文章基本信息

标题：TEACHING WISDOM AND OTHER SOFT SKILLS WITHIN ENGINEERING CURRICULA
本地全文：下载
作者：Michael Piczak ; Arthur Heidebrecht
期刊名称：Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association
出版年度：2015
语种：English
出版社：The Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA)
摘要：Engineering accreditation bodies routinely examine the state of university engineering programs to ensure currency and relevance. Accreditation by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) focuses largely on the development of technical skills and competencies. While required graduate attributes acknowledge the inclusion of selected “soft skills”, e.g. communications and teamwork, curricular emphasis leans decidedly in the direction of achieving technical skills implying that soft skill development is squeezed in as an afterthought rather than being afforded deliberate recognition. Indeed, rapid growth of technological development as well as including content required by regulatory agencies (e.g. health and safety), points toward even greater pressure to marginalize soft skills, which paradoxically, seasoned engineering managers look for in their hires and those considered for promotion. In addition to basic communications and teamwork, important soft skills and competencies include: creativity, collaboration, instilment of a sense of wonder/curiosity, learning to learn, lifelong learning, reading with comprehension, thinking skills, and the infusion of wisdom to design, problem solving and decision making. Including soft skills development presents a challenge for most engineering professors, often because their own education was focused almost exclusively on technical material. Given this situation and evolving curricular pressures, the challenge becomes identifying ways and means of introducing the teaching of wisdom to engineering students. This paper focuses on one particular soft skill: wisdom, a concept which can be difficult even to define, let alone convey/teach. Engineering professors must think through what is meant by wisdom, structure opportunities for the consideration of wisdom in design/decision making situations and develop methods for evaluating the application of wisdom – all within existing curricular constraints. Practical suggestions are advanced to help engineering professors infuse wisdom into their lectures, tutorials and labs as a matter of accelerating the learning and maturation of their students.