Critical Thinking in Engineering - Article Example

Critical Thinking in Engineering Name Institution Lecturer Course Date Critical Thinking in Engineering Engineers often have to apply critical thinking skills to both their academic and professional practices. Discuss the benefits of this and compare this method with one other teaching approach (e.g. the traditional method of teaching students as passive learners) The primary task of engineers is to solve real-life problems through the application of engineering principles. We are living in a world where problems are becoming more complex than before due to increase in the complexity of people’s needs. Who would have ever thought that one person could have one-on-one conversation with another person located thousands of miles away? Well, the cabled telephone was invented and everybody thought that the problem of communication was solved. However, vandalism brought up new challenge and hence a new need; wireless communication. Engineers thought and came up with wireless phones, well known as mobile phones. The problem was thought to have been solved but people wanted a better communication method, one that could enable them to send pictures among other needs. The Smartphone was developed to solve this need but some people found that it did not have the desired capacity (processing, storage and picture quality). Above this, people did not want a large gadget; instead, they wanted something small that could fit into their pockets yet so powerful that it could make communication very easy. This example serves to show that engineering problems in every field be it electrical, electronics, mechanical of civil engineering are ever becoming complex. Although critical thinking has always been an engineering tool, its importance is becoming more evident now than before. Critical thinking is defined as “the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualising, applying, analysing, synthesising, and/or evaluating information […] as a guide to belief and action” (Tran, n.d, para. 4). From this definition, it is evident that critical thinking is comprised of three fundamental skills which include evaluation, synthesis and analysis. This paper discusses the benefits of critical thinking skills in engineering. It starts with the discussion of teaching approaches that encourage and foster critical thinking before discussing the benefits of critical thinking in engineering. It ends with a comparison of critical thinking learning approaches to passive learning approaches whereby a student is viewed as a passive absorber of information. Fostering Critical Thinking Skills The primary approach towards the cultivation of critical thinking is problem-based learning. PBL is based on the principle of first identifying the problem, formulating it and then finding a solution (Chang & Wang, 2011). Research has found that PBL promotes various aspects of critical thinking approach including active learning, collaborative learning and the ability of student to establish links and connections with course content. In addition, lecturers and other educators who use PBL approach increase the chances of their students to develop problem solving skills (Sorcinelli et al., 2006). This is so because PBL approach involves the educator introducing course topics alongside complex open-ended problems that students try to solve in groups. Although the instructor provides resources to the students at all stages of solving the complex problem, he/she does not provide formal instruction until only when very necessary. In so doing, although students may not manage to fully solve the problem at first, they develop critical thinking skills with time. Benefits of Applying Critical Thinking in Engineering Profession and Education Before discussing the benefits of applying critical thinking in engineering, it is worth first understanding the purpose of education, in general. Education is desired to equip students with the necessary skills to solve real world problems. In engineering, for example, engineers are taught on how to apply the principles of engineering to solve engineering problems. The quality of education is gauged based on the solutions that professionals provide. For example, one engineer may faithfully apply engineering principles but end up providing the wrong solution to a given problem while professional engineer will not only apply engineering principles but will do so only in a manner that solves the problem at hand. Therefore, the application of critical thinking skills helps engineers to make justifiable decisions in solving world problems (Nargundkar, Samaddar & Mukhopadhyay, 2014). In order to make a justifiable decision, the application of the critical thinking process is a must whereby engineers start by identifying a problem, formulate it, develop possible alternative solutions, evaluate the alternatives based on critical analysis of relevant information, make a decision, justify the decision and then implement the solution (Nargundkar, Samaddar & Mukhopadhyay, 2014). In a study conducted by Kim and colleagues, PBL and active learning approaches which foster critical thinking skills were found to help students improve the above dimensions of critical thinking, which include clear problem identification, decision evaluation, development and justification of own decisions and selection of supporting material (Kim et al., 2013). In another study although in business field, critical thinking was found to improve the ability of students and professionals to analyse arguments, deductive reasoning, problem solving, decision making memory and knowledge of the problem at hand (Reid & Anderson, 2012). In other words, fostering critical thinking in engineering education produces engineering