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ENHANCING THE MECHANICAL ENGINEERING PROGRAM OF THAI
NGUYEN UNIVERSITY THROUGH REDESIGNED LEARNING OUTCOMES
A Dissertation Presented to
the Faculty of the Graduate School
Southern Luzon State University, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines
in Collaboration with
Thai Nguyen University, Socialist Republic of Vietnam
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management


DR. APOLONIA ESPINOSA
member

DR. WALBERTO A.
MACARAAN
member
PROF. NODERINA B.
ILANO
member

Critic Reader

Chairman: CECILIA N. GASCON, Ed.D

Accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education Management by Southern Luzon State University, Republic
of the Philippines in collaboration with Thai Nguyen University, Socialist
Republic of Vietnam APOLONIA ESPINOSA, Ed. D
Dean, Graduate School

Date _________________
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author would like to express her gratitude to the following persons
who had great contribution to the preparation and accomplishment of this

The respondents of the study, for their active involvement, without their
cooperation the result of this dissertation may not be possible;
His loving classmates and colleagues, for endless support and friendship
which inspires the researcher to put in her best in finishing the study;
His wife – Dinh Thi Kim Phuong, the only person with a special space in
his heart for being his inspiration;
His parents and siblings, for their encouragement, financial, moral and
spiritual supports and for continuously believing that he can finish the task to the
best of his abilities

PVH

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DEDICATION With pride and honor,
This piece of work is lovingly dedicated
to his beloved parents, wife and children
for their endless support


I. INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study …………………………………………… 2
Objective of the study …………………………………… 6
Significance of the Study ……………………………………………. 6
Scope and Limitation ………………………………………………… 7
Definition of Terms ………………………………………………… 7
II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Learning outcomes …………………………………………………… 10
Type of learning outcomes ……………………………………………. 12
Learning outcomes and outcomes-based approaches ………………… 18
The role of learning outcomes in program design and improvement …. 19
Learning outcomes and learning objectives …………………………… 22
How to write Learning outcomes ……………………………………… 22
Quality and Quality in Education ……………………………………… 23
Engineer standards and criteria ……………………………………… 24
CDIO initiative ……………………………………………………… 27
The formulation of learning outcomes ………………………………… 29
Research Diagram …………………………………………………… 31
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III. METHODOLOGY

Locale of the Study …………………………………………………… 33
Research Design ……………………………………………………… 33
Population and Sampling …………………………………………… 33

4.4 The Process for formulating the redesigned learning outcomes for the
MEP.
81
V. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary and findings ……………………………………………… 84
Conclusion ……………………………………………………………. 87
Recommendations ……………………………………………………. 88
REFERENCE

A. Books ……………………………………………………………… 90
B. Internet sources ……………………………………………………… 90
viii APPENDICES

A. Questionnaires ……………………… ……………… 92
B. Statistical Computations ………………….……………… 100
CURRICULUM VITAE …………………………………………………… 135
topics under the view of the teachers………………
14 The importance of implementing and operating the system topics under the
view of the teachers……………………………………………
15 The importance of the Disciplinary knowledge and reasoning topics under
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34 Results on external, societal and environmental context……………
35 Results on enterprise and business context………………………
36 Results on conceiving, systems engineering and management…………
37 Results on implementing…………………………………………
38 Correspondence between the Bloom’s taxonomy and proficiency scale …
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TITLE OF RESEARCH:

Enhancing the Mechanical Engineering program of Thai
Nguyen University through redesigned learning
outcomes
RESEARCHER:
Pham Van Hung
DEGREE CONFERRED: Doctor of philosophy in Educational Management
INSTITUTION: Southern Luzon State University – TNU
ADVISER:
MELCHOR MELO O.PLACINO, Ph.D
YEAR WRITTEN: 2013
_________________________________________________________________

Formulation of the learning outcomes which meet the requirements of the society
plays an important role in order to improve the quality of the program. This study aims at
redesigning the learning outcomes of the Mechanical Engineering Program at Thai Nguyen
University of Engineering using the survey results from the main stakeholders (employer,
alumni, teacher and student) of the program. Questionnaires were distributed to target
respondents. The data was processed using SPSS. Results were subjected to t-test. The
results were discussed by educational experts, institutional managers and teaching staff.
The results of the study showed that all the draft learning outcome topics were important
for the engineer, however, the current learning outcomes and competences of the students
did not meet the requirements of the employers, alumni, teaching staff and students with
regard to the knowledge and skills the graduate and student of the program possess. The
learning outcomes of the Mechanical Engineering Program were rewritten with reference
to the comments and contribution of its main stakeholders. On the basis of the new
learning outcomes, the program should be adjusted to provide its students with proper
knowledge and skills based on the redesigned learning outcomes.


