P ac ice Pape
Recommended ci a ion: P ennig, A. (2025). Re lec ions – The Need o Close
Guidance o Be Suppo i e in Unde g adua e Enginee ing Educa ion (P ac ice
Pape ). In Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G., Jä inen, H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.), SEFI
53 d Annual Con e ence. Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI),
Tampe e, Finland. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17631196.
This Con e ence Pape is b ough o you o open access by he 53 d Annual Con e ence
o he Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI) a Tampe e Uni e si y in
Tampe e, Finland. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha e Alike 4.0 In e na ional License.
REFLECTIONS – THE NEED OF CLOSE GUIDANCE TO BE
SUPPORTIVE IN UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING EDUCATION
(PRACTICE PAPER)
P ennig 1
HTW Be lin, Uni e si y o Applied Sciences
Be lin, Ge many
ORCID 0000-0001-6437-3816
Con e ence Key A eas: 2. Enginee as a social deba e – new skills needed?
10. Enginee ing skills, p o essional skills, and ans e sal skills
Keywo ds: e lec ion, highe educa ion, p ojec -based lea ning, sel -agency, lea ning
p og ess
ABSTRACT
To mee he demands o as -paced, globalized wo k en i onmen s, highe educa ion
ins i u ions a e inc easingly inco po a ing p ojec -based cou ses o encou age
collabo a i e lea ning. Howe e , his me hod can some imes o e whelm s uden s,
a ec ing hei mo i a ion and he success o hei g oups. To add ess hese issues,
wo unde g adua e cou ses included manda o y e lec i e p ac ices based on Kolb's
Lea ning Cycle. These e lec ions aimed o imp o e indi idual pa icipa ion and
c i ical hinking, helping o mi iga e p oblems wi h mo i a ion and g oup dynamics.
The s udy ocused on how s uden s esponded o hese e lec i e p ac ices and
whe he hey in luenced changes in coope a ion me hods, communica ion skills, and
o e all p ojec ou comes, highligh ing he impo ance o ins uc o awa eness and
ailo ed guidance. The indings o e aluable insigh s o lec u e s conside ing he
in eg a ion o e lec ions in o hei eaching me hods, demons a ing ha e lec ion
can signi ican ly enhance s uden sel -agency and emphasizing he need o
addi ional guidance o e ec i e implemen a ion o p ojec -based lea ning in highe
educa ion.
1 Co esponding Au ho
A. P ennig
anja.p ennig@h w-be lin.de
1 INTRODUCTION
Wi h he inc easing inco po a ion o P oblem-Based Lea ning (PBL) in highe
educa ion (Sjølie e al., 2022), he e is a p essing need o no only eassess s uden
assessmen me hods bu also in eg a e e lec ion p ac ices ha enhance he lea ning
expe ience. E ec i e assessmen in PBL should ex end beyond measu ing
pe o mance o os e ing sel - e lec ion and pe sonal de elopmen . Guskey (2012)
unde sco es he necessi y o g ounding g ading in p inciples o clea hinking, ca e ul
planning, and a genuine conce n o s uden well-being, all o which con ibu e o
meaning ul e lec ion p ac ices. While s anda ds-based g ading aims o assess
p o iciency in cou se objec i es and p o ide pe sonalized eedback, i s e ec i eness
emains deba ed (A wood and Siniawski, 2012). P io i izing s anda ds o e c i e ia
could lead o be e assessmen p ac ices (Sadle , 2005). C i ical o his p ocess is
sel - e lec ion, which empowe s s uden s o engage deeply wi h ques ions like "How
a e we doing?" and "How can we imp o e?" (Bohd, 2006). By embedding e lec i e
p ac ices wi hin PBL, educa o s can cul i a e independen and li elong lea ne s who
a e adep a e alua ing and imp o ing hei own lea ning p ocesses.
Con inuous eam e lec ion is i al in PBL, as i allows g oups o e alua e and adjus
hei wo k lows - especially in online se ings (Sjølie e al., 2022, Kneisel, 2020,
Knip e e al., 2013) aiding in agile wo k en i onmen s, p oblem-sol ing and p ojec
p og ess (Conboy and Fi zge ald, 2004). High-achie ing s uden s use sel - e lec ion
o bo h o ma i e and summa i e assessmen s, which enhances hei pe o mance
and unde s anding (Conboy and Fi zge ald, 2004, B ookha , 2001). Combining eam
e o s wi h po olio assessmen s in enginee ing cou ses helps ins uc o s assess
he eal-wo ld applicabili y and li elong lea ning o s uden s (McCullough-C ess, BJ.
C ess, D., 1995). Re lec i e p ac ices also signi ican ly bene i a s educa ion and
eading cu icula, p omo ing indi idual lea ning and p o essional de elopmen
(Conboy and Fi zge ald, 2004, Ca pe, 2019).
E ec i e in eg a ion o e lec i e p ac ices includes egula eam e lec ions and p e-
and pos -p ojec e lec ions (Sjølie e al., 2022, Kneisel, 2020, Knip e e al., 2013,
Coe jens e al., 2021, Ba ie a e al., 2022). These me hods help eams adap ,
add essing bo h : cogni i e and socio-emo ional aspec s o in e ac ion (Sjølie e al.,
2022). Despi e hei ad an ages, he e a e ew empi ical s udies on he impac o
sel - e lec i e p ac ices on achie emen (Conboy and Fi zge ald, 2004). To add ess
his, a s udy was conduc ed o examine he e ec s o e lec i e p ac ices in p ojec
cou ses, u ilizing Kolb's Re lec i e Lea ning Cycle (Fig. 1) and a blind e iew p ocess
P ennig, A., Siege is, J. (2024-1,2).
Re lec ion can a y in dep h and is ca ego ized by a ious models, including hose
desc ibed by (Moon, 2004) and expanded by (Dowling, 2019). These le els include:
desc ip i e, simple, alue-based, e alua i e, analy ical and concluding e lec ion
(Kolb, 1984). E ec i e e lec ion o en combines elemen s om hese le els, wi h
"insigh ul" e lec ion equi ing an analy ical o conclusi e dep h, as Dowling e al.
(2019) emphasize. In ela ion o Kolb's Lea ning Cycle, discussed by (Siege is and
P ennig, 2024-2), e lec ion is one o he ou s ages: conc e e expe ience, e lec i e
obse a ion, abs ac concep ualiza ion and ac i e expe imen a ion (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1: Kolb's Lea ning Cycle Sou ce: Adap ed om Kolb (1984 p. 42) (Kolb, 1984) in:
Dowling (2019) mo ied om P ennig, A., Siege is, J. (2024-1)
2 THE REFLECTION PROCESS IN IT AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
The e lec ion cycle has been in eg a ed in o wo cou ses a HTW Be lin, as de ailed
by (Siege is and P ennig, 2024-1), an IT p ojec cou se and an in oduc o y Ma e ials
Science cou se (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2: Re lecion pa h o IT and Mechanical Enginee ing
Despi e di e ing in objec i es and p ojec s uc u es—sel -o ganized eam p ojec s
o IT and pee - o-pee educa ional ma e ial c ea ion o Ma e ials Science—bo h
cou ses use he e lec ion cycle o enhance collabo a ion, esol e con lic s, and
imp o e p ojec ou comes. S uden s in bo h cou ses a e equi ed o submi w i en
e lec ions, which a e con iden ially e iewed by an impa ial pa y. G ading is based
on p ojec ou comes, wi h ex a c edi o e lec ions. Howe e , e lec ions do no
di ec ly add ess con lic s; ins ead, s uden s a e encou aged o independen ly apply
hei insigh s o esol e issues.
In acco dance o Kolb, he e lec ion p ocess in ol es ou s ages, as obse ed by
lec u e s (Siege is and P ennig, 2024-1):
1. Conc e e expe ience: Assess he cu en coope a ion amewo k and iden i y
con lic s.
