Empathy and engineering formation

Walther, Joachim; Brewer, Michael; Sochacka, Nicola W.; Miller, Shari E.

doi:10.1002/jee.20301

Cited by 75 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…As evidenced by so many students who indicated dissatisfaction with virtual communication effectiveness, faculty should explore how empathy factors into such interactions. Empathy includes perceiving others' feelings, behaviors, and motivations [44], and it is vital to successful team performance [45]. Walther et al argued that empathy-building needs to be included explicitly in engineering courses.…”

Section: Consider the Importance Of Empathymentioning

confidence: 99%

Trajectories in Turmoil: A Case Study of Engineering Students’ Reactions to Disruptions in Their Community of Practice

Barr

Johnson

2021

IEEE Trans. Profess. Commun.

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Introduction:The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges to universities when instruction had to shift entirely online. Universities were quick to survey their students about those challenges, and education researchers are now focused on building more effective online experiences based on student feedback. About the case: The loss of in-person instruction was difficult for engineering students in practice-based courses as they lost the courses' hands-on aspect, which is essential for reinforcing theoretical concepts. They also lost the support provided through daily interactions with their peers and instructors. Situating the case: Students in a required four-course practice-based mechanical engineering sequence shared their perspectives via reflective portfolio essays on how shifting to online instruction affected their ability to participate in their learning communities and negotiate meaningful learning experiences. Methods/approach: Through thematic analysis of the reflective essays, we applied the lens of communities of practice to put the students' responses into context. Results/discussion: The students' concerns varied depending on their position in the course sequence and the course; however, most students felt that the loss of in-person interaction was most detrimental and disruptive in the transition to online instruction and yielded communication and teaming issues. Implications and conclusions: Five implications arose from the results of this study, including recognizing the unique challenges of online learning in practice-based courses, instructing students in virtual communication tools, exercising empathy, being mindful of cognitive load, and researching self-directed learners in online environments. In addition, faculty should consider the importance of students' communities of practice and build opportunities to maintain and strengthen the bonds of those communities within their courses, both online and face to face. They should also add more opportunities for virtual interaction early in the curriculum to build digital communication skills, which will undoubtedly be required in their careers.

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Section: Consider the Importance Of Empathymentioning

confidence: 99%

Trajectories in Turmoil: A Case Study of Engineering Students’ Reactions to Disruptions in Their Community of Practice

Barr

Johnson

2021

IEEE Trans. Profess. Commun.

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“…Today, this can be accomplished with the help of outlines and schemas prepared with computing programs [15]. Some authors stress also the need to take the gender perspective into consideration [22,23].…”

Section: The Written Skills In Engineering Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Rubric to Assess and Improve Technical Writing in Undergraduate Engineering Courses

et al. 2021

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Although there is consensus in the literature that writing skills are important in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) studies, they are often neglected. However, some efforts have been made to correct this deficiency, one of them being the development of assessment rubrics. This study seeks to contribute to the discussion by presenting the results of the application of a rubric designed to assess the writing skills of a group of 3rd year engineering students. This rubric, which includes linguistic and rhetorical-organizational criteria alongside the mathematical and technical, was used to assess a number of written exercises and essays submitted by students in a 15-week course. The main interest of this study was to test the efficacy of the rubric as a diagnostic tool, conceived to detect the areas of improvement in the students’ written performance and, ultimately, to also help them to achieve higher levels of competence. This goal was achieved, as one of the main conclusions of the study is that, although students usually master the technical aspects of the course, they must improve the linguistic and rhetorical aspects of their written communication. It can likewise be said that all the participants involved in the study profited in one way or another from the application of the rubric and contributed to identifying the ways in which the rubric itself can be improved for future application.

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“…In the third module, students focused on responding and mirroring conversation partners (a skill exercise) and role-played stakeholders in an advisory committee (an applied exercise). Qualitative analysis of students' reflections revealed that the course helped students to consider the elements of power, distance, and difference between engineers and community stakeholders [65]. Some challenges students encountered included immersing themselves within fictional role-playing scenarios and initiating conversations with other students.…”

Section: Teaching Empathy In Undergraduate Engineeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Can We Learn from Character Education? A Literature Review of Four Prominent Virtues in Engineering Education

Koehler¹,

Pierrakos²,

Lamb³

et al.

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access Proceedings

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is a Postdoctoral Assistant for the Wake Forest Department of Engineering supporting with the development and assessment of character and ethics education in the engineering program. Since 2015 until her current position at Wake Forest she worked as the Director of Research at a youth development non-profit, The Future Project, which has worked with tens of thousands of underserved high school students nationwide to support their development of purpose, agency, hope, and resilience. Prior to this, she spent a decade as a STEM educator (mostly K-12). Her primary interests are in bridging research to practice to create deeply meaningful and impactful educational experiences. Jessica completed her PhD in Adolescent Motivational Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education in 2017. She also has a BA in Biochemistry from The Colorado College, and an MS in Chemistry from

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Empathy and engineering formation

Abstract: This is the author manuscript accepted for publication and has undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as

Cited by 75 publications

References 54 publications

Trajectories in Turmoil: A Case Study of Engineering Students’ Reactions to Disruptions in Their Community of Practice

Trajectories in Turmoil: A Case Study of Engineering Students’ Reactions to Disruptions in Their Community of Practice

A Rubric to Assess and Improve Technical Writing in Undergraduate Engineering Courses

What Can We Learn from Character Education? A Literature Review of Four Prominent Virtues in Engineering Education

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