Conceptualizing First Principles Thinking in Engineering Education

Kimia Moozeh; Lisa Romkey; Nikita Dawe; Rubaina Khan

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: ERM: Conceptualizations of Engineering and Engineering Education
Page Count: 22
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--41144
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/41144
Download Count: 1380

Kimia Moozeh is a Research Associate in Engineering Education at Queen's University, Canada and a Chemistry instructor at Durham College, Canada. She earned a B.S. and M.Sc. in Chemistry from University of Toronto, and a PhD in Engineering Education also from University of Toronto. Her research interests focus on lab-based learning, metacognitive skills and student motivation. She is also the cofounder of ladderane.com, a platform to create customizable chemistry virtual experiments.

visit author page

biography

Nikita Dawe University of Toronto

visit author page

PhD Candidate, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering and Collaborative Specialization in Engineering Education, University of Toronto

visit author page

biography

Rubaina Khan University of Toronto

visit author page

Rubaina Khan is a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto, Canada. Her research interests lie at the intersection of engineering design, learning communities and reflective practice. Prior, to pursuing graduate studies, Rubaina spent 10 years in autonomous marine vehicles research and, teaching robotics and design to engineering students in Singapore.

visit author page

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

This research paper provides a case study of a large Engineering Science program, with a particular focus on perceptions and practices related to first principles thinking from alumni, faculty and students. As part of a broader project designed to realign program goals, practices and outcomes, this study included semi-structured interviews and focus groups to understand how program stakeholders conceptualize first principles thinking, and how they perceive the benefits or utility of such an approach.

Through the historical analysis of the engineering curriculum, a key tension identified is the focus on foundational mathematics and science, which is contrasted with a focus on professional practice and the applications of engineering work. An interest in emphasizing mathematics and science led to the launch of a number of undergraduate and graduate programs around the world in Engineering Science, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, and the persistent inclusion of a comprehensive foundation in mathematics and science in engineering programs.

This foundation has enabled a focus on first principles as part of the teaching and learning discourse in some engineering programs. More recently, first principles thinking has also been discussed in the popular technology discourse as connected to innovation. Here, it is described as a method used to identify the most fundamental truths in our knowledge base, and the process of reasoning from them in problem solving and innovation. While many stakeholders have a vague awareness of first principles thinking as a philosophy of knowledge construct, there is a gap in conceptualizing this in the engineering and education literature.

Thematic analysis was used to identify several key findings. First, while some stakeholders viewed first principles thinking as a learning and problem solving strategy, others tied the practice to the disciplinary knowledge itself, for example, key theories and equations and their derivations. While these two conceptualizations are related, the latter provides less room for transfer to the engineering problem solving process, and stakeholders expressed an interest in building this opportunity to transfer the skill to other engineering contexts. Second, different stakeholders viewed the utility of the approach differently; for example, while alumni articulated the benefits of building first principles reasoning as a skill, students felt that the practice was more tied to a career in research and less useful in other engineering settings. Third, students in particular noted the challenge in maximizing the learning benefits associated with first principles thinking with the heavy workload and knowledge base in engineering.

These results provide some avenues for the examination of first principles thinking in engineering education, particularly in considering the interplay between disciplinary knowledge and learning skills, and the need to balance first principles thinking with other considerations in the curriculum. We hope this work will open the door to future inquiry about the value of first principles thinking in the development of life-long learning and innovation in engineering. Furthermore, reconciling the historical focus on fundamental math and science in engineering with a more contemporary view on first principles thinking should be considered.

Keywords: First Principles Thinking, Qualitative Analysis, Teaching, Learning

Citation
Format

Romkey, L., & Moozeh, K., & Dawe, N., & Khan, R. (2022, August), Conceptualizing First Principles Thinking in Engineering Education Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41144

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This research paper provides a case study of a large Engineering Science program, with a particular focus on perceptions and practices related to first principles thinking from alumni, faculty and students. As part of a broader project designed to realign program goals, practices and outcomes, this study included semi-structured interviews and focus groups to understand how program stakeholders conceptualize first principles thinking, and how they perceive the benefits or utility of such an approach.   

Through the historical analysis of the engineering curriculum, a key tension identified is the focus on foundational mathematics and science, which is contrasted with a focus on professional practice and the applications of engineering work. An interest in emphasizing mathematics and science led to the launch of a number of undergraduate and graduate programs around the world in Engineering Science, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, and the persistent inclusion of a comprehensive foundation in mathematics and science in engineering programs.  

This foundation has enabled a focus on first principles as part of the teaching and learning discourse in some engineering programs. More recently, first principles thinking has also been discussed in the popular technology discourse as connected to innovation. Here, it is described as a method used to identify the most fundamental truths in our knowledge base, and the process of reasoning from them in problem solving and innovation. While many stakeholders have a vague awareness of first principles thinking as a philosophy of knowledge construct, there is a gap in conceptualizing this in the engineering and education literature.   

Thematic analysis was used to identify several key findings. First, while some stakeholders viewed first principles thinking as a learning and problem solving strategy, others tied the practice to the disciplinary knowledge itself, for example, key theories and equations and their derivations. While these two conceptualizations are related, the latter provides less room for transfer to the engineering problem solving process, and stakeholders expressed an interest in building this opportunity to transfer the skill to other engineering contexts. Second, different stakeholders viewed the utility of the approach differently; for example, while alumni articulated the benefits of building first principles reasoning as a skill, students felt that the practice was more tied to a career in research and less useful in other engineering settings. Third, students in particular noted the challenge in maximizing the learning benefits associated with first principles thinking with the heavy workload and knowledge base in engineering.  

These results provide some avenues for the examination of first principles thinking in engineering education, particularly in considering the interplay between disciplinary knowledge and learning skills, and the need to balance first principles thinking with other considerations in the curriculum. We hope this work will open the door to future inquiry about the value of first principles thinking in the development of life-long learning and innovation in engineering. Furthermore, reconciling the historical focus on fundamental math and science in engineering with a more contemporary view on first principles thinking should be considered.   

Keywords: First Principles Thinking, Qualitative Analysis, Teaching, Learning 
AU  - Lisa Romkey
AU  - Kimia Moozeh
AU  - Nikita Dawe
AU  - Rubaina Khan
CY  - Minneapolis, MN
DA  - 2022/08/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Conceptualizing First Principles Thinking in Engineering Education
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/41144
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--41144
ER  -