Nurturing reflective and independent learners through a technical communication course

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of an exploratory study of engineering students' perceptions of reflection and independent learning before and after taking a mandatory technical communication course titled Professional and Technical Oral Communication for Engineers in their first semester of study at a university in Hong Kong. Three kinds of research instruments were used to generate data for analyses: pre- and post-questionnaire surveys, semi-structured interviews, and students' reflection and self-access records. The study's findings show encouraging results in three ways: (1) the course participants were generally receptive to the ideas of reflection and independent learning in the context of technical communication; (2) those who had had prior experience in reflection and independent learning continued to appreciate the value they brought to learning; and (3) the course participants' pre-conception that reflection and independent learning were only 'one-man shows' was changed and they began to value the involvement of their 'significant social others' in these learning pursuits. © 2013 IEEE.