Challenges in teaching engineering to the next generation: Some data from a geo-engineering perspective

This paper looks at the changing attitudes amongst undergraduate students toward learning in engineering, in the context of teaching in geomechanics. On the basis of experiences in courses teaching introductory soil mechanics and geology in second year, and applied, project-based design in final year, a number of observations are made. The data underpinning these observations includecourse results, student survey results and anecdotes of interactions with students. It considers changes in the expectations of students as a function of generational attitudes and government and university policy. The experiences described point to a trend of students choosing to skip classes, becoming reluctant to think in order to learn, and failing to appreciate how much time they need to devote to their studies in order to achieve the necessary learning outcomes. Results presented show that course failure rates correlate strongly with non-attendance of lectures, and it is concluded that solutions to this problem are far from straightforward.