Conference Session

Communication Across the Divisions II: Communication and Transdisciplinary Pedagogies

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeffrey J. Evans, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Amy S. Van Epps, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Michael Thomas Smith; Sorin Adam Matei, Purdue University Polytechnic Institute; Esteban Garcia

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering, Liberal Education/Engineering & Society, Mechanical Engineering, Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

A Transdisciplinary Approach for Developing Effective Communication Skills in a First Year STEM SeminarAbstractMany STEM graduates leave school academically prepared in their fields however business leaders havebeen stating that they often lack the more intangible qualities such as teamwork, critical thinking,communication skills, and the ability to manage interpersonal relations. These are often referred to as”soft skills”, yet they are tightly coupled with professional performance. Furthermore, they are allconnected to basic communication skills, commonly referred to as oral and written communication, andtheir close counterparts, listening and reading. Such skills are not only add-ons to a STEM job, they canmake the

Conference Session

Developing Technological Literacy in Students

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Neelam Prabhu Gaunkar, Iowa State University; Mani Mina, Iowa State University of Science and Technology

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

obstacles or challenges. Some othersdidn’t get deterred by challenges and kept progressing with assistance from peers and labmentors. In general, students recognized the need for openness and found it to be conducivefor their learning and growth. Periodical feedback and intervention from mentors and facilitatorswas necessary to encourage students to keep pursuing their inquiries. Eventually, a successfulclass realizes that the focus of the class is not the content but the soft skills [16] of identifyingtheir learning process, thinking about their own thinking (i.e. metacognition) and personalengagement in the process of inquiry. Since each person has a unique path, the success lies inmaking them realize their true potential and encouraging them to

Conference Session

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Neelam Prabhu Gaunkar, Iowa State University; Mani Mina, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

courses aren’t necessarily designed for learning withoptimized shortcuts, student’s experience a disconnect between what they learn and their “real-life” experiences and tend to use memorization/pattern matching as an easier approach/shortcuttowards learning [12,13].As a first evaluation, it appears that such practices would lead to students who are technically weakand unprepared to meet the demands of engineering environments [14,15]. However, over theyears, it has been observed that students who possess necessary soft skills [16,17] related tolearning, possess curiosity and are engaged in collaborative learning, can adjust and learn inchallenging technical environments despite some deficits in background. In fact, as suggested in[15,18], with

Conference Session

The Philosophy of Engineering and Technological Literacy

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Heywood, Trinity College, Dublin

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

Teaching, Education, Engineering and Technological LiteracyAbstractIn 2010 James Trevelyan [1] argued on the basis of studies of the work that engineers do thatthe engineering curriculum required to pay more attention to the development of what havecome to be known as “soft skills”, as for example communication and the ability to performeffectively in teams. He noted that engineering courses that taught communication treatedcommunication “only as information transfer” when what was required was a comprehensivedevelopment of social interaction skills. He thought that this could be achieved if studentswere given the opportunity to teach in their courses because “education, like engineeringpractice, relies on special kinds of social interactions

Conference Session

Engineering Literacy: Champions of Engineering in General Education

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian P Kirkmeyer, Miami University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

university: the arts,humanities, social commentary, global culture, communication through music, science andtechnological innovation. It is one of only a few courses at its home university that viablybridges the gap between STEM fields and the “soft skills” that have become so valued byindustry partners who hire its graduates. It is a concept-driven course requiring no math, and assuch the audience spans majors from engineering to art to education to business.The course focuses on multimedia content and experiential engagement. Required media includebooks about heavy metal history (Christe, “Sound of the Beast”)2 and concerns aboutunderrepresentative populations (Dawes, “What Are You Doing Here?”)5, and a videodocumentary series that examines the

Conference Session

The Philosophy of Engineering and Technological Literacy

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Katherine Goodman, University of Colorado, Denver; Jean Hertzberg, University of Colorado, Boulder

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

opportunity to develop and measure a number of professional skills,including communication and teamwork25,26. These abilities are often called “soft skills”although some engineering educators would rather they be called “the missing basics”, becausethey are essential for students to become successful engineers27.One team has developed measures for how well students can demonstrate contextualcompetence28, defined as “an engineer’s ability to anticipate and understand the constraints andimpacts of social, cultural, environmental, political, and other contexts on engineeringsolutions”29. This work goes beyond simple notions about transferring learning from one contextto the next, and defines the broader arena in which engineers work. The focus on

Conference Session

Exploration of Broad Issues and Promotion of Engineering and Technological Literacy

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Dan G. Dimitriu, San Antonio College

