Wo kshop
Recommended ci a ion: B ady, E. A. F., Win , N., & Di ei o, I. (2025). Add essing
Ambiguous Te minology o Imp o e Concep ual Unde s anding in Enginee ing
Educa ion. 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.17631303.
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.
ADDRESSING AMBIGUOUS TERMINOLOGY AND FUZZY
CONCEPTS TO IMPROVE CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING IN
ENGINEERING EDUCATION
E. A. F. B ady a, 1, N. Win b, I. Di ei o c
a School o EEME, Uni e si y o B is ol, B is ol, UK, 0009-0003-5443-2669
b STEAPP, UCL, London, UK, 0000-0002-9229-5728
c TEMA, Uni e si y o A ei o, A ei o, Po ugal
Con e ence Key A eas: Building he capaci y and s eng hening he educa ional
compe ences o enginee ing educa o s (14); Enginee ing skills, p o essional skills,
and ans e sal skills (10).
Keywo ds: Fuzzy concep s; Enginee ing skills; Imp o ing pedagogic p ac ice;
Capaci y building.
ABSTRACT
Enginee ing educa o s and esea che s use e minology o communica e speci ic
ideas wi h he in en ion o dissemina ing knowledge e ec i ely. Despi e his, some
e ms a e unde s ood and concep ualised di e en ly by di e en indi iduals, esul ing
in miscommunica ion. Concep s which a e no well-de ined o may ha e mul iple
de ini ions can be known as ‘ uzzy concep s’ (Ragin, 2000).
This wo kshop highligh ed he exis ence o uzzy concep s used in enginee ing
educa ion. Such unde s anding allows p ac i ione s o ecognise he po en ial o
misin e p e a ion and he need o de ine key e ms in o de o imp o e he cla i y and
consis ency o hei communica ion. The wo kshop ac i i ies encou aged pa icipan s
o sha e which e ms hey use in eaching p ac ice ha hey belie e may be uzzy.
Pa icipan s we e p omp ed o conside he p ac ical implica ions o u ilising uzzy
concep s wi hin in ended lea ning ou comes, eaching p ac ice, assessmen and
g adua e ou comes, as well as in educa ion esea ch. They iden i ied uses o FCs in
collabo a i e lea ning, which would imp o e s uden s’ p oblem sol ing and eam
wo king abili ies, as well as c ea ing discussions in indus y se ings h ough which
o ganisa ional cul u al no ms could be iden i ied and add essed.
1 Co esponding Au ho
E. A. F. B ady
e in.b ady@b is ol.ac.uk
1 BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE
1.1 Wha a e Fuzzy Concep s?
Key e ms and concep s a e o en chosen o communica e speci ic ideas.
Some imes hese e ms can lack p ecision o can be unde s ood in di e en ways,
and he meaning de i ed om hem can hus di e om ha in ended. Such
concep s a e o en e e ed o as “ uzzy” (Zadeh, 1976). The e m Fuzzy Concep s
(FCs) o igina es om he ma hema ical ield o “ uzzy logic” whe eby mul i- alued se
logic is used o desc ibe concep s wi h an ambiguous deg ee o membe ship o a se
(Lee & Kang, 1997). The s udy o such in e p e a ion and meaning is e e ed o as
“ uzzy seman ics” (Wang, 2022).
1.2 Sou ces o Ambigui y and Subjec i i y in Enginee ing Educa ion
Lönng en e al. (2023) no e ha bo h he phenomena s udied in Enginee ing
Educa ion Resea ch (EER) and he in e p e a ion and ans e abili y o indings, as
well as heo y de elopmen , a e impac ed by he ange o di e en disciplina y
heo ies ha Enginee ing Educa ion (EE) esea che s employ. A widely used e m
which has ound ele ance wi hin EER, bu o which a a ie y o in e p e a ions
exis , is esilience. In EER, he way esilience is concep ualised by EE eache s and
esea che s is di e se (Winkens & Leich -Schol en, 2023; Win & Di ei o, 2024), and
has been p oposed o be associa ed wi h bo h adap abili y o change, as well as
esis ance o change.
Resilience is a key e m used in employabili y as well as in EER, which has
implica ions on g adua e ou comes. The Fu u e o Jobs Repo 2025 (Wo ld
Economic Fo um, 2025) ails o explici ly de ine esilience, despi e lis ing i as he
second mos highly anked co e skill ha employe s equi e o hei wo ke s,
alongside “ lexibili y and agili y”. The in ended meaning o esilience is in e ed as
ela ing o a need o “(adap ) o unce ain y and (manage) complex social dynamics”.
This g ouping o esilience wi h o he e ms could also sugges ha i should ope a e
simila ly o “ lexibili y” and “agili y”. A clea de ini ion would p o ide insigh in o he
speci ic beha iou s and a ibu es ha employe s desi e om employees.
The lack o a singula de ini ion o esilience also a ises om cul u al di e ences.
P e ailing Wes e n concep ualisa ions o esilience include “a dynamic p ocess
encompassing posi i e adap a ion wi hin he con ex o signi ican ad e si y” (Lu ha
e al., 2000) while he Pales inian cul u al alue Sumud (Abuelaish & Yousu zai
2023) speci ically desc ibes communi ies’ abili y o al e hei eali y a he han adap
o ad e se ci cums ances. Sumud can be ansla ed as ‘ esilience’ om A abic o
English, bu his isks losing i s speci ic meaning. Using he same wo d o desc ibe
di e en concep ualisa ions p o ides a clea example o how uzziness can a ise
when pa ies a e no awa e o he o he s’ unde s anding.
A wide ange o con ex ual ac o s can unde pin bo h he in ended and in e p e ed
meaning o FCs including esilience. This has implica ions o hose who a e
un amilia wi h such e ms - hese being pa icula ly ele an o educa ional se ings
whe e s uden s’ abili y o use con ex ual clues o in e meaning may be limi ed and
unlikely o be su icien o cla i y FCs.
1.3 Cla i ying Fuzzy Concep s
Whe e FCs a e p esen in educa ional ou comes (including lea ning ou comes,
assessmen ou comes and g adua e ou comes), wha is expec ed o s uden s can be
unclea . Va ious solu ions o add ess he p oblem associa ed wi h his lack o cla i y
ha e been ound in li e a u e on educa ion esea ch.
Two s udies ha e measu ed he achie emen o quali a i e Lea ning Ou comes
(LOs) using uzzy logic p ocessing (Bouslama e al., 2006; Venka esan &
F agomeni, 2008), whe e uzzy logic me hods we e applied o assess s uden s’
achie emen o LOs a he poin o summa i e assessmen . This p o ides some
insigh in o s uden s’ in e p e a ions o he lea ning ou comes, bu p o iding cla i y
a ound he concep s used o communica e LOs a he s a o a cou se could
imp o e he consis ency o how di e en s uden s unde s and wha is equi ed o
hem in he assessmen . This app oach can also be pa icula ly help ul o
o mula ing p oblems which hemsel es a e ill-de ined o “wicked” (Ri el & Webbe ,
1973) like imp o ing design o sus ainabili y (Seage e al., 2012).
Gi en how miscommunica ion can a ise when using FCs, he wo kshop desc ibed in
his wo k aimed o suppo EE p ac i ione s, om a a ie y o backg ounds, cul u es,
and oles, in unde s anding he sou ces o con usion when concep s ha e no been
comp ehensi ely and explici ly de ined. This is ele an o eaching p ac ice and
cu iculum design in aiming o p epa e g adua es o he wo kplace, and o imp o e
communica ion and dissemina ion o esea ch indings (Roland e al., 2015).
2 WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES
2.1 Ta ge Audience
A endees wi h an in e es in imp o ing hei impac in eaching o esea ch p ac ice
we e encou aged o a end; hei amilia i y wi h FCs be o e he session was no
known. Sugges ed p epa a ion o he wo kshop was o umina e on e ms’
de ini ions which hey o hei s uden s ind con using.
2.2 Expec ed Ou comes
By he end o his wo kshop, i was expec ed ha pa icipan s we e able o:
1. Recognise concep s which may be uzzy in eaching o esea ch p ac ice.
2. Unde s and he e ec s o concep s’ uzziness on o he s’ in e p e a ions o
eaching and esea ch communica ion.
3. Expe imen wi h echniques om he wo kshop o cla i y FCs in hei eaching
and/o esea ch p ac ice.
3 WORKSHOP DESIGN
3.1 Time Plan
The s uc u e o he wo kshop is p o ided in Table 1 below.
Table 1. S uc u e o he wo kshop.
Du a ion
Ac i i y
No es
5 min In oduc ion:
Wha a e FCs?