2. Re lec i e obse a ion: E alua e indi idual con ibu ions o coope a ion.
3. Abs ac concep ualiza ion: Re lec on he e ec i eness o he amewo k, ules,
communica ion, and ime managemen .
4. Ac i e expe imen a ion: P opose imp o emen s and s a egies o u u e
coope a ion.
3 STUDENT REACTIONS TOWARDS REFLECTION
Gene al:
In bo h he IT and Ma e ials Science p ojec s, s uden s ini ially pe cei ed e lec ions
as ime-consuming and no di ec ly bene icial o p ojec ou comes. This pe cep ion
o en led o ague p oblem desc ip ions such as "communica ion doesn' wo k" o "I
s uggle o ocus." Many s uden s ini ially ocused on lis ing hei asks a he han
analyzing hei con ibu ions o p oblems o con lic s. Howe e , as he e lec ion
cycles p og essed, s uden s began o ecognize and app ecia e hei in enhancing
communica ion, cla i ying asks, and managing ime mo e e ec i ely. These
imp o emen s led o mo e p ecise p oblem desc ip ions and mo e e ec i e eam
epo ing (Siege is and P ennig, 2024-1,2). Communica ion challenges a e a majo
issue in bo h, he IT and Ma e ials Science p ojec s
Mechanical Enginee ing:
S uden s in Mechanical Enginee ing aced signi ican challenges, including
na iga ing un amilia opics, managing dis ac ions, and coo dina ing ime wi hin
g oups (Fig. 3). Th ough s uc u ed e lec ion, s uden s we e able o acknowledge
he impo ance o a sys ema ic esea ch app oach and ecognize he necessi y, ye
o en unseen, ha esea ch plays in hei p ojec s. Al hough he e was no di ec
co ela ion be ween e lec ion con en and indi idual p ojec assessmen s (Siege is
and P ennig, 2024-2), e lec ions acili a ed a deepe unde s anding o he
challenges aced, os e ing p ide and con idence in hei pe o mance. G oups ha
p ac iced be e ime managemen , such as se ing deadlines, achie ing miles ones,
and con ening in o mal mee ings, modes ly achie ed highe p ojec g ades (Siege is
and P ennig, 2024-1), sugges ing ha e lec i e p ac ices con ibu ed o hese
o ganiza ional imp o emen s.
IT:
In he IT cou se, e lec ions we e in aluable despi e he complexi y in oduced by
mul iple s akeholde s and he emo e na u e o he p ojec . While di ec links
be ween p ojec esul s and e lec i e s a emen s we e di icul o asce ain,
e lec ions emphasized he need o clea communica ion, guideline adhe ence, and
echnological suppo in da a managemen . Fu he mo e, hey acili a ed he
iden i ica ion o ime- ela ed challenges, guided he enhancemen o agile
me hodologies, and highligh ed he impo ance o language p o iciency and p oblem-
esolu ion skills o e ec i e collabo a ion and p ojec success. These insigh s
unde sco ed he indi ec bu essen ial o e lec i e p ac ices in na iga ing he
complexi ies o IT p ojec s.
Fig. 3. Weigh ing o he main opics issued wi hin s uden s` e lec ion wi h ega d o
in luence on he p ojec ou come
4 IMPROVING EFFECTIVENESS WHEN IMPLEMENTING REFLECTIONS
Re lec ions in highe educa ion ha e bo h posi i e and nega i e impac s on s uden s'
opinions. Posi i ely, e lec ions enable s uden s o engage in me acogni ion,
os e ing deepe unde s anding, c i ical hinking, and sel -di ec ed lea ning. They
encou age owne ship o educa ion, making s uden s mo e ac i e and engaged
pa icipan s (Kneisel, 2020, Knip e a al., 2013, (McCullough-C ess, BJ. C ess, D.,
1995), Ca pe, 2019, P ennig and Siege is, 2024-1,2, Moon, 2004, Schön, 1983).
