Publication: Transdisciplinarity as a learning challenge: Student experiences and outcomes in an innovative course on wearable and collaborative robotics
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type
Article
Access
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
Publication Status
Published
Abstract
Contribution: This study provides evidence for the
benefit of short online courses for transdisciplinary competence
development of graduate students. It shows the significant challenges students face while learning, and provides instructional
recommendations to improve students’ learning quality and
professionalism.
Background: Developing wearable and collaborative robots
requires industry collaboration and transdisciplinary competence. Industry’s involvement in long-term programs is becoming
infeasible, and the nature of transdisciplinary learning has not
been explored to inform instructional practices.
Intended Outcomes: This study aimed to provide instructional
recommendations based on an in-depth examination of a diverse
group of graduate students’ learning and teamwork experiences
as well as outcomes in a 5-day online transdisciplinary course.
Application Design: 31 graduate students of engineering, industrial design, and health fields from 4 countries participated
in online mixed-discipline instructional sessions and teams to
address a real industry challenge. A mixed-methods approach
was used to examine students’ experiences and learning outcomes
based on a competence measure, session participation data,
student journal entries, team progress reports, team elaboration
visuals, and final team presentations.
Findings: Students’ knowledge of industrial design, medical
considerations, ethics and standards, effective teamwork, and
self-regulated learning were increased. Students’ high motivation
helped them deal with the challenges involved. Daily student
journals, team reports, and visual elaboration tools were found to
be beneficial for determining the challenges and learning quality.
The observed student progress within 5 days is promising, making
it worthwhile to further explore the benefits of short online
courses for increasing graduates’ readiness and establishing
university-industry collaborations in education.
Date
Publisher
IEEE