Search Results for
"Students"

Purpose: This paper explores how the DMAIC methodology can be effectively applied for experiential learning in a quality management class at Robert Morris University’s RISE Center. The goal is to provide students with practical exposure to quality management tools while enhancing learning outcomes through hands-on experience. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs a case study approach, integrating the DMAIC methodology into a semester-long course on quality management. students worked on a real-world project at the RISE Center, utilizing DMAIC to address quality improvement issues. The course was structured to guide students through each phase of the DMAIC process. Data from student reflections and project outcomes were analyzed to assess the impact of experiential learning on their understanding of quality management concepts. Findings: The study found that incorporating DMAIC methodology in an experiential learning environment significantly improved students’ comprehension and application of quality management principles. students demonstrated increased confidence in using Six Sigma tools and reported higher engagement levels. The real-world context of the projects helped solidify theoretical knowledge through practical application. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the body of literature on the integration of Six Sigma methodologies in educational settings. It highlights the potential of experiential learning to enhance the effectiveness of teaching quality management and showcases the practical application of DMAIC in a classroom setting. © 2025, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Integrating Industry 4.0 technology into IT education is critical for training students to address the challenges of the digital age. This integration has innovative potential, highlighting both the opportunities and challenges of aligning curricula with evolving requirements through technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data analytics. Despite the constantly changing digital landscape, research has often overlooked the disparity between established academic programs and growing technological demands. Using a literature review method, this study explores theoretical foundations such as constructivism, pragmatism, and critical pedagogy to validate this integration. Key findings emphasize the importance of core technology identification, skill mapping, ethical considerations, interdisciplinary learning, industry engagement, adaptive curriculum, and soft skills training. Recommendations include updating curricula to include specialized IT tracks, utilizing advanced technology for instruction, and encouraging collaboration among businesses, educational institutions, policymakers, and government stakeholders. This study offers practical insights into preparing students for the current workforce while also encouraging inclusive education. By analysing trends and South African case studies, this study highlights how Industry 4.0 technologies can transform IT education in developing countries. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Literature reviews related to learning media are important in determining the reference of innovation and sustainable research. This study describes the types of learning media innovations that already exist, the problems faced, and the development model applied in developing engineering drawing learning media innovations in Vocational High Schools (VHS) as engineering education at the high school level. A systematic literature review of scientific articles published between 2020 and 2024. The results of this study reveal that most learning media innovations focus on developing learning materials and techniques, while fewer innovations develop the learning environment. The problems behind the existing innovations are mainly caused by difficulty in understanding engineering drawing materials, especially orthographic projections, less innovative teachers, and learning resources that are still conventional and non-standard. Research and development of engineering drawings is generally carried out using the 4D, ADDIE, Borg & Gall models. Evidence from these studies suggests that future engineering drawing teaching and learning should be conducted with a real-world approach by presenting the shape of the components or mechanical parts. One of the most plausible research agendas is to develop learning media using 3D print technology for component modeling or tangible forms to support the learning process. It goes beyond vocational education. However, it can also apply to engineering education for pre-service teachers, technical training, and university engineering education. Engineering drawing is a mandatory subject, a fundamental knowledge and skill that students must learn. © 2025 TEMPUS Publications.

Technical culinary skills are fundamental competencies for professional chefs. Consequently, demonstrating and enhancing these skills pose significant challenges within culinary education. This study aims to develop a virtual reality (VR) system for culinary skill development and assess its effectiveness when integrated into a hospitality internship curriculum. The participants comprised 82 undergraduate hospitality management majors. This study collected students’ learning scores and performance data before and after the culinary VR course. Statistical methods were employed to analyse the collected data, aiming to assess the effectiveness of the culinary VR course and differences in students’ technical acceptance. Using t-tests to compare differences in technical acceptance between the two groups, and potentially employing paired-sample t-tests or correlation analyses to evaluate students’ progress in learning. The findings indicate that the two groups did not significantly differ in their acceptance of technology. However, the culinary VR curriculum exhibited a positive impact on students’ learning outcomes. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

As a form of alternative credentials, the growth of micro-credentials (MCs) is seen as a significant manifestation of global higher education in the post pandemic era. Following global development, Asian governments have encouraged universities to provide a variety of MCs to existing students and workers. Given that non-traditional or short learning programs in most Asian contexts have not been incorporated into national qualification frameworks and quality assurance systems, it becomes difficult to recognize the value of MCs. Through document analysis and semi-interviews, the study explores quality assurance mechanisms of MCs in New Zealand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Three major findings are presented as follows. First, there was no common EQA approach due to contextualization; second, most universities attempted to incorporate MCs into internal QA mechanisms; third, differentiation, no common standards, and recognition are three key challenges from EQAA’s perspectives, but limited faculty engagement and student incentives for universities. © 2025 Society for Research into Higher Education.