Howe e , e lec ions can be ime-consuming and o e ly subjec i e, especially
wi hou clea guidelines o g ading c i e ia. Some s uden s s uggle o engage
au hen ically, iewing e lec ions as disconnec ed om hei academic o ca ee
goals, esul ing in ex insically mo i a ed submissions. Ins uc o s mus in eg a e
e lec ions meaning ully in o he cu iculum, aligning hem wi h cou se objec i es o
main ain in e es and in insic mo i a ion (P ennig and Siege is, 2024-1).
The e ec i eness o e lec ions is in luenced by s uden s' p io expe iences, lea ning
p e e ences, and cul u al con ex s. Ins uc o s should ailo e lec ion ac i i ies o
mee di e se needs and p o ide p ecise, goal-aligned di ec ions. Fi s -yea
enginee ing s uden s o en o e es ima e hei con ibu ions, possibly due o limi ed
p ojec expe ience o op imis ic ou looks. Lec u e s should add ess he disc epancy
be ween sel -e alua ion and ac ual ou comes, guiding s uden s o achie e
sa is ac o y esul s in g oup p ojec s (P ennig and Siege is, 2024-1).
An in iguing inding is ha e en s uden s p o icien in ime managemen a e g oup
ime managemen poo ly, sugges ing indi idual skills don' always ansla e o g oup
se ings. Many s uden s did no engage deeply, indica ing a need o e ise e lec ion
empla es.
S uden s alue s uc u ed and consis en aspec s o hei educa ion, such as imely
e lec ions, eedback, ins uc o engagemen , and clea guidance, as c ucial o hei
success. They p e e e iciency and au onomy, placing less emphasis on pe sonal
ela ionships and egula mee ings. Team dynamics and emo ional suppo a e
0
20
40
60
80
100
Weigh ed a ing no malized o 100
C i ie ia o in luence on s uden s` pe o mance
Tasks
F amewo k
Collabo a ion
Time managemen GROUP
Time mangemen INDIVIDUAL
Communica ion
Con ibu ion
alued bu a e seconda y o ins uc o -led suppo , wi h a g ea e ocus on clea
ins uc ions and p ac ical eedback. This p e e ence o indi idualized, ask-o ien ed
lea ning con as s wi h highe educa ion goals o os e ing s uden esponsibili y o
lea ning. Many s uden s engage in e lec ions o g ades a he han in insic
mo i a ion, highligh ing he need o meaning ul in eg a ion o e lec ions wi h cou se
objec i es. Ins uc o s a e encou aged o conside s uden s' p io expe iences,
lea ning p e e ences, and cul u al con ex s. The au ho s emphasize he impo ance
o balancing s ong guidance wi h de eloping sel -managemen , c i ical hinking, and
c ea i e p oblem-sol ing skills essen ial o u u e p o essional en i onmen s. This
lea es plen y o discussion abou he ole o lec u e s in he indi idual and eam
lea ning p ocess.
4.1 Hands-on sugges ions o lec u e s
The e lec i e app oach helps lec u e s c i ically e alua e he me hod's impac on
cou se ou comes, indi idual s uden p og ess, sel -awa eness, eam-building
compe encies, and men al g ow h among s uden s (P ennig and Siege is, 2024-1),
leading o aluable lessons lea ned summa ized in Table 1.
Table 1. Sugges ions o enhance lea ning ou come and g oup pe o mance when
implemen ing e lec ions in o eaching
Ac ion
Desc ip ion
Gene al e lec ion g
uidance
Clea ly de ine
expec a ions P o ide explici guidelines o quali y e lec ions, ou lining he pu pose,
e alua ion c i e ia, o ma ing, and leng h equi emen s.
Align wi h lea ning
objec i es Ensu e e lec ion ac i i ies a e in eg al o he cou se, enhancing
unde s anding and mas e y o con en .
O e guidance, ime,
and suppo Suppo s uden s wi h in-class ime, examples, p omp s, and oppo uni ies
o eedback and e ision.
Encou age au hen ici y
and sel - e lec ion P omo e hones sel - e lec ion, allowing s uden s o iden i y g ow h a eas
and se meaning ul goals.
In eg a e e lec ion in o
assessmen
Make e lec ion ac i i ies pa o o e all assessmen , complemen ing exams,
p oblem-sol ing asks, o p ojec s.
