Heatmapping Key Competencies STEM Students Present in PBL Environments
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54337/irspbl-11040Keywords:
Active learning, PBL, STEM, Key competenciesAbstract
Aalborg University (AAU) uses Problem Based Learning (PBL) in which students develop professional competencies by engaging with authentic problems. All Engineering master students at AAU have had a PBL Competency profile as a compulsory exercise. The profiles are structured around the AAU PBL Competency Framework. This framework is comprised of 48 individual competencies, grouped into four categories; meta- reflective, problem-oriented, interpersonal, and structural. Students are free to choose which of these competencies they incorporate in their profile.
A total of 1095 PBL Competency profiles were reviewed across more than 50 STEM study programs, and each was evaluated for the presence or absence of each of the 48 competencies in the PBL competency framework. This study explores the relative prevalence of each competency within the profiles submitted by students, and the balance across the different categories. Further, it investigates the extent to which students made these competencies explicit, and evidence the competence.
The study reveals that the competencies are not equally represented in the competency profiles, with a subset of seven competencies comprising 40% of all reported competencies. The study further reveals that the students generally do not provide evidence to support their claims of competence.
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