management; (5) Teaching and assessing learning outcomes of students; (6) Condition of
facilities, technique (7) Finance; (8) Decentralized management mechanism; and (9)
Accreditation, training quality evaluation.
Article 9, Vietnamese Education Law, 2005 on Education development states that
“Education development is a first national priority with a view to improving people’s
knowledge, training manpower, and fostering talents. Education development must be
linked to the requirements of socio-economic development, to the scientific-technological
advances, and to the consolidation of national defense and security; must implement
standardization, modernization, and socialization; must ensure the balance in terms of
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qualifications, professional and regional structure; must expand scale on the basis of
quality and efficiency assurance; and must link education with employment…”
Criteria 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.7 of the Vietnamese set of accreditation standards for higher
education institutions (issued together with Decision No. 65/2007/QD-BGDDT November
1, 2007) also explicitly highlight the educational program must be developed and adjusted
based on the consultancy of the employers , alumni and other stakeholders of the program
and "the universities are to have plans to evaluate the quality of training after graduation
and plans to adjust training to meet the requirements of society".
The Vietnam Government also issued official document on the “Reform of
education management period 2010 – 2012” which highlighted that training to meet social
needs is an important task and we must foster training quality to meet the requirements of
the society at national level as well as at local level and at each training institution.
Thai Nguyen University has been full of awareness of the importance of training to
meet social needs and international integration. Since 2008, the University has directed its
members in making plans to provide quality training. The University has organized 02
training courses on formulating learning outcomes for more than 200 leaders of its member

15,000 masters, engineers, college degree, and hundreds of technicians. In terms of jobs
and work places, from North to South, from the main cities to the mountainous areas,
remote islands, from lecture halls of universities to companies, state enterprises or private,
TMFE former students can be found.
Not only the quantity but the quality of the Faculty’s training was approved and
highly appreciated. Moreover, these technical staffs are trained to maximize the knowledge
learned in order to contribute effectively to national construction and defense. Many
alumni of the faculty have now become the leaders and held important positions in society.
Mechanical Engineering Program (MEP)
The MEP was designed and formulated based on regulation of the Vietnamese
Ministry of Education and Training. The contents of the program were originally designed
by the experienced senior lecturers of the University. The contents of the program have
been adjusted recently due to the Vietnamese policy to import the programs of developed
countries and the MEP has imported some of the content of the Mechanical engineering
program of University of Buffalo, USA. It is the reason why the program has many
updated knowledge of engineering with a view to provide the students with the wide and
fundamental engineering knowledge, the updated knowledge of design including methods,
design procedure and design tools.
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However, after 2 completed 5-year-course training, the program has shown some
problems that need fixing.
First, many graduates have to attend further training of 4-6 months before finding a
job according to the results of the survey by the university. The graduates are said to lack
the necessary skills such as team work and communication, besides they lack the proper
practices in order to work in a new environment, it takes a lot of time for them to be
familiar with the new conditions.

3. Skills
a. Study skills, self-study.
b. Skills to use information technology: Proficient in using computational software,
design, simulation and programming capabilities production control system; Good
command of office software applications, internet and email.
c. Communication skills: Have the ability to form logical arguments and
persuasive; shown capable technical solutions or presentations with graphics, models and
multimedia materials; communication skills in writing, email; Skills to present problem
logically, briefly and easy to understand.
d. Teamwork: Ability to organize work groups effectively can play a role as leader
or member participates in the same group or multi-disciplinary field of international
working environment.
e. Foreign Languages: Ability to read, translate technical documents in English,
have basic communication skills in English in social and professional.
It can be seen from the current learning outcomes that most of the professional
outcomes related to knowledge, however, what the society needs from an engineer is not
their knowledge but also their competency and practicing skills.
Using the modern theory in developing a program, the Faculty should start from the
learning outcomes that are designed based on the demand of the society, employers,
alumni and other stakeholders of the program. It’s the reason why the learning outcomes of
the MEP should be redesigned to prepare for the whole improvement of the MEP.
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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1. Determine the importance of draft learning outcomes items of the Mechanical
Engineering Program in terms of:
1.1. Disciplinary Knowledge and Reasoning

