Lifelong learning and career development are essential skills for aerospace engineering students, who face a dynamic and competitive industry that requires constant innovation and adaptation. In this article, you will learn some practical tips on how to foster these skills in your students, whether you are a teacher, a mentor, or a supervisor.
The first step to teach lifelong learning and career development is to define clear and realistic learning outcomes for your students. Learning outcomes are statements that describe what your students should be able to do, know, or value after completing a course, a project, or a program. They should be aligned with the expectations and standards of the aerospace engineering profession, as well as the interests and goals of your students. By defining learning outcomes, you can help your students understand the purpose and relevance of their education, as well as the criteria and evidence of their achievement.
Just like it takes a village to raise a child, it takes an ecosystem to grow an entrepreneur. (c) Entrepreneurial skills are the thread of all careers. It can be the ignition for the take-off of human ingenuity by providing the confidence to manage at any stage; as well as the lifeline to creatively once the restrains of being under qualified become rungs to the student's next swing to an exciting new branch. Students who have thought about reaching for the stars can fly among them with this foundational skill set.
In addition to learning outcomes, a simpler way to explore this is younger students is the purpose or the "why" of their learning goals. When working with student teachers in the field of education, I always like to remind my student-teachers that beyond the curriculum and core standards they are trying to teach our youth, after they share their content, they need to get at the student's level and explain the big question of "so what?" Beyond the curriculum/course goals, why are the students learning what they are learning? How can they connect what they are learning to the real world? If they cannot make the big connection, the learning outcomes have only prepared/helped the students.
In 21st Century Skills I first came across whilst a judge for Microsoft via their Global learning initiative, I suggest a combination of problem solving (natural to these students), creativity and communication are key in equal measure. Ensuring new entrepreneurs develop with imagination to predict the needs of future generations and to believe sufficiently in what is already in place and its capacity to evolve to meet new needs is pivotal. Creativity is essential in all aspects of life long learning, to enable us each to explore with increased confidence: what if... This from Da Vinci to Eistein and since is integral to challenge thinking and seek new solutions, to answer questions just out of reach.
Establishing success criteria that clearly articulate how the learner and teacher will know that the learning outcomes have successfully been met fosters self-reflection and evaluation while providing a map for actionable instructor feedback.
In my experience, you begin with the basics. Lay out a plan of action, then concentrate on the things that you want achieved.Repeat the lessons that seemed difficult, show it a different way, and always review the lessons taught. By differentiating the instruction, you are bound to catch the folks who didn’t get it the first time.
The second step to teach lifelong learning and career development is to use active and collaborative learning methods that engage your students in meaningful and challenging tasks. Active learning methods involve your students in doing, reflecting, and applying their knowledge and skills, rather than passively listening or memorizing. Collaborative learning methods involve your students in working with others, such as peers, mentors, or experts, to share ideas, solve problems, and create products. By using these methods, you can help your students develop critical thinking, communication, teamwork, and self-regulation skills that are essential for lifelong learning and career development.
Active learning is one of the most profound ways to obtain knowledge in any career and age group. We are human; we learn things by doing. We are more than simply passive learners. Therefore, whoever is training or teaching a group of people, no matter their age, and whether in person or virtual, the opportunity to interact with the content is a very powerful way of learning. Another big question to consider is how to get your audience to talk about what you taught them with someone in their social group after learning from you. If this occurs, you have tapped into their active learning spaces, and they now have a memory beyond just that learning space. You made MAGIC happen!
Effective strategies from elementary education can also be successful with adult learners. Methods I've used include "Think-Pair-Share:" which involves posing a question, having students reflect individually, discuss in pairs, and then share with the class. "Jigsaw:" Break down a complex topic into subtopics and assign each subtopic to a small group. After they become experts on their subtopic, regroup so that each new group has one expert from each original group. This encourages the sharing of expertise and comprehensive understanding. Interactive quizzes/polls assess real-time comprehension. Online Tools: Utilize tools that facilitate collaboration and enable students to work together even outside of class.
Students have a variety of learning styles. As their teacher, we need to be aware of those styles. Using a variety of instructionsl styles helps students discover their best way to learn.
The third step to teach lifelong learning and career development is to incorporate feedback and reflection into your teaching and assessment practices. Feedback is information that helps your students monitor and improve their performance and progress. It can come from various sources, such as yourself, other students, external reviewers, or self-assessment tools. Reflection is the process of thinking about and learning from feedback, experiences, and outcomes. It can help your students identify their strengths, weaknesses, goals, and strategies for learning and career development. By incorporating feedback and reflection, you can help your students become more aware, responsible, and proactive learners and professionals.
