This paper examines specific problems of educational practice that I, an undergraduate engineering educator and education researcher, have encountered in creating an interdisciplinary engineering project course. I reveal my process of theorising about problems of practice to position engineering educators' pedagogical theorising as worthy of…

An essential difficulty in solving practical problems that are not like the ones a student has solved before is discerning the core of the problem. It is claimed that discernment has to be trained by variation--by varying the context of the assignments in which students have to identify and grasp their "underlying form". A decisive…

Explains that European engineering students are not well prepared to integrate socio-economic and environmental issues efficiently into their future professional activities. Argues that necessary changes include a more interdisciplinary and systems-oriented approach to problems and better training in communication skills. Provides an example of an…

Reports the development and implementation of a multi-disciplinary course on sustainable development within engineering education. Students from different disciplines cooperate with each other in a project that aims to find more sustainable solutions for an environmental issue or problem. (DDR)

Described is a professional development program at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland. Discussed are the teaching of the relationship of civil engineering to society and ethics, issues about the style of this type of course, and summative evaluation. Recommendations are provided. (CW)