Conflicts In Learning: A Critical Analysis Of Problem Based Learning In Relation To Cultivating Innovative Engineers

Recent studies suggest that conflicts play an important role in educating innovation competency in learner-centered and group-organized curricula. However, there are two opposite views, either constructive or destructive, regarding conflicts’ effects on developing innovation competency. Thus it is important to investigate both students and academic staff’s perspectives, which could address this issue from practitioners’ experience. This paper conducted one case study in problem based learning environment. The research questions were as follows: (1) how learning trajectories were related with conflicts and innovation competency from students’ perspective? (2) how learning trajectories were related with conflicts and innovation competency from academic staff’s perspectives? (3) how students and academic staff’s perspectives were similar and different from the literatures? Besides providing a brief literature review, we collected empirical data by one-year observation and 14 interviews in one engineering master program, Environment Management, at University, Denmark. The empirical findings display diverse views on conflicts in relation to innovation competency from both students and academic staff’s statement, which reminded educators to reflect the use and implementation of PBL curriculum. Furthermore, their understandings on conflicts and innovation competency unfold the learning trajectories as the escalating process of conflicts, which could end up either as constructive or destructive on developing innovation competency. Based on the findings, this study revisited the literature and proposed a tentative explanatory model to describe the relationship between conflicts and innovation competency. At the same time, we suggest conducting further research to critically rethink PBL and its effects on cultivating innovation competency.