We believe that project-based learning is one of the most effective tools for synthesizing and consolidating digital technologies and interactive teaching methods at a pedagogical university. Modeling of students’ project activities ensures their targeted professional training with the use of digital technologies and computer mathematics systems, stimulates student collaboration and integration of their knowledge from different disciplines. The purpose of the study is to analyze the effectiveness of implementing students’ project activities in the educational environment of a higher education institution. The main tasks are to analyze current trends in higher education, study approaches to modeling projects in mathematics and computer science, develop and implement methods and tools for project-based learning by students, and evaluate the results, the impact of this process on the educational environment and students’ academic achievements. We conducted a pedagogical study and verified its results using the Shapiro-Wilk’s W test, Student’s t-test, Friedman ANOVA We conducted a pedagogical study and verified its results using Shapiro-Wilk’s W test, Student’s t-test, Friedman ANOVA variance analysis, Kendall coefficient of concordance, Pearson’s correlation coefficient. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.

Purpose: This study examined how vocational education and training (VET) students' satisfaction of basic psychological needs in VET learning environments, namely autonomy, competence, and relatedness, is related to their burnout and intention to leave VET. Self-Determination Theory was employed in the study. The aim of the study was to contribute to the existing body of empirical knowledge on basic psychological needs in educational contexts, with a particular focus on their role in negative processes. The findings may assist in evaluating the potential of basic psychological needs support in enhancing student motivation and well-being in VET learning environments. Methods: Cross-sectional online survey data were collected in 2023 from 255 students at a large vocational institution in Finland. The questionnaire included the following factors from three validated scales: Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction - Work Domain (BPNS-WD; "autonomy", "competence", "relatedness"), School Burnout Inventory (SBI; "exhaustion", "cynicism"), and dropout intentions. Data were analysed in R using correlation analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. Results: The results indicated that the factors of basic psychological needs were negatively associated with the two burnout factors and the factor of dropout intentions, confirming our hypotheses. However, the hypotheses were only partially confirmed as not all associations reached statistical significance. Contrary to our hypothesis, relatedness satisfaction was positively related to burnout cynicism, although the relationship was not statistically significant. Conclusions: The findings suggest that supporting the basic psychological needs of VET students may reduce school burnout and the intention to drop out of school. Nevertheless, further research is required at the institutional and workplace levels to investigate the potential influence of perceived social relatedness on the development of burnout cynicism, and vice versa. Furthermore, the results indicated that female students, as well as those with older age or less work experience, experienced more burnout exhaustion than other respondents. A more comprehensive analysis is needed to gain better understanding of the factors that increase exhaustion within these groups of students. © 2025 European Research Network Vocational Education and Training. All rights reserved.

England’s mainstream upper secondary curriculum is driven by academic, exam-based GCSEs and A levels, with applied learning qualifications an alternative for ‘less-academic’ 16–18-year-olds. This paper elides two studies of the impact of the BTEC National Diploma on employment and career trajectories, one from the perspective of 16–22-year-olds, another of mature adults. Study 1 explored medium-term impact as students progressed from school to university or work-based learning. Study 2 explored longer-term impact through a life history project spanning 1986–2022 across 10 different industries. Synthesis of the data identified three factors underpinning BTEC’s success: a genuine second chance; teaching and assessment that enabled understanding and promoted learning; strong education/employer links providing real-world experience. Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model provides a theoretical lens, illustrating how knowledge, skills and competences develop best when the educational environment meets the needs of each learner: one-size-fits-all does not work. This paper concludes that all three factors should be mainstream, but significant challenges include our highly politicised policy environment, enduring belief that only exams offer rigorous assessment and lack of an employer engagement system that could support real-world learning. Extra-curricular activities and project qualifications provide applied opportunities for some, but long-term political consensus may be needed for all learners to flourish. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This qualitative study explored the views of community college employers, faculty, administrators, and students on the importance of foundational skills, including literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving skills, in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs of study. Participants (N = 50) were recruited, semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Four themes were identified: 1) foundational skills are as important as the course of study; 2) the ability to communicate technical skills is crucial; 3) leadership and supervisory skills are valuable; and 4) employers contribute to the curriculum, producing graduates that industry needs. Our findings provide policy and practice recommendations, including the need to design curricula with strong components of literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving skills, integrating supervisory and leadership skills in classroom exercises, and engagement of employers in curriculum development and instruction. Producing graduates in STEM fields with skills that employers require is important for employee advancement and for future economic growth. © 2025 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

The article substantiates the important role of developing skills in constructing mathematical models of systems and processes, as well as the use of innovative computational methods that are effective in modern scientific research. Using simple examples, the authors introduce readers to the methodology of teaching the topics “New Information Operators” and “Innovative Methods of Numerical Integration”, in particular in the courses “Mathematical, Physical and Information Foundations of Industry Knowledge” and “Innovative Methods of Digitalisation of the Professional Field”. The above-mentioned educational components are studied at the Ukrainian Engineering and Pedagogical Academy in the speciality ‘‘Vocational Education (By specialisation)”. The value of these innovations lies in the fact that students get acquainted with new information operators in practice. New information operators are built depending on the type of experimental data. Currently, modern engineers use digital images, tomograms, integrals along given lines, values of functions on lines or planes, etc. as data on the technical process. Modern advances in mathematical modelling allow us to build new algorithms taking into account different types of experimental data. The article presents an algorithm for recovering a function of two variables on four or three lines, as well as on a system of mutually perpendicular lines in the computer algebra system MathCad. In addition, a cubature formula for the approximate calculation of the double integral is presented, which is effective in terms of using the input information to achieve a given accuracy. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.