Special Session

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Special Session Can Philosophy of Engineering
Education Improve the Practice of Engineering
Education?
John Heywood, Karl Smith, Roy McGrann Special
Session 2007 Frontiers in Education
Conference Thursday, October 11, 800 am - 930
am Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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Session Overview

• Purpose of Session
• Background story
• Desired outcomes
• Engagement questions
• Personal reflection on philosophy of engineering
  education
• Sub group and whole group dialogue
• Lingering questions
• Continuing conversations?

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Recent Background Story

• Engineering philosophy interest (especially in
  Europe)
• Carl Mitcham - The Importance of Philosophy to
  Engineering (Techne, 1998)
• Billy Koen Discussion of the method (Oxford U
  Press, 2003)
• Larry Bucciarelli Engineering Philosophy (Delft
  U Press, 2003)
• William Grimson The Philosophical Nature of
  Engineering - A characterization of Engineering
  using the language and activities of Philosophy
  (ASEE Annual Conference, 2006)
• 2003 Smith JEE Academic Bookshelf column on
  Educational Philosophy
• 2005 Heywood Engineering Education Research
  and Development in Curriculum and Instruction
  section on Philosophy and Sociology
• 2006 Purdue Virginia Tech Departments of
  Engineering Education PhD programs with
  Engineering Education philosophy courses
• Ongoing Heywood, McGrann, Smith others
  conversation on philosophy of engineering
  education

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Desired Outcomes

• Reflection and dialogue on engineering philosophy
  and engineering education philosophy
• Deepen understanding of role of philosophy in
  engineering education
• Identify community of interested participants
• Develop list of resources

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Questions

• Is the philosophy of engineering well enough
  understood to develop a philosophy of engineering
  education?
• How might a philosophy of engineering education
  align with a philosophy of engineering?
• What can a philosophy of engineering education
  resolve regarding the tension between content and
  learning?
• How can a philosophy of engineering ed improve
  the professional practice of engineering?
• What is the distinction between philosophy of
  engineering and cognitive science of engineering?
• How can our colleagues in education help develop
  philosophy of engineering education?

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Questions

• Is there a single philosophy of engineering or do
  extremes require separate philosophies?
• How is philosophy of engineering education
  different from other educational fields
  philosophies?
• What can philosophy of engineering education
  learn from other philosophies of education?
• How does the philosophy of education influence
  the assessment of it?
• What hidden current or official knowledge does
  engineering education embody?

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Questions

• Are there geographic variations in philosophy of
  engineering education?
• How does the philosophy of education relate the
  theoretical to the practice of engineering?
• How do you convince engineers that teach that a
  philosophy of engineering education is
  significant?
• How do the objectives of engineering modify the
  philosophy of engineering as opposed to the
  philosophy of science?
• What is the reality of education in the academy?
• How do we know what we know?
• What are the values that inform or discussion?

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Questions

• What range of operating philosophy of engineering
  education if they were made explicit?

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Our Questions

• What is your philosophy of engineering?
• What is your teaching or engineering student
  learning philosophy?
• How apparent or explicit were your professors
  answers to these questions in your undergraduate
  program?

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Sub Group Dialogue

• Form groups of 3-4 by joining with others
  interested in a similar question
• Select a scribe
• Give each person a chance to contribute his or
  her ideas on the question
• Listen for similarities and differences among the
  contributions
• Prepare a summary/synthesis of contributions

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Sub Groups (8)

1. Philosophy and Assessment. What to do when you
   dont know what to do?
2. What is the role of the engineer?
3. What is the ontological and epistemological
   relationship between theories of behavior, values
   and beliefs, and their underlying assumption?
4. Could a philosophy of engineering education
   release the tension between content and practice?
   (Provide a philosophy that practitioners can
   adopt.)

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Sub Groups (cont.)

1. How can we communicate about the philosophy of
   engineering education with potentially resistive
   peers?
2. What is taken for granted in the language we use?
   Who decides? Who is left out? Should we be
   discussing philosophies of engineering education?
   
3. What is philosophy of engineering education? How
   is it related to philosophy of science? How is
   engineering different?
4. Is the philosophy of engineering education
   different from the philosophy of education? Is
   science education different from engineering
   education?

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Whole Group Dialogue
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Questions

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