Providing engineers with OARS and EARS: Effects of a skills-based vocational training in Motivational Interviewing for engineers in higher education
Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning
ISSN: 2042-3896
Article publication date: 11 May 2015
Abstract
Purpose
Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a vocational communication skill from the helping professions. Verbal skills in MI are summarized under the acronyms OARS and EARS (open-ended questions/elaborating, affirmations, reflections, and summaries). The purpose of this paper is to outline how MI provides important skills for engineers, and demonstrate skill assessment by using an observation-based scientific approach.
Design/methodology/approach
Totally, 25 engineering students took part in a skill-based MI training. Quality assurance of the training was assessed by using a repeated measurement design with multiple measures: systematic observations from recorded interactions and self-reported and standardized performance measures. Two external observers reliably coded the recorded conversations using the MI skill code.
Findings
Trainees showed a significant increase of verbal skills in MI. Directive-confrontational behaviors decreased after training. Self-reported and performance measures indicated significant increases in MI post training. Conversational partners in the post-training condition showed significantly more motivation in comparison to partners before the training.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of the study is the small sample size. However, training effect sizes showed large effects on verbal skills.
Practical implications
Communication skills in MI can be taught effectively for a technical population. This study suggests that MI is effective within the higher education of technical professions who have to deal with motivational issues. Observational measures can be used for quality assurance purposes, but also serve as a feedback instrument for work-based learning purposes.
Originality/value
This is the first study to evaluate training in MI for engineers using a multi-method approach with observational measures.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by grants through the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi, Grant No. 03ET1004B). The authors wish to thank Anna Witzel and Constanze Bühler for their thorough observational coding work in this project.
Citation
Klonek, F.E. and Kauffeld, S. (2015), "Providing engineers with OARS and EARS: Effects of a skills-based vocational training in Motivational Interviewing for engineers in higher education", Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 117-134. https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-06-2014-0025
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited