Using reflective learning journals to improve students learning and awareness

This paper addresses the problem of mixing Danish engineering students having 3 years of experience with project work in teams (PBL setting at Aalborg University), with foreign students starting on Master Engineering educations with close to zero PBL experience.

The first semester the foreign students are working in teams together and given special help to develop team and project work skills. When Danish and foreign students are grouped in mixed teams on the 2^nd semester, still the Danish students are experts in project work and they are not familiar with taking in less skilled newcomers.

A new course called Professional Procedures in a Globalized World is established for Danish 1st semester Master students in Electronics and IT, with a double purpose of both developing the team work and intercultural skills further and restart the students reflection and talking about how they actually work together, in order to prepare them to take in foreign students on the 2^nd semester. To secure the latter part and the learning goal the students have to write an individual learning journal.

The setup of the course and the learning journals is described, and the learning outcome discussed using examples from the learning journals, proving that the students reach the learning goals of the course being able to discuss a more professional approach to their team work and they plan how to help foreigners entering their team.