P o ide eedback Gi e imely, cons uc i e eedback on e lec ions, highligh ing s eng hs and
a eas o imp o emen .
P omo e e ec i e
communica ion
Guide s uden s in e ec i e collabo a ion and communica ion s a egies,
o e ing esou ces on ac i e lis ening, con lic esolu ion, and cons uc i e
eedback.
Re lec on you p ac ice
Con inuously e alua e and adjus e lec ion ac i i ies based on hei
e ec i eness in achie ing lea ning objec i es and s uden eedback.
Enhancing esea ch skills o MB s
uden s
P o ide s uc u ed
esea ch guidance Emphasize esea ch as c i ical, o e ing guidelines and esou ces o
e ec i e me hods, accessing da abases, and e alua ing sou ces.
Add ess dis ac ion
managemen
Inco po a e s a egies o managing dis ac ions, such as c ea ing dedica ed
s udy spaces, se ing ime blocks, and using echniques like he Pomodo o
Technique.
Add ess
us a ion and
demo i a ion
Acknowledge esea ch p ojec challenges and p o ide suppo mechanisms
like p og ess check-ins, encou agemen , cons uc i e eedback, and pee
suppo ne wo ks.
P epa a o y wo kshops o in e na ional IT g
oups
C oss-cul u al aining Inc ease cul u al awa eness and sensi i i y o mi iga e misunde s andings
and con lic s, os e ing ha monious and p oduc i e eam dynamics.
Language adap a ion P o ide s a egies o adap ing communica ion s yles o di e se linguis ic
backg ounds, ensu ing clea communica ion and ac i e pa icipa ion.
Team building Facili a e ac i i ies o build us , appo , and cama ade ie among eam
membe s, p omo ing collabo a ion and sha ed esponsibili y.
Agile skills Equip s uden s wi h agile p ojec managemen p inciples and p ac ices o
e ec i e planning, execu ion, and adap a ion o changing equi emen s.
5 CONCLUSION
Implemen ing e lec ion cycles in unde g adua e IT and ma e ial science cou ses a a
uni e si y e ealed signi ican insigh s in o s uden lea ning and collabo a ion. Ini ially
seen as addi ional wo k, e lec ions we e ul ima ely ecognized o hei alue in
enhancing g oup pe o mance and indi idual s udy managemen . E alua ed on
c i ical hinking a he han cou se con en , e lec ions helped s uden s add ess
challenges such as ine ec i e communica ion, na iga ing un amilia opics, and
managing dis ac ions.
Re lec ions emphasized he need o clea communica ion, adhe ence o guidelines,
and echnological suppo o da a managemen . Key ecommenda ions o
enhancing he e ec i eness o e lec ions include se ing clea expec a ions, aligning
ac i i ies wi h lea ning objec i es, p o iding guidance and eedback, and os e ing a
suppo i e lea ning en i onmen . The p ocess highligh ed he impo ance o
s uc u ed esea ch app oaches and e ealed a endency among i s -yea
enginee ing s uden s o o e es ima e hei pe o mance. Addi ionally, p epa a o y
wo kshops on c oss-cul u al aining, language adap a ion, eam building, and agile
skills we e iden i ied as c ucial o imp o ing in e na ional collabo a ion and p ojec
ou comes.
The e o e, e lec ions in highe educa ion os e me acogni ion and ac i e
engagemen bu can be ime-consuming and lack au hen ici y wi hou clea
guidelines, leading o ex insically mo i a ed submissions. To enhance hei
e ec i eness, ins uc o s should meaning ully in eg a e e lec ions in o he
cu iculum, ailo hem o di e se needs, and balance guidance wi h os e ing s uden
esponsibili y, c i ical hinking, and sel -managemen skills essen ial o p o essional
en i onmen s.
6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The au ho would like o hank Juliane Siege is o collabo a ion and conduc ing
e lec i e p ac ices in IT cou ses and double blind e alua ion o e lec i e wo k o
ME s uden s.
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