Project Info


IMURF – Learning and Teaching Sociotechnical Thinking in Engineering Courses

Jon Leydens | jleydens@mines.edu

Historically, engineering core and engineering sciences classes have separated social and technical problem framing and solving processes in engineering education. This has led students to adopt a technical-social dualism, with an underlying belief that technical and social dimensions of problems are not only readily separable but should be kept separate in all cases. Of course, this clashes with research on engineering practice, which calls on engineers to integrate sociotechnical thinking iteratively in problem definition and solution processes. This NSF-sponsored project, examines the efforts in 3 courses at 2 universities to facilitate sociotechnical thinking. Research aims focus on improving engineering education to better prepare students for sociotechnical engineering practice.

Project faculty hail from multiple disciplines (mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and engineering education), and the integration of sociotechnical thinking is spread across courses in electrical and mechanical engineering at two universities. To answer our research questions, we are using both quantitative and qualitative research methods, giving students exposure to a mixed-method, multi-disciplinary, multi-university study.

We have been using Zoom to facilitate research meetings and team communication. We leverage our interdisciplinary strengths by identifying the nature and scope of research tasks and aligning faculty and students who have appropriate expertise and/or curiosity to learn with other researchers about how to fulfill a given research task.

For more information:
https://www.mines.edu/sociotechnicaleducation/

Student Preparation


Qualifications

Curiosity about how to most effectively integrate sociotechnical thinking in engineering courses.
Self-motivated, well-organized, strong communication skills, and the ability to work both independently and with students and faculty on the research team.
Standard office software expertise (e.g., Word, Excel, Google Forms, etc.).

Time Commitment

5-20 hours/week during the academic year (flexible from week to week). Additional funding available for hours beyond IMURF.

Skills/Techniques Gained

-Mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) research understanding and skills
-Broader understanding of the history of engineering education
-Insight into how teaching decisions to achieve specific course outcomes are made
-Communication (presentations, conference and/or journal paper co-authorship)

Mentoring Plan

I will be working with four other faculty members (two from EE, and two from ME) to appropriately mentor the student. I will meet with the student for 30-60 min approximately once per week, and other faculty will meet with the student on an as-needed basis. The student will also work with other undergraduate research assistants on the team.