for engineering educators. J. Eng. Educ. 95 (2), 139–151.
26/10/2014; Due 9/11/2014. Kaufmann, D.B., Felder, R., Fuller, H., 1999. Peer ratings in coopertive learning teams.
Stage 3: Propose Engineering Solution for Sustainable Water Proceedings for the 1999 ASEE Annual Conference.
Conservation Begins 16/11/2014; Due 9/12/2014. Krause, K., Coates, H., 2008. Students’ engagement in first-year university. Assess.
Eval. High. Educ. 33 (5), 493–505.
Lindsay, E., Munt, R., Rogers, H., Scott, D., Sullivan, K., 2008. Making students engi-
References neers. J. Eng. Educ. 3 (2), 28–36.
Miles, M.B., Huberman, A.M., 1994. Qualitative Data Analysis, 2nd ed. Sage, Thousand
Aloul, F., Imran, Z., Ghaleb, H., Ayman, E.H., Yousef, A., 2015. A case study of a Oaks, US.
college-wide first-year undergraduate engineering course. Eur. J. Eng. Educ. 40 Mohd-Yusof, K., Helmi, S.A., Mohammad-Zamry, J., Nor-Farida, H., 2011. Cooperative
(1), 32–51. problem-based learning (CPBL): a practical PBL model for a typical course. Int. J.
Baillie, C., 1998. Addressing first year issues in engineering education. Eur. J. Eng. Emerg. Technol. 6 (3), 12–20.
Educ. 23 (4), 453–465. Mohd-Yusof, K., Phang, F.A., Sadikin, A.N., Syed Ahmad, H., Kamaruddin, M.J., 2014.
Barbara, O., Richard, A.F., Rebecca, B., Imad, E., 2004. Turning student groups into Determining the effect of an engineering overview assignment on first year
effective teams. J. Stud. Centred Learn. 2 (1), 9–34. students. Proceedings of the 2014 ASEE Annual Conference.
Becker, F.S., 2010. Why don’t young people want to become engineers? Rational Mohd-Yusof, K., Sadikin, A.N., Phang, F.A., Aziz, A.A., 2016. Instilling professional
reasons for disappointing decisions. Eur. J. Eng. Educ. 35 (4), 349–366. skills and sustainable development through problem-based learning (PBL)
Biggs, J., Tang, C., 2007. Teaching for Quality Learning at University, 3rd ed. Open among first year engineering students. Int. J. Contin. Eng. Educ. 32 (1B), 1–15.
University Press, London. Nesbit, S.M., Hummel, S.R., Piergiovanni, P.R., Schaffer, J.P., 2005. A design and
Bransford, J., Vye, N., Bateman, H., 2004. Creating High-quality Learning Environ- assessment-based introductory engineering course. Int. J. Contin. Eng. Educ. 21
ments: Guidelines from Research on How People Learn. National Academy of (3), 434–445.
Sciences, US. Shobrook, S., Available at:www.hull.ac.uk/engprogress/Prog3Papers/Sarah1.pdf
Crosling, G., Thomas, L., Heagney, M., 2008. Improving Student Retention in Higher Accessed 23 January 2017 2004. The Role of Pre-entry Practices and Induction
Education. Routledge Falmer, New York. Strategies in Relation to Student Retention.
Esparragoza, I., Lascano, S., Nunez, J., 2013. A project-based learning approach for Smith, K.A., 1995. Cooperative learning: effective teamwork for engineering class-
a first-year engineering course. Paper Presented at 11th Latin American and rooms. Paper Presented at the ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference.
Carribean Conference for Engineering and Technology. Tamara, M., Heidi, D.D., Imbrie, P.K., 2005. Developing first-year students’ percep-
Felder, R., 1998. Creativity in engineering education. Chem. Eng. Educ. 22 (3), tions of the engineering profession through realistic client-driven problems.
120–125. Paper Presented at the ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference.
George, S.A., Boon-Chai, N., Ronald, L.J., 2007. Development of communication skills The Royal Academy of Engineering, 2007. Educating Engineers for the 21st Century.
and teamwork amongst undergraduate engineering students. ASEE/IEEE Fron- The Royal Academy of Engineering, London, Available at: http://www.raeng.org.
tiers in Education Conference. uk/publications/reports/educating-engineers-21st-century (Accessed 8 March
Gu, Peihua, Lu, Xiaohua, Xiong, Guangjin, Li, Shengping, Shen, Minfen, 2006. The 2017).
development of design directed engineering curriculum based on the CDIO Thomas, J., Clare, H., 2011. Working together: the positive effects of introducing
framework. World Trans. Eng. Technol. Educ. 5 (2), 267–270. formal teams in a first year Engineering degree. Journal of the Higher Education
Gustafsson, G., Newman, D.J., Stafström, S., Wallin, H.P., 2002. First year introduc- Academy: Engineering Education. 6 (1), 21–30.
tory courses as a means to develop conceive design implement operate skills in World Economic Forum, 2016. Global Challenge Insight Report: The Future of Jobs,
engineering education programmes. Paper Presented at SEFIrenze. Employment, Skills and Workforce Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Helmi, S.A., Mohd-Yusof, K., Abu, M.S., Mohammed, S., 2011. An instrument to World Economic Forum, Geneva, Available at: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/
asses students’ engineering problem solving ability in cooperative problem- WEF Future of Jobs.pdf (Accessed 8 March 2017).
based learning (CPBL). Proceedings for the 2011 ASEE Annual Conference and
Exposition on Engineering Education.