The general idea behind transformative practices homes in on changing how we teach engineering. Transformative practice largely focuses on the implementation of changes in teaching in the classroom. First, engineering ethics looks at what ethics are in the context of engineering and how we teach engineering students these concepts and how to use them. Skill development and concept knowledge looks at students and how they learn. Lastly, technology inside and out of the classroom was examined as a tool and resource for students.
Engineering ethics has received a renewed focus in recent years, both on how it is taught and how it is evaluated. ABET includes ethics as a component of being an engineer but how are we preparing students to be ethical? I don’t think that the institutions these students attend are teaching by example. By receiving money from corporations with agendas, how can institutions prove that they meet ethical standards? I won’t conflate institutional decisions to specific departments’ actions, but the system should seek to be consistent. This leads us to take a step back and ask, “Is Engineering ethical?” I think to better teach students ethics and how to be ethical, there is a need for self-awareness and positionality in the conversation, especially on the professor’s part.
Concept knowledge looks at what students need to know to be considered a discipline specific engineer. However, whether this conceptual knowledge can only be gained in a traditional path, is something to consider. I don’t inherently think of concept knowledge and skill development to be transformative practice when this has always been the focus of engineering education in one way or another. I do think skill development is an interesting topic in the sense that in many cases now, professors don’t have the skill set required to be ‘experts’ on skills such as global thinking, coding languages, technology, etc.
Technology in the classroom is something I can recall back to middle school. I have mixed feelings about the use of technology in the education. I’ve seen the success and the failings technology can have, but at the same time, reading about it does give me hope. I think progress can be made, but access is crucial to whether this help everyone or just those who can afford it, which has often been the case. Clickers are a fantastic tool for formative assessment but to make students pay for the device/license in order to participate after paying tuition and fees is cruel. Laptops being an expectation in class is somewhat normal yet even in our class there are students without that resource.