Beyond Calculations: Engineering Judgment as Epistemic Cognition in Engineering Education

Mitchell Gerhardt; Michael Robinson; Brian E Faulkner

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Conference: 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Publication Date: June 22, 2025
Start Date: June 22, 2025
End Date: August 15, 2025
Conference Session: Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering Division (TELPhE) Technical Session 2
Tagged Division: Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering Division (TELPhE)
Page Count: 18
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/55504
Download Count: 1

Paper Authors

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Mitchell Gerhardt Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University orcid.org/0009-0006-4191-1654

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Mitchell Gerhardt is a Ph.D. student in Engineering Education and a M.S. student in Computer Science at Virginia Tech. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and worked as a software engineer for General Motors in Detroit, Michigan, before returning to graduate school. Mitchell's research focuses on learning in STEM graduate education; in particular, how graduate students recognize and learn the ways of knowing and doing typical of their disciplines. To this end, his research asks about the long-term implications of graduate student and faculty AI use for the nature of knowledge and knowing writ large.

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Michael Robinson Saint Vincent College

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Michael Robinson received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Engineering at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. His academic experience includes positions as an Assistant Professor of Engineering at Messiah College, and as a Visiting Lecturer at Ashesi University in Ghana. His research interests include engineering epistemology and the development of student epistemic beliefs.

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Brian E Faulkner Milwaukee School of Engineering

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Brian Faulkner's interests include teaching of modeling, engineering mathematics, textbook design, and engineering epistemology.

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Abstract

Engineering judgment, a critical competency in professional practice, involves decision-making under uncertainty with incomplete information. Despite its significance, there are limited theoretical frameworks for understanding the cognitive processes underlying this complex skill. Consequently, engineering educators lack insight into how engineering judgment develops in students and manifests in their actions. This paper argues that studying students’ epistemic cognition presents a novel approach to understanding engineering judgment.

Engineering judgment combines technical knowledge, experience, and intuition to make sound decisions in complex, ambiguous situations. It requires balancing constraints and adapting general principles to specific scenarios. It involves critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making under uncertainty, requiring engineers to balance multiple, often conflicting, constraints and objectives. This makes engineering judgment central in engineering practice because it can be seen as the bridge between theory and application in real-world scenarios. Accordingly, the development of engineering judgment marks the transition from novice to expert engineer and is continually refined through experience and reflection.

Engineering judgment is difficult to teach and assess through traditional educational methods, but current research suggests that it develops through experience and reflective practice. However, there are limited models describing the cognitive processes involved, including how different factors (e.g., domain knowledge, problem-solving strategies, metacognition) interact in engineering judgment. This blurs the relationship between it and other cognitive processes, like critical thinking and design thinking. Further, pedagogical challenges persist in developing and assessing this skill, compounded by variability across engineering disciplines and contexts.

Epistemic cognition – how individuals conceptualize knowledge and knowing processes – offers a promising framework to address these gaps. It parallels engineering judgment in dealing with uncertainty, integrating multiple knowledge sources, and evaluating information reliability. Applying epistemic cognition theories to engineering judgment provides insights into complex decision-making processes, differences between novice and expert judgment, and its development over time.

This paper explores this connection using students’ responses to an end-of-year questionnaire about engineering judgment from an undergraduate experiment-focused lab. We highlight the alignment between epistemic cognition theories and engineering decision-making, suggest potential research directions, and discuss implications for engineering education. This approach may offer new avenues for understanding and fostering this crucial engineering skill.

Citation
Format

Gerhardt, M., & Robinson, M., & Faulkner, B. E. (2025, June), Beyond Calculations: Engineering Judgment as Epistemic Cognition in Engineering Education Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/55504

TY - CPAPER
AB - Engineering judgment, a critical competency in professional practice, involves decision-making under uncertainty with incomplete information. Despite its significance, there are limited theoretical frameworks for understanding the cognitive processes underlying this complex skill. Consequently, engineering educators lack insight into how engineering judgment develops in students and manifests in their actions. This paper argues that studying students’ epistemic cognition presents a novel approach to understanding engineering judgment.

Engineering judgment combines technical knowledge, experience, and intuition to make sound decisions in complex, ambiguous situations. It requires balancing constraints and adapting general principles to specific scenarios. It involves critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making under uncertainty, requiring engineers to balance multiple, often conflicting, constraints and objectives. This makes engineering judgment central in engineering practice because it can be seen as the bridge between theory and application in real-world scenarios. Accordingly, the development of engineering judgment marks the transition from novice to expert engineer and is continually refined through experience and reflection.

Engineering judgment is difficult to teach and assess through traditional educational methods, but current research suggests that it develops through experience and reflective practice. However, there are limited models describing the cognitive processes involved, including how different factors (e.g., domain knowledge, problem-solving strategies, metacognition) interact in engineering judgment. This blurs the relationship between it and other cognitive processes, like critical thinking and design thinking. Further, pedagogical challenges persist in developing and assessing this skill, compounded by variability across engineering disciplines and contexts.

Epistemic cognition – how individuals conceptualize knowledge and knowing processes – offers a promising framework to address these gaps. It parallels engineering judgment in dealing with uncertainty, integrating multiple knowledge sources, and evaluating information reliability. Applying epistemic cognition theories to engineering judgment provides insights into complex decision-making processes, differences between novice and expert judgment, and its development over time.

This paper explores this connection using students’ responses to an end-of-year questionnaire about engineering judgment from an undergraduate experiment-focused lab. We highlight the alignment between epistemic cognition theories and engineering decision-making, suggest potential research directions, and discuss implications for engineering education. This approach may offer new avenues for understanding and fostering this crucial engineering skill.
AU - Mitchell Gerhardt
AU - Michael Robinson
AU - Brian E Faulkner
CY - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DA - 2025/06/22
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Beyond Calculations: Engineering Judgment as Epistemic Cognition in Engineering Education
UR - https://peer.asee.org/55504
ER -