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

once for engineering as well.Challenges in Helping Students Improve Their Technical LiteracyAt community colleges, faculty do not receive reduced teaching load for participating in researchor extracurricular activities so their participation is on a voluntary base. Community collegefaculty also does not have graduate students and post docs to assist with supervisingundergraduate projects. Community college faculty are focused on teaching and are notencouraged to be involved in the kind of activities that MESA Center is offering. Some of thestudents’ limitations include weaknesses in soft skills such as time management, teamwork, andcommunications, make balancing of school requirements, MESA activities, family, and outsidejobs, a very difficult

Conference Session

The Philosophy of Engineering and Technological Literacy

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mani Mina, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

 old  model  was  to  start  with  the  technician  training  and  infuse  more  science,  and  mathematical  version  of  the  50’s-­‐60’s  technician  trainings.  However,  the  pragmatic  essence  of  engineering  to  build,  design,  and  make  things  was  fading  and  began  to  disappear  in  most  curricula.    Consequently,  ABET  tweaked  its  emphasis  to  ensure  that  engineers  are  developing  the  right  balance  of  hard  and  soft  skills.     Page 24.679.5  One  perspective  on  the  ABET  requirement  was  to  liberate  engineering  education  by  bringing  together  the  most  important

Conference Session

Technological and Engineering Literacy-Philosophy of Engineering (TELPhe) Division Technical Session 3 / Perspectives on Advances in Promoting Technological Literacy

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Sayyad Zahid Qamar, Sultan Qaboos University; Ramanathan Arunachalam, Sultan Qaboos University; Sayyad Basim Qamar, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

in the handling of these multi-dimensional complex problems [3].Leading engineering universities, and accreditation boards such as ABET, are unanimous in theirrecommendation about incorporating critical thinking in engineering curricula, in addition to theother technical and soft skills [4]. However, recent surveys highlighted a significant gap betweenthe required and exhibited CT skills in fresh graduates [5]. Though the use of CT in teaching andlearning in an engineering context can be found in several published works, it is mostly framedwithin theoretical and conceptual frameworks. Hands-on approaches of how to practicallyincorporate CT skills in engineering curricula are less common [6].Defining Critical ThinkingA dictionary gives a very

Conference Session

Aspects of Engineering Literacy and Community and Industry Engagement

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mike Thomas Pitcher, University of Texas, El Paso; Pedro Arturo Espinoza, University of Texas, El Paso; Oscar Antonio Perez, University of Texas at El Paso; Hugo Gomez, University of Texas, El Paso; Randy Hazael Anaya, University of Texas, El Paso; Hector Erick Lugo Nevarez, University of Texas at El Paso; Peter Golding P.E., University of Texas at El Paso; Erik Lopez; Deena Mustin, UTEP Academic Technologies ; Robin Munoz, Academic Technologies; Jackeline Munoz; Sarah Huizar, UTEP Academic Technologies Learning Environments; Crystal Fernandez-Pena, Carnegie Mellon University; Celena Arreola; Tetyana Zhyvotovska, University of Texas at El Paso

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

methodology towards assessing this project has been adapted over the course of sevenyears. The original methodology was based on the learning outcome of whether students couldcomplete the soldering of a circuit board. Upon reflection, the first year’s methodology whileadequate limited the focus and didn’t capture the full range of skills development of the students.The original methodology was focused around the deliverable itself to assess the success of theproject and learning objectives. In the second and subsequent years, additional assessments havebeen added to try to capture the full magnitude of the process. These assessments focus on specificskills obtained, level of collaboration and transfer of skills between majors, soft skills learned

Conference Session

Experience in Assessing Technological Literacy

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian P Kirkmeyer, Miami University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

Page 23.1317.5heavy metal‟s creation and evolution, and combine that with the expansion and perception of thegenre in America and around the world. In this way, the course represents many of the tenets ofliberal education promoted at the university at which it is offered: the arts, humanities, socialcommentary, global culture, communication through music, science and technologicalinnovation. It is one of only a few courses at its home university that legitimately bridges thegap between STEM fields and the “soft skills” that have become so valued in industry. There isno math used in the course, and as such the audience spans majors from engineering to art toeducation to business.The five course outcomes for this course are:1. Students will

Conference Session

Promoting Engineering and Technological Literacy

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Heywood, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin; Mani Mina, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

engineers participate in this process must be central to the understanding thattechnologically and engineering literate persons, let alone engineering students should have.Studies of engineers at work over a forty period support this view and show the need for whathave come to be known as the “soft” skills. Heywood21 interpreted a study of engineers atwork22 to show the importance of the informal organization, the need for skills of persuasion,and the need that each person in the organization has for some degree of management skill.Hutton and Lawrence23 showed important cultural differences in the emphasis placed byGerman and British project engineers on the technical and the managerial aspects of work. Aqualitative study by Vinck24 showed the way