Field Programs to Accomplish the Learning Objectives for Engineering Courses: A Case Study of the Road Surveying and Design Course at Southeast University, China

Background: China Engineering Education Accreditation Association (CEEAA) emphasizes advancing the learning objective requirements of the Chinese students majoring in engineering disciplines to the international standards. Practical elements of the courses, especially field practices, can facilitate the achievement of the learning objectives in engineering disciplines developed by CEEAA. However, given the various challenges such as budget constraints, safety concerns, and logistics difficulties, field practice programs have not been broadly adopted in engineering education. This paper aims to demonstrate the necessity and significance of field programs in engineering education. Methods: Using the two-week field program of a course at Southeast University(SEU), China Road Surveying and Design, as an example, this study first provides an overview of the practical program, including the selection of the field practice base, assembling of the teaching staff, field program content descriptions as well as administration and safety measures. Afterwards, an integrated evaluation system combining the performance assessment with student questionnaires is described in detail. The questionnaires require students to answer questions on the effectiveness of the field practice program based on self-assessment. Moreover, independent-sample t-tests are conducted to compare the student learning outcomes between the students who have participated in the program and those who have not, and paired T-tests were also performed to compare the improvement of five required abilities between the students who have participated in the program and those who have not based on teachers’ evaluation. Results: Through analyses on the learning experience of the participants of the program from 2009 to 2016, the study demonstrates the effectiveness of the field program in enhancing students’ awareness in teamwork, communication skills, as well as the ability of solving practical problems and dealing with the challenges in the engineering field. Conclusion: This study demonstrates strong evidences in effective student learning through a field program and supports the adoption of field programs in accomplishing the educational requirements of students majoring in engineering set by CEEAA.