In oduc ion o session s uc u e including
he lea ning ou comes and FCs de ini ion.
15 min G oup-Based Wo kshee :
E ec s o Applying FCs in
Di e en Con ex s
Wo kshee -based ac i i y explo ing
de ini ions o speci ic FCs.
10 min Whole Room Discussion:
Implica ions o FCs in
Teaching
and Resea ch
G oups’ eedback and discussion on esul s
o he p e ious ac i i y using he ollowing
ques ion: Wha a e he di e ences in he
concep ualisa ions o you g oup’s FC?
20 min Whole Room Discussion:
How o Tackle Con usion
Associa ed wi h FCs
Pa icipan s in i ed o p opose o he FCs in
he u he discussion using he ollowing
ques ion: Which app oaches o cla i ying
FCs a e e ec i e and easible o you o
implemen ?
10 min Plena y:
Summa y and
Key Takeaways
Discussion poin s summa ised, hen
pa icipan s a e p o ided guidance on
add essing he opic in u u e.
3.2 P ocedu e
The 18 indi iduals who a ended he wo kshop we e andomly alloca ed o h ee
g oups as hey a i ed. A e an in oduc ion co e ing he pu pose and s uc u e o
he wo kshop, pa icipan s we e asked o comple e a b ie ac i i y which in ol ed
w i ing esponses o p omp s wi hin he h ee g oups o ou o mo e.
Each g oup was alloca ed a di e en FC: c ea i i y, esilience, o success. Wi hin
hei g oups, di e en a endees comple ed each o he p omp s in ou s ages,
swapping he shee s o each s age so ha he ou p omp s on each shee we e
comple ed by ou di e en people. The p omp s below we e de eloped o add ess
key inconsis encies iden i ied in he In oduc ion, whe e “CONCEPT” was eplaced
by “c ea i i y”, “ esilience” o “success” espec i ely.
1) W i e up o 10 wo ds o ideas ha you associa e wi h CONCEPT.
2) B ie ly desc ibe 1 way in which CONCEPT could be measu ed o assessed.
3) Lis up o 5 beha iou s o ac ions you would expec om someone who shows
CONCEPT.
4) Desc ibe how you hink some hing can bene i om CONCEPT.
App o al o collec da a om he wo kshop was ob ained om a UCL depa men al
esea ch e hics commi ee (UCL) (p ojec ID 1743). Fou o he wo kshee s collec ed
we e conce ned wi h c ea i i y, six wi h esilience, and se en wi h success – on he
emaining wo kshee , consen had no been gi en so he esul s we e no eco ded.
Following his, pa icipan s we e asked o sha e how hey de ined each concep
wi hin he g oup, he implica ions ha any di e ences would ha e o esea ch,
indus y and eaching p ac ice, and me hods which could be used o cla i y FCs, as
pa o a wide discussion. The acili a o s supplemen ed his discussion wi h
ac ionable solu ions, like jux aposing de ini ions agains hei opposi es and gi ing
examples o how a concep may be ope a ionalised.
Ca e was aken o a oid leading pa icipan s’ concep ualisa ions h oughou he
wo kshop: o example, he in oduc ion used he e m “sandwich” as a uzzy concep
as i does no ela e o eaching o esea ch p ac ice. I was explained ha di e en
desc ip ions o a sandwich could esul in i ems being assigned a ious deg ees o
membe ship o being a “sandwich”, which makes i uzzy.
4 WORKSHOP RESULTS
4.1 Wo kshee Reponses
The e we e no able simila i ies in esponses on he wo kshee s ac oss g oups, wi h
some esponses o P omp 1 including he e e ence o FCs alloca ed o he o he
g oups (e.g: c ea i i y was men ioned as ela ed o success, and success was
ela ed o esilience), and some de ini ions we e used o mo e han one FC (e.g.,
‘ha d wo k’ was conside ed ela ed o bo h esilience and success.
The con ex ual applica ions in which he FCs we e conside ed o be used
we e ela ed o STEM educa ion, indus y, leisu e, enginee ing design wo k,
and s alking ( o esilience).
I is in e es ing o no e ha con adic o y de ini ions we e gi en o bo h
esilience and success. In compa ison, he e was less de ia ion in he
concep ualisa ions o c ea i i y; i was de ined in a mo e singula way.
Table 2 shows some o he ideas associa ed wi h he FCs, alongside measu emen s.
Table 2. Summa y o pa icipan esponses om he wo kshee s.
