Engineers' professional learning: a practice-theory perspective

Reich, A; Rooney, D; Gardner, A; Willey, K; Boud, D; Fitzgerald, T

Engineers' professional learning: a practice-theory perspective

Reich, A Rooney, D Gardner, A Willey, K Boud, D Fitzgerald, T

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: European Journal of Engineering Education, 2015, 40 (4), pp. 366 - 379
Issue Date:: 2015-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Reich, A	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Rooney, D	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Gardner, A	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Willey, K	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Boud, D	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Fitzgerald, T	en_US
dc.date.issued	2015-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	European Journal of Engineering Education, 2015, 40 (4), pp. 366 - 379	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0304-3797	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/43264
dc.description.abstract	© 2014 SEFI. With the increasing challenges facing professional engineers working in more complex, global and interdisciplinary contexts, different approaches to understanding how engineers practice and learn are necessary. This paper draws on recent research in the social sciences from the field of workplace learning, to suggest that a practice-theory perspective on engineers' professional learning is fruitful. It shifts the focus from the attributes of the individual learner (knowledge, skills and attitudes) to the attributes of the practice (interactions, materiality, opportunities and challenges). Learning is thus more than the technical acquisition and transfer of knowledge, but a complex bundle of activities, that is, social, material, embodied and emerging. The paper is illustrated with examples from a research study of the learning of experienced engineers in the construction industry to demonstrate common practices – site walks and design review meetings – in which learning takes place.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	European Journal of Engineering Education	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1080/03043797.2014.967181	en_US
dc.relation.isreplacedby	10453/44236
dc.relation.isreplacedby	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/44236
dc.title	Engineers' professional learning: a practice-theory perspective	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	4	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	40	en_US
utslib.for	09 Engineering	en_US
utslib.for	13 Education	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/Adult Learning and Applied Linguistics Program
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/FASS Faculty Administration
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CRIN - Realtime Information Networks
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CRLC - Centre for Research in Learning and Change
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.declined	2016-03-17T00:20:53.542+1100
pubs.merge-to	10453/44236
pubs.merge-to	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/44236
pubs.deleted	2016-03-17T00:20:53.542+1100
pubs.issue	4	en_US
pubs.volume	40	en_US

Abstract:

© 2014 SEFI. With the increasing challenges facing professional engineers working in more complex, global and interdisciplinary contexts, different approaches to understanding how engineers practice and learn are necessary. This paper draws on recent research in the social sciences from the field of workplace learning, to suggest that a practice-theory perspective on engineers' professional learning is fruitful. It shifts the focus from the attributes of the individual learner (knowledge, skills and attitudes) to the attributes of the practice (interactions, materiality, opportunities and challenges). Learning is thus more than the technical acquisition and transfer of knowledge, but a complex bundle of activities, that is, social, material, embodied and emerging. The paper is illustrated with examples from a research study of the learning of experienced engineers in the construction industry to demonstrate common practices – site walks and design review meetings – in which learning takes place.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/43264