Abstract:

Engineering pedagogy is a pedagogy which prepares engineers as teachers for their teacher position. Generally, graduates who have completed technical universities in Slovakia do not have pedagogical skills. That is why it is necessary that they attend “Complementary Teacher Training” which is realised after their university study. It provides them basic knowledge of pedagogy, psychology, didactics, etc. which are necessary for those who want to teach technical subjects at secondary schools or universities. The Faculty of Materials Science and Technology in Trnava (Slovakia) is the only educational institution who provides not only Complementary Teacher Training, but also three study programmes on engineering pedagogy at the faculty. Those are:
• “Teaching Practical Subjects within Engineering Majors” – bachelor’s degree;
• “Teaching Specific Engineering Subjects” – master’s degree;
• “Didactics of Engineering Professional Subjects” – PhD degree.
The Department of Engineering Pedagogy and Psychology have decided to elaborate a dictionary of engineering pedagogy for students of the three study programmes at the faculty and for all students of “Complementary Teacher Training”. The main reason is the fact that there is no that kind of a dictionary available at the market. The engineers who have completed their study at technical universities and want to become teachers at technical schools often do not know some basic terms and their definitions in the field of engineering pedagogy. That is why the dictionary should help them during their pedagogical preparation. The main aim of the article is to find out whether the students:
• have met with some unknown words during their study;
• would prefer online or book version;
• would prefer a specific structure of the dictionary;
• would use the dictionary during their study, etc.
Almost 400 respondents have answered the questionnaire. 75 % of them have met with many unknown words during their study; 56 % would prefer both, book and online, versions; and more than 72 % would definitely use the dictionary during their pedagogical preparation. The detailed results of the survey are interpreted in the article.
This topic has been solved within KEGA Project 031-035 STU-4/2010: "Models of project-based learning at secondary vocational schools".

Keywords:

Dictionary of engineering pedagogy, pedagogical preparation.