Minneapolis, MN
August 23, 2022
June 26, 2022
June 29, 2022
Civil Engineering Division - Innovative Changes to the Typical Civil Engineering Coursework.
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10.18260/1-2--40566
https://peer.asee.org/40566
304
Andrea Surovek received her PhD from Georgia Tech too long ago to mention the date. She recently created the office of Faculty Development and Advancement at SDMines and is enjoying life on the dark side.
Led Klosky is a Professor of Civil Engineering and long-time member of the faculty at West Point. A Professional Engineer, Led serves as the Dean's Executive Agent for Design and Construction and is interested in the design of collaborative learning spaces, infrastructure engineering and education, and subsurface engineering. Dr. Klosky is a past winner of the National Outstanding Teaching Medal from ASEE.
This is not debated: Engineers must create innovative solutions to face challenges today and into the future. Creativity is a key attribute in The Engineer of 2020 and is central to the American Society of Civil Engineer’s Body of Knowledge, 3rd Edition. What is debated is how to develop creativity within engineering students. In previous literature, a two-pronged approach has been described. First, develop creative skills in coherent steps and, secondly, create communities which support and validate creative growth. This paper strives to operationalize this approach by providing examples from across academia for doing both. After describing potential sources of individual and institutional resistance to deliberate development of creativity within engineering students the paper summarizes proven methods from the literature to address both elements of the approach. Methods to develop creativity skills within engineering courses are described. These vary from short exercises that take little class time to employ to longer, full-class activities. Exemplar programs and institutions which have cultivated a culture which values and celebrates creativity and innovation within their engineering students and faculty are showcased. This paper is not a research paper – it does not test a specific approach or method. Instead, it summarizes the literature to provide a practical reference for faculty members and organizational leaders who desire to make the development of creativity a more central element of the education of the engineering students they shepherd. While written by civil engineers and drawing largely from the literature from civil engineering educators, the methods described apply broadly to all engineering educators.1
Bruhl, J., & Surovek, A., & Klosky, J. (2022, August), Fostering the Deliberate Development of Creative Engineers Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40566
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