HOW DO YOU TEACH LIFELONG LEARNING

EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN FOCUS

Exploding job mobility and the fast-moving pace of technology mean that engineers will never be completely scholarly or finished learning. How do you prepare current and future engineering students for lifelong learning? That is the subject of a new research project at the Faculty of Engineering Technology. Lynn Van den Broeck and Sofie Craps tell the story.

Sofie Craps, Lynn Van den Broeck, prof. Greet Langie and Rani Dujardin

©Joren De Weerdt

The days when you got a diploma around 22 and could rely on it for the rest of your career are over. Learning increasingly drives the economy and not the other way around. During the job interview, it is no longer just about what you know or can do, but what you still want to learn. Alvin Toffler, author of ‘The Future Shock’ and ‘The Third Wave’ put it this way: “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn”.

Research-based

Lifelong learning is one of the hobbyhorses of ETHER, the faculty research group critically examining the engineering curriculum. Research about education, it is called. “Academic education by definition is research-based,” says Lynn. “That applies not only to subject content but also to the way in which it is applied, acquired and tested. An education policy that does not lean on educational research is venturing on quicksand”.

“Fortunately, there is no doubt about the necessity for lifelong learning,” continues Sofie. “Only, it has not yet been fully clarified how to prepare future professionals for this. In companies, you see reflection logs and portfolios becoming more and more commonplace. In education, on the other hand, the teaching of Life Long Learning skills is not yet always considered a priority task”.

Personal development

The new research project is called ‘TRAINengPDP’ which stands for ‘Training Engineers’ Personal Development Project’. “Starting point is that lifelong learning is a form of personal development that starts from the very beginning of study,” Lynn explains. “Selfdirection and reflection play a crucial role in this. Lifelong learning assumes that you can take control of your learning process and are able to critically face your progress.”

“For students, this implies knowledge of their own strengths and weaknesses and the type of engineer they want to become,” Sofie says. In this regard, she refers to the PREFER tests she developed with which students can sort out the professional role that best suits them and the competences involved. “But also professors and lecturers are directly involved parties,” Lynn believes. “They play an important role in coaching and mentoring students, but also as providers of subject-specific feedback. This means that they also need guidance and support so they can contribute in their students’ personal development project.”

Sofie further highlights the need to not only make personal development explicit, but to effectively embed it in the curriculum in the form of seminars and workshops.”

Ecosystem

Therefore all actors must engage in the personal development process of future engineers, as a result of which over time, can originate a natural mindset for lifelong learning. In this regard, the researchers talk about creating an LLL-ecosystem on faculty campuses.

TRAINengPDP proceeds in a number of stages and is also the subject of Rani Dujardin’s PhD with Prof.Greet Langie as supervisor. Lynn describes them as follows: “Until January 2023, we are mapping which LLL competences are already being addressed in students’ training and personal development. We spend the next two years on pilot studies and the creation of a toolkit for lecturers. We will conclude with an effectiveness study, so that in spring 2025, we can come out with a validated tool to give lifelong learning the place it deserves in the curriculum.”

Yves Persoons

www.fet.kuleuven.be/trainengpdp

TRAINengPDP is supported by the EU’s Erasmus+ programme (grant agreement 2021-1-BE02-KA220-HED-000023151)