professionals who are able to apply critical thinking skills confidentially, which results to the development of high quality solutions. Comparing between Critical Thinking/Active Learning Approach with Passive Learning Approach Active learning emphasises on understanding the concept (getting the meaning) while passive learning approach emphasises on the reproduction of the content (route learning and memory) (Michel, Cater & Varela, 2009). Critical thinking learning approach is actually student-centered because students are encouraged to look for information, process the information and analyse it to get the meaning. To do so, the instructor gives a complex problem as the starting point for active learning although the delivery of course content precedes the issuance of the complex problem. The problem is aimed at enabling students to integrate the material they have learned into real-life situations because the problem is actually a real one put into a classroom situation in the form of, for example, a cases study. Consequently, in the process of trying to solve the problem, students have an active participation into their own learning (Nandi et al., 2000). Moreover, active learning enable students to develop learning skills such as research skills and the ability to synthesise large amounts of information to get relevant information, which makes them self-directed learners. Being a self directed learner is extremely important in the field of engineering because it enables engineers to hone their skills and competency through continuous learning. On the contrary, passive learning is also known as lecture-based learning or tutor-centered learning because it emphasises on students reading lecturer materials, tutorials, performing well structured lab tests and undergoing periodic tests to test their understanding. This means that in contrary to active based learning that facilitates active acquiring of knowledge, passive learning approach encourage students to absorb information passively and then rely on their memory to reproduce the information they acquired (Nandi et al., 2000). Contrary to active based learning that encourage students to engage in critical thinking to solve real world problems, the conventional passive learning approach encourages students to rely on memorising to solve real world problems. For example, in passive learning approach, examination may be in the form of multiple or open ended questions which means that students must read and re-read their lecturer notes so that they can remember what they were taught during examinations. On the contrary, in active based learning approach, examination is in the form of case studies or, for example, design problems whereby students are required to design a system based on a given problem. This means that there is no right or wrong answer so long as students make justifiable decisions, which means that they must engage critical thinking skills (Michel, Cater & Varela, 2009). Another difference between active and passive based learning approaches is that while active learning approach encourages student participation, passive learning approaches encourage solitary learning. In active learning approach, students will come together to try and solve complex problems, which in turn enables them to develop communication and corroboration skills that are vital in their professional lives. On the contrary, since passive learning approach encourages students to read and re-read course materials, which means that there is no need for students to corroborate or work together. This in turn prevents the development of communication and corroboration skills (Nandi et al., 2000). Conclusion Active based learning fosters critical thinking. Since critical thinking is a vital engineering tool, active learning is seen as a better approach towards learning and teaching in the engineering field in order to foster the development of critical thinking skills. Critical thinking offers a number of advantages compared to passive learning. In a nutshell, the development of critical thinking skills through active learning makes better engineering professionals who are able to come up with high quality solutions to real world and complex problems. References Chang, P. & Wang, D. (2011). Cultivating Engineering Ethics and Critical Thinking: A Systematic and Cross-Cultural Education Approach Using Problem-Based Learning. European Journal of Engineering Education, 36(4), 377-390. Kim, K., Sharma, P., Land, M. S. & Furlong, K. P. (2013). Effects of Active Learning on Enhancing Student Critical Thinking in an Undergraduate General Science Course. Innovative Higher Education, 38(3), 223-235. Michel, N., Cater, J. J. & Varela, O. (2009). Active Versus Passive Teaching Styles: An Empirical Study of Student Learning Outcomes. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 20(4), 397-418. Nandi, P. L., Chan, J. N., Chan, P. & Chan, L. P. (2000). Undergraduate Medical Education: Comparison of Problem-based Learning and Conventional Teaching. HKMJ, 6, 301-306. Nargundkar, S., Samaddar, S. & Mukhopadhyay, S. (2014). A Guided Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Approach: Impact on Critical Thinking. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 12(2), 91-108. Reid, J. R. & Anderson, P. R. (2012). Critical Thinking in the Business Classroom. Journal of Education for Business, 87, 52-59. Sorcinelli, M. D., Austin, A. E., Eddy, L. P. & Beach, A. L. (2006). Creating the Future of Faculty Development: Learning From the Past, Understanding the Present. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Tran, M. (n.d). Critical Thinking for Engineers. Retrieved from http://sites.tufts.edu/eeseniordesignhandbook/2013/an-engineers-path-to-critical-thinking/ Read More