Evaluating engineering thinking in undergraduate engineering and liberal arts students

ABSTRACT

This study explored if it is possible for liberal arts students to develop engineering professional competencies without detailed engagement with the engineering sciences. Students on a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences programme were compared with their undergraduate peers in Civil Engineering. A new method for evaluating such competencies was developed. Two one-hour individual problem-solving exercises were devised to assess capabilities against 14 criteria, based on the Institution of Civil Engineers’ Competency framework for professional development (2011 The BASc cohort’s scores for each criterion improved notably from the start of term to the end. This cohort rated their capabilities more highly at the end of term and was more satisfied with the answers they gave. Engineering students showed a slight decline in performance against the criteria. Self-evaluation in this group revealed a smaller increase in perceived capability but increased dissatisfaction. Both cohorts felt more anxious about the assignment at the end of the term. PBL environments can improve student competence in attributes associated with professional engineering. The scope of the study is constrained by the small cohort but the findings and evaluation method provide the basis for further development, including detailed statistical evaluation and validation of the evaluation instrument.

KEYWORDS:

• Word
• evaluation methods
• engineering competence
• professional skills
• interdisciplinary
• problem-based learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Sarah Bell is Professor of Environmental Engineering and Director of The Engineering Exchange at UCL. She is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management. Her research interests include sustainable urban water systems and community engagement with infrastructure and engineering. She is an EPSRC Living With Environmental Change Research Fellow, researching bottom-up approaches to urban infrastructure provision.

Andrew Chilvers is Senior Policy Advisor to the Royal Academy of Engineering and an Honorary Lecturer at the UCL Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy. His doctoral research developed ethnographic studies of engineers-in-practice that critically explored how engineers understand and engage with the appropriation of values in and through their practices, and how and why certain values are integrated into outcomes (or not), particularly in relation to social and environmental sustainability. His work focuses on research and capacity building for better socio-technical integration across engineering institutions. This includes in engineering education, design and engineering consultancy and in engineering advice to government.

Liz Jones is Director of Studies in the UCL Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering. She joined the CEGE department after working as a surveyor in the 3D team of Plowman Craven. Prior to this, she completed a BA in Egyptian Archaeology (UCL), MA in Egyptology (Liverpool) and an MSc in GIS (UCL). Liz holds the positions of Principal Teaching Fellow and Geomatic Systems Manager, and provides consultancy both in a technical and educational capacity. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Nicole Badstuber is a researcher in Urban Transport Policy and Governance at UCL. She is a doctoral student in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering. Her research focusses on transport policy and governance for city regions.