Janna Rosales

A methodological evaluation of an integrative pedagogy for engineering education

This paper is an evaluation of the pedagogy of a five-day co-curricular course, called the “Lead by Design Institute on Leadership, Diversity and Dialogue For Graduate Students in Engineering.” The intentions in the design of the pedagogy were: to include elements that align with the motivations and values that engineering students bring to their work and study; and to enhance the retention of women and other diversities in engineering, and their long-term sustainability in the practice of engineering. The Lead by Design Institute was offered to an initial group of engineering graduate students within a qualitative research project on diversity-attracting integrative pedagogies for engineering education. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the design and implementation of the pedagogy of the Lead by Design Institute so that we can understand how to improve or alter the pedagogy for future offerings and to more effectively meet the goal of integrative engineering education. To perform the evaluation, a process of key questions based on Lonergans basic definition of method is used, with the answers to the questions grounded in the qualitative research data collected during the Institute.

Fostering Reflective Practice for Sustainable Professional Development: Lead by Design, a Pedagogical Initiative

In the 21st century, practicing engineers are working under conditions of rapid change, both in the technologies of engineering as well as in the contexts in which engineering is practiced. The “grand challenges” of today and of the future require a broad range of knowledge and skills, and the capacity to connect engineering with other sectors. To respond, universities must educate engineers who understand engineering principles at fundamental levels, but who also have nimble design and process skills. This paper presents findings from a research project that developed, implemented and evaluated new diversity-attracting integrative pedagogies intended to tap into the motivations and values that engineering students bring to their work and study. Our initiative, named Lead by Design, responds both to the changing demands on engineers and to ongoing efforts to increase the retention of women in the profession. In this paper, research findings are presented from the Lead by Design project that show the importance of narratives in fostering the reflective practice that can underpin both a sense of identity as an engineer and professional sustainability.

Fostering Subjectivity in Engineering Education: Philosophical Framework and Pedagogical Strategies

This paper argues that fostering subjectivity in engineering education will aid engineers in understanding the connections between their own life values and motivations and their career choice and development. By fostering subjectivity in engineering education, we mean linking the person who studies with what they are studying, a definition that can be situated within the philosophy and methodology of Bernard Lonergan. This paper also presents evidence for pedagogical strategies to foster subjectivity based on our definition of subjectivity in engineering education. We analyze data collected during a pilot offering of a co-curricular course for engineering graduate students (the Lead by Design Institute) to determine to what extent the Lead by Design pedagogy fostered subjectivity. The paper concludes with reflections on implications for future engineering education, from the philosophical framework of Lonergan’s model of the human subject, and from our analysis of the Lead by Design pedagogy.

The mindful engineer : contemplative education as a strategy for sustainable lifelong professional development

This paper explores and assesses the contribution that mindfulness practice can have as a bridge to professional self-reflection in undergraduate engineering education. The use of mindfulness practices in higher education is part of the emerging field of contemplative education. In engineering education, contemplative pedagogies remain largely unexplored, but one rationale behind contemplative education and mindful awareness is that they can help support the type of lifelong reflective practice increasingly expected of engineering professionals. In this context, the notion of sustainable development is extended to include the personal sustainability of one’s own professional development. The main research questions that inform this paper are: What does contemplative pedagogy look like? What attitudes do engineering students have towards the contemplative practice of mindful awareness? How can contemplative practices contribute positively to the professional self-awareness of the 21st Century engineer? I will sketch my own attempts to introduce contemplative pedagogy in the engineering classroom and describe a session in mindful awareness that was offered to a second-year multidisciplinary engineering class. Based on classroom observation and written responses to open-ended questions, reaction to the exercise is encouraging but there are also distinct challenges to introducing students to a largely unfamiliar and unconventional practice for the engineering context. I will provide examples of student responses to mindful awareness and then discuss the possibilities of and justifications for developing and expanding upon these initial classroom forays.

Lead by design : pedagogical approaches to foster reflective practice and career-long sustainable professional development

In the 21 century, practicing engineers are working under conditions of rapid change, both in the technologies of engineering as well as in the contexts in which engineering is practiced. The “grand challenges” of today and of the future require a broad range of knowledge and skills, and the capacity to connect engineering with other sectors. To respond, universities must educate engineers who understand engineering principles at fundamental levels, but who also have nimble design and process skills. This paper presents findings from a research project that developed, implemented and evaluated new diversity-attracting integrative pedagogies intended to tap into the motivations and values that engineering students bring to their work and study. Our initiative responds both to the changing demands on engineers and to ongoing efforts to increase the retention of women in the profession. Our research findings show the importance of narratives in fostering the reflective practice that can underpin both a sense of identity as an engineer and professional sustainability.