Problem solving is a common activity for engineering students and practicing engineers as they learn and practice the use of engineering concepts. Understanding the approach to a problem provides a glimpse at unique problem-solving behaviors that can be used as a means to compare different problem solvers. Engineering education research has…

Background: To prepare engineers who can address complex sociotechnical problems, a deep understanding of engineers' complex problem-solving approaches is needed. Purpose/Hypothesis: This study operationalizes comprehensive systems thinking as an analysis framework that attends to aspects of engineering work and relationships among those aspects.…

Universities employ numerous approaches to integrate ethics into programs of study that can range from faculty-led case studies integrated into course curricula (distributed model) to standalone ethics courses (consolidated model). The approach described here enhanced a distributed model in which several courses are assigned responsibility to…

Heuristics are approaches engineers use for solving problems and making decisions with quick, often approximate, calculations and/or judgement calls. Such approaches have become marginalized in structural engineering education to make room for more theoretical and precise approaches. As a result, engineering students are less confident with…

Solving ill-structured problems is a complex task that is required of engineers who work in industry. To better prepare undergraduate engineering students for this complex task and their future professional careers, this paper provides an analysis of the results of research focusing on the study of problem-solving processes adopted by civil…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand how designers and engineers practice design while Making. Motivated by their roots in constructionist learning principles, Makerspaces are increasingly used as sites to learn design, especially in undergraduate engineering education programs. However, there has been little work on how trained…

Mathematics plays a crucial role in engineering education. Students who are good at math are often advised to consider engineering as a career. In this study, engineers, mathematics teachers, and engineering professors were asked about the type of mathematics representative of engineering, whether the engineering problems created by math…

Contribution: This article provides an examination of changes in first-year engineering students' perceptions of the role of an engineer after completing the Engineers Without Borders Challenge. Background: Essential pre- and post-comparisons missing in existing studies on the Challenge are provided, as well as comparison to other first-year…

Maker education can enhance learners' creativity. Design thinking can facilitate the innovative resolution of complex problems. The design thinking literature and most maker teaching modes are limited in their promotion of learning and ability development in various dimensions. Learners have stereotypes about some professions; interventions can…

Organizations advance and grow by solving problems one at a time, and management graduates should possess critical thinking and problem-solving capacities to be effective business managers and creative engineers. The problem was that critical thinking and creative problem solving are operationally ill-defined in engineering and management…

Techniques for applying mathematical concepts in the real world: six rarely taught but crucial tools for analysis, research, and problem-solving. Many young graduates leave school with a solid knowledge of mathematical concepts but struggle to apply these concepts in practice. Real scientific and engineering problems are different from those found…

Background:Concepts are defined generally as fundamental principles or global understandings specific to a field of expertise. Theories of situated cognition suggest that concepts may not have uniform meaning or representation in a particular social setting. Purpose/Hypothesis: The goal of this study was to investigate the process by which…

This chapter discusses three main topics: (1) volunteer as a form of civic engagement, (2) Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and (3) basic skills including literacy, numeracy and digital problem-solving skills. Volunteering, STEM background, and basic skills are important social and economic indicators of societies. Yet,…

Young boys and girls make houses and beds from cloths and cartons for their dolls, erect shelters and fences for toy animals, build ramps and garages from blocks for toy cars, and lift objects using a rope and reel for having fun. Thanks to their experiences with such design-based games, children combine science with engineering and try to…

One goal of undergraduate engineering education is to prepare students with the knowledge, skills, and decision-making strategies that are necessary for success in engineering practice. One proposed method to teach students these skills is to incorporate habits of mind into K-12 and undergraduate curricula. Habits of mind are the intelligent,…