program for the better achievement of the learning outcomes set.
Future researchers: This study could provide references for future proponents
who wish to venture a study similar to the nature of this ongoing research.
SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The study was implemented in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering - College of
Engineering - Thai Nguyen University with the involvement of 250 students who are in the
senior year and graduating in June, 2013; 50 faculty who are teaching in the program; 100
enterprises representatives; 100 alumni of the MEP.
Learning outcomes are classified into knowledge outcomes, skills outcomes and
attitude outcomes and divided into four groups: (1) Disciplinary Knowledge and
Reasoning (2) Personal and Professional Skills and Attributes (3) Interpersonal Skills:
Teamwork and Communication (4) Applying Knowledge to Benefit Society.
To define the outcomes for the program, survey on the different stakeholders of the
MEP will be carried out. Representatives of the enterprises where alumni of the MEP
work, alumni, faculty and students/ graduate will be the participants of the survey.
Development of the learning outcomes was limited to the use of questionnaires,
expert discussion and consultancy. Checklists were developed for the purpose of the study.
The timeframe for the study is from February 2013 to July 2013.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
For clarity and better understanding of the study, the following terminologies are
defined both conceptually and operationally.
Cognitive outcomes include domain-specific knowledge, reasoning and problem-
solving skills.
Communications is composed of the skills necessary to devise a communications strategy
and structure, and those necessary to use the four common media: written, oral,
graphical, and electronic. ( />modules/interpersonal-skills-teamwork-communication)
Disciplinary knowledge and reasoning includes knowledge of basic sciences and core
engineering fundamental knowledge and professional engineering knowledge.
students and administrators.
Requirements of the society include the requirement of people (faculty, students),
employers, alumni and government.
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Teamwork is comprised of forming, operating, growing, and leading a team, along with
some skills specific to technical teamwork.
Thinking holistically involves perceiving a system through sensing its large-scale patterns
and reacting to them. Holistic thinking is mostly applied in social situations which
need sensitivity, intuition and tact.

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Chapter II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND STUDIES
This chapter presents the literature and studies of the learning outcomes, the roles
of the learning outcomes in developing the curriculum and the program, the quality in
education, the engineer criteria of some organizations and how to formulate the learning
outcomes of a program.
The first part presents the educational program and some definitions of learning
outcomes.
According to “An educational
program is a program written by the institution or ministry of education which determines
the learning progress of each subject in all the stages of formal education”.

It should be noted that outputs and outcomes have different meaning in the
education process. While outputs can mean every product of the educational process such
as the number of articles, works, classes or number of graduate … according to Allan
(1996), outcomes describe what the student actually achieves, as opposed to what the
institution intends to teach. Outcomes “are essentially what one ends up with, intended or
not, after some form of engagement” Eisner (1979, p.103). The UNESCO definition
identifies both outcomes and student learning outcomes although they do not differ much:
Outcomes: Anticipated or achieved results of programs or the accomplishment of
institutional objectives, as demonstrated by a wide range of indicators (such as student
knowledge, cognitive skills, and attitudes). Outcomes are direct results of the instructional
program, planned in terms of student/learner growth in all areas. An outcome must be
distinguished from an objective, which is a sought-after result. Generally, each outcome
statement should describe one effect of the instructional program, and not accumulate
several into one statement. Also, the statements should be clearly detailed and easily
understandable by all teaching staff and students in the given area or department 5.
Student Learning Outcomes: Statements of what a learner is expected to know,
understand, and/or be able to demonstrate after completion of a process of learning as well
as the specific intellectual and practical skills gained and demonstrated by the successful
completion of a unit, course, or program. Learning outcomes, together with assessment
criteria, specify the minimum requirements for the award of credit, while grading is based
on attainment above or below the minimum requirements for the award of credit. Learning
outcomes are distinct from the aims of learning in that they are concerned with the
achievements of the learner rather than with the overall intentions of the
teacher. (Vlãsceanu et al., 2004, pp. 41–42).
Hussey and Smith (2003, p. 362) distinguishes emergent and intended learning
outcomes. The latter is, in essence, what the course or program is designed to deliver and
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of knowledge and to the development of intellectual abilities and skills (Posner,