C ea i i y Resilience Success
Associa ed
wo ds
Inno a ion
Inno a i e
A
Ha d wo k
O e come S uggle
S eng h Con idence
Ha d wo k
Winning
Use c ea i i y and
ha ing no el y in wo k.
Comple ion
E alua ion
Di e si y o ou pu s
om a design o
p oblem-sol ing
ac i i y
.
Unde s anding abili y
o endu e ha dship
and subsequen
eco e y
.
Rub ic used o
measu e he ex en o
which c i e ia a e me .
Social pe cep ion
Bene i s
B inging di e se
pe spec i es.
Using limi ed
esou ces o sol e
p oblems e ec i ely.
B eaking down
sys emic ba ie s.
Makes hings mo e
p edic able and less
dependen on
ex e nal condi ions.
A oid o al ailu e and
des uc ion.
Ge hings done.
Viable p oduc s
Easie access o
unding.
Mo e s uden s h i ing.
C ea es new
pe spec i es and
concep s.
Beha iou s
Re lec ion
Talka i e
Cu iosi y
No gi ing up when
some hing is no
pe ec .
C i ical analysis.
Being ac i e
Being able o inish a
gi en ask.
Conside a ion o
wellbeing.
Seeking help om
eache s.
En husiasm
Humili y
Being os en a ious
Gene osi y
Con iden body
language.
Asking ques ions in
he class oom.
Sa is ac ion
4.3 Whole Room Discussions
A endees mos ly exp essed an app ecia ion o FCs a he han us a ion a ising
om miscommunica ion. Some s a ed ha hey “lack us ” in p ecise de ini ions
gi en o FCs as hey belie ed ha a concep should be used wi h an awa eness o
i s mul iple de ini ions. One a endee jus i ied his belie in ela ion o Gödel’s
incomple eness heo em (Hosch, 2025): hei analogy being ha no single de ini ion
o an FC can encompass all o i s possible concep ualisa ions.
E e yone unde s ood he concep ualisa ions o FCs p esen ed by o he s, e en o
de ini ions ha di e ed om hei own. This unde s anding did no appea o a ise
om explici con e sa ions o jus i ica ions; i appea ed o be unp omp ed o
p esumed. Ne e heless, hey did iden i y he signi icance o cul u al and con ex ual
in luences gene ally a ec ing s uden s’ and p o essionals’ unde s anding o FCs.
Many a endees ag eed ha discussing he de ini ions o FCs in class oom could
imp o e s uden s’ concep ual unde s anding. In p oblem-sol ing scena ios,
de eloping a mo e complex unde s anding o a uzzy concep could inc ease he
scope o easible solu ions o he p oblem. Addi ionally, s uden s dissec ing hei own
p esupposi ions in g oup con e sa ions could help wi h unde s anding o he s’
pe spec i es and building mu ual espec . This was linked o indus y oo, whe e
simila ac i i ies could be used o inc ease awa eness o o ganisa ional cul u e and
highligh no ms o be challenged.
4.4 Conclusions
A endees’ app ecia ion o FCs was mo e posi i e han expec ed, as illus a ed by
hei desi e o e aining an awa eness o mul iple meanings o de elop an expansi e
unde s anding o concep s. They iden i ied ha discussing implici concep ualisa ions
could be use ul o add essing no ms in enginee ing class ooms and in indus y,
which aligns wi h he use o Common G ound in ecognising p esupposi ions
(S alnake , 2002).
The e was no e idence o he ex en o which esponses on he wo kshee e lec ed
a endees’ own expe iences ( hei cul u al and con ex ual backg ound especially).
Because o his, al hough he g oups’ p oposals o using FCs we e ele an o
eaching and esea ch p ac ice, hei u ili y o he indi iduals a ending is no clea .
5 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK
The indings poin o a numbe o po en ial a enues o u u e wo k.
De elopmen o ac i i ies which in ol es discussion o FCs o imp o e
s uden s’ concep ual unde s anding
De elopmen o ac i i ies aimed a es ablishing common g ound wi h pee s,
some hing which may be use ul in ligh o inc easing globalisa ion and need
o enginee ing o adop in e disciplina y app oaches
A s udy mo i a ed by he lack o discussion a ound a endees’ aci
concep ualisa ions could explo e how indi iduals’ backg ounds, and hei
awa eness o hese, a ec hei concep ualisa ions o FCs.
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