Reflection on its own is not as powerful a tool to support professional development without constructive feedback from a respected mentor. The act of becoming a reflective, skilled career-minded professional means every experience in practice, negative or positive is meaningful and a learning experience. Students develop into reflective practitioners over time and through constant feedback on their progress from mentors. Failure or knock backs is part of that journey. The first causality is their pride which gives way to self discovery/self reflection and the willingness to learn. It’s important to note that reflection and providing feedback empowers both the students, and the teachers, mentors or anyone who provides constructive feedback.
Effective feedback is: 1) targeted, 2) communicates progress, 3) timely, and 4) gives students the opportunity to practice and implement the feedback received. Feedback should focus both on what the student is doing well, and what their next step is.
I agree. Reflection takes time to cultivate. Reaction is the easiest route. Teaching reflection is foundational for growth.
Feedback and reflection are a key component for learning. Many times they are forgotten because the educator is in a hurry to get to the next topic.
The fourth step to teach lifelong learning and career development is to expose your students to diverse and authentic contexts that reflect the complexity and diversity of the aerospace engineering field. Diverse contexts are situations that involve different perspectives, disciplines, cultures, or stakeholders. Authentic contexts are situations that involve real-world problems, scenarios, or applications. By exposing your students to these contexts, you can help them broaden their horizons, appreciate different viewpoints, and apply their knowledge and skills to new and relevant situations.
By creating real-world scenarios and exposing students to these contexts, educators facilitate expanded perspectives, empathy, and practical application of skills to pertinent challenges. The more exposure to real-world situations that students have, the more proficient problem solvers they become.
As an Engineer in Aviation and having taught and mentored students myself, it's essential to emphasize the importance of continuous learning. Even as experienced and time-served engineers, we all keep learning. One way to drive this message home is by sharing personal stories of mistakes made and lessons learned. This helps students to be more open and honest when unsure or when they make a mistake. While we strive to avoid errors, we must remember that we are all human and mistakes are inevitable. What's important is how we handle these mistakes and learn from them. It's crucial to teach honesty and humility in admitting mistakes from the outset.
Authenticity is your brand, own it, love it, nurture it. Respecting other human beings in their authenticity is a basic social skill. Diversity is the fruit of the labor of generations; a reason for celebration and discovery every day.
Expose your students to the work of Marshall Goldsmith, author of What Got You Here Won't Get You There. For aerospace engineers, remind them that what got the Wright Brothers off the ground, didn't get men into orbit. What got man into orbit, didn't get us to the moon. What got us to the moon, won't get us to the next closest star system. We must keep growing and learning,
Moreover, we must demonstrate the correct way of following protocols and policies to provide students with a strong foundation for their career in aviation. The dangers of groupthink culture, where people tend to conform to established norms and resist change, should be highlighted. By emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, honesty, and humility, and demonstrating the correct way of following protocols and policies, we can help students in Engineering in Aviation to build a solid foundation for their career while avoiding common mistakes.
The fifth step to teach lifelong learning and career development is to support your students' career exploration and planning. Career exploration is the process of discovering and researching various career options and opportunities in the aerospace engineering field. Career planning is the process of setting and pursuing career goals and actions. By supporting these processes, you can help your students identify their interests, values, skills, and aspirations, as well as the requirements, challenges, and trends of the aerospace engineering industry. You can also help them develop a portfolio, a resume, a cover letter, and other career-related documents and skills.
My career passion is igniting career passion. Once a student understands they hold the key to their future with a clear path to financial success, there is no stopping them from being AMAZING!
The sixth and final step to teach lifelong learning and career development is to encourage your students' professional development and networking. Professional development is the process of updating and enhancing your students' knowledge and skills in the aerospace engineering field. Networking is the process of building and maintaining relationships with other professionals, organizations, or communities in the aerospace engineering field. By encouraging these processes, you can help your students stay current, competitive, and connected in their field, as well as find and create opportunities for learning and career advancement.
Learning is the most vital process since what you learn by who you learn is going to shape your life and have an impact of people opinion. Learning means observation,be attentive, and feel it deeply.
Promoting growth mindsets When students have a growth mindset, they perform far better than those with a fixed mindset (Dweck, 2010). They believe that intelligence can grow through effort they are more likely to welcome the challenge of learning something new. To promote growth mindsets ? praise the process of learning (e.g. ‘you tried hard!’) rather than intelligence or ability (e.g. ‘you’re so clever!’) ? encourage students to use learning logs, diaries and journals to make goals for their learning and the learning process explicit ? provide meaningful learning tasks which challenge all students, portraying challenges as exciting and an essential part of learning ? teach students about the brain and mindsets directly.