Communication in a Problem Based Learning Environment: Supporting the Teaching Team in the School of Electrical Engineering

Problem based learning (PBL) has been introduced at Victoria University (VU) into its undergraduate engineering programs. PBL represents a radical change and requires substantial effort and commitment to adapt traditional practices in response to the challenges of PBL and related communication needs of a diverse student population. Furthermore, professional bodies, such as Engineers Australia, place increasing demands on communication as a crucial engineering graduate attribute. In implementing PBL the delivery of both communication skills and professional skills has been integrated within the technical solution of the problem given. As a consequence there is a greater requirement for the supervisors from the electrical engineering staff to develop their skills in the teaching of language and communication. The linguistic diversity and varying English language proficiency levels of students in the electrical engineering course exacerbate the necessity for staff to familiarise with or upgrade their skills in language across the curriculum, and communication in general. Students in the electrical engineering program come from a wide range of socio-cultural, linguistic and educational backgrounds. Many have limited English language skills for their academic pursuits. In response to language and communication demands placed upon the Engineering staff in PBL, staff from the School of Communication Culture and Languages has been engaged to induct the Engineering staff in matters pertaining to the nature of language learning and language across the curriculum. Strong parallels between communicative approaches to language learning/teaching and the PBL approach were used as a starting point to develop an effective staff orientation program.