Abstract

Cultural exposure is said to be an enhancement to collegial learning. With this in mind, students in an engineering technology program were given the opportunity to go to Germany to a regional university, experience education in that setting, and visit sites dedicated to renewable energy. The students were given a two-week experience that taught them through both formal and informal means. Ultimately, students experienced curiosity, openness to different cultural norms, and were able to identify components of other cultural perspectives responding with their own worldviews. The researchers utilized the Miville-Guzman Universality Diversity Scale (M-GUDS-S) to assess pre and post activity thoughts regarding culture, thoughts, and beliefs. The data gathered from the student population was evaluated using descriptive statistics as well as content analysis. The instrument provides an indication of how the student perception changes for both individuals and the aggregate population experiencing the material provided during the trip. Overall the engineering technology students learned more about other ways of life and were encouraged by their peers to become more open minded. Their observations proved that the approach to renewable energy in Germany and Europe as a whole is very different from the United States or other countries, such as India. The program leaders observed that students gained a great deal, in particular learning to accept the differences from their own beliefs and values found in people of different cultures, races, and habits.

Comments

© 2018 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference.

Date of this Version

6-2018

Published in:

Lucietto, A. M. (2018, June), International Experience of Engineering Technology Students Learning About Renewable Energy Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--30705

Share

COinS