Engineering Habits of Mind - an Undergraduate Course that Asks: 'What Is It That Makes Someone an Engineer?' and 'What Distinguishes Engineers from Other Professionals?'

Joseph M LeDoux; Jacquelyn E. Borinski; Kimberly Danielle Haight; Elaine Catherine McCormick; Alisha A.W. Waller

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Conference: 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Publication Date: June 15, 2014
Start Date: June 15, 2014
End Date: June 18, 2014
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Engineering as a Professional Calling
Tagged Division: Liberal Education/Engineering & Society
Page Count: 24
Page Numbers: 24.499.1 - 24.499.24
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--20390
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/20390
Download Count: 1214

Paper Authors

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Joseph M LeDoux Georgia Institute of Technology

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Joe Le Doux is the Executive Director for Learning and Student Experience in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. He has also previously served as the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies for the Department. Dr. Le Doux's research interests in engineering education focus on problem-solving, diagrammatic reasoning, and on the socio-cognitive aspects of the flipped and blended learning environments.

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Jacquelyn E. Borinski Georgia Institute of Technology

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Jacquelyn E. Borinski will receive a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2014. She is the External Vice President for the Georgia Tech Chamber Choir and volunteer with the Georgia Aquarium. Her research interests include pediatric device design and human-robot interaction. She is an Undergraduate collaborator with Children's Healthcare of Atlanta designing interactive teaching modules for math and science using the patient's condition as motivation. She was awarded a Women in Engineering Scholarship from Axion BioSystems.

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Abstract

Engineering habits of the mind - an undergraduate course that asks: “What is it that makes someone an engineer?” and “What distinguishes engineers from other professionals?”This paper describes a course that was designed for students who wonder if engineers thinkabout the world differently than other people, and if so, what are their unique ways of thinking?The purpose of this joint-inquiry course was to provide an opportunity for the students and theprofessor to 1) explore these questions, 2) identify and learn some common “habits of the mind”of engineers, 3) enhance their sensitivity to when these habits of the mind can be used aseffective tools to think critically about the world, and 4) practice applying these concepts to theanalysis of systems that are not normally encountered or discussed in the context of theengineering classroom. Therefore, this course directly supports ABET EAC criterion 3 studentoutcomes (h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions ina global, economic, environmental, and societal context, and (i) a recognition of the need for, andan ability to engage in life-long learning.Offered in a study abroad semester, this course drew a wide range of students from multipledisciplines including engineering, the life sciences, social sciences, and business. These diverseperspectives led to spirited discussions which challenged students to move outside theirrespective comfort zones. Everyone worked to integrate various complex viewpoints as theyconsidered engineering ways of thinking. Structured as an inquiry into engineering habits of themind, the professor and students were reading, thinking, and learning together. Throughinnovative assignments such as an “Ideas Notebook,” blogs, and response papers, students werepresented opportunities to explore topics through writing and reflection. These activitiesfacilitated complex discussions and deep learning and culminated in a final term project in whichthe students, working in teams of two, were challenged to use engineering ways of thinking tocreate, analyze, and learn from a mathematical model of a real-world system. The students weregiven almost complete freedom to decide the topic of their term project, with the singleconstraint being that they were required to model a system that is not traditionally considered tobe within the domain of engineering, since an important goal of the course was to encouragestudents to explore the value that engineering ways of thinking bring to all aspects of life.This paper describes several highlights of the course’s design and implementation, including thereadings, discussions, and the final term project. Also included are students’ perceptions of thecourse elements derived from their final reflective essays and anonymous end-of-course surveys.

Citation
Format

LeDoux, J. M., & Borinski, J. E., & Haight, K. D., & McCormick, E. C., & Waller, A. A. (2014, June), Engineering Habits of Mind - an Undergraduate Course that Asks: 'What Is It That Makes Someone an Engineer?' and 'What Distinguishes Engineers from Other Professionals?' Paper presented at 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana. 10.18260/1-2--20390

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -          Engineering habits of the mind - an undergraduate course that         asks: “What is it that makes someone an engineer?” and “What                distinguishes engineers from other professionals?”This paper describes a course that was designed for students who wonder if engineers thinkabout the world differently than other people, and if so, what are their unique ways of thinking?The purpose of this joint-inquiry course was to provide an opportunity for the students and theprofessor to 1) explore these questions, 2) identify and learn some common “habits of the mind”of engineers, 3) enhance their sensitivity to when these habits of the mind can be used aseffective tools to think critically about the world, and 4) practice applying these concepts to theanalysis of systems that are not normally encountered or discussed in the context of theengineering classroom. Therefore, this course directly supports ABET EAC criterion 3 studentoutcomes (h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions ina global, economic, environmental, and societal context, and (i) a recognition of the need for, andan ability to engage in life-long learning.Offered in a study abroad semester, this course drew a wide range of students from multipledisciplines including engineering, the life sciences, social sciences, and business. These diverseperspectives led to spirited discussions which challenged students to move outside theirrespective comfort zones. Everyone worked to integrate various complex viewpoints as theyconsidered engineering ways of thinking. Structured as an inquiry into engineering habits of themind, the professor and students were reading, thinking, and learning together. Throughinnovative assignments such as an “Ideas Notebook,” blogs, and response papers, students werepresented opportunities to explore topics through writing and reflection. These activitiesfacilitated complex discussions and deep learning and culminated in a final term project in whichthe students, working in teams of two, were challenged to use engineering ways of thinking tocreate, analyze, and learn from a mathematical model of a real-world system. The students weregiven almost complete freedom to decide the topic of their term project, with the singleconstraint being that they were required to model a system that is not traditionally considered tobe within the domain of engineering, since an important goal of the course was to encouragestudents to explore the value that engineering ways of thinking bring to all aspects of life.This paper describes several highlights of the course’s design and implementation, including thereadings, discussions, and the final term project. Also included are students’ perceptions of thecourse elements derived from their final reflective essays and anonymous end-of-course surveys.
AU  - Joseph M LeDoux
AU  - Jacquelyn E. Borinski
AU  - Kimberly Danielle Haight
AU  - Elaine Catherine McCormick
AU  - Alisha A.W. Waller
CY  - Indianapolis, Indiana
DA  - 2014/06/15
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Engineering Habits of Mind - an Undergraduate Course that Asks: 'What Is It That Makes Someone an Engineer?' and 'What Distinguishes Engineers from Other Professionals?'
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/20390
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--20390
ER  -