Engineering


Learning to become a good problem solver and learning how to learn are two major goals of engineering education,

I.  Efficiency

Engineers are more effective if they are trained to be efficient.
Being efficient requires both an attitude and a bag of tricks.
You first need to set goals. If you are serious aboutdeveloping a more efficient and productive work style, you need to set both short- and longterm goals.

Set Goals

My goals: (life time)
My goals: (short term)

Set priorities.

Lists of goals have the advantage of keeping you focused on the big picture. However, they don't tell what you need to do.
For this you need a list of activities which will help you achieve your goals.

My to-do list:
Activity lists can be developed for each of the goals.Once you have worked out goals and activities, you need to set priorities for the activities. Not everything can be done at once.

Meeting goals is a day-by-day commitment.
It is useful to realize that importance and urgency are not necessarily equivalent.
The tools for ensuring that high-priority items are worked on are to-do lists and desk calendars.

A to-do list delineates the activities that you want to work on within a given time period. Good choices are daily, weekly, and semester to-do lists.

Work efficiency

It is important to complete the work
A useful method to help you determine semi-quantitatively if a particular project is worth doing is a cost-benefit analysis.

Handling Stress

Modest stress may increase your efficiency and not be harmful to your health. But after some point stress can decrease your efficiency and become harmful.

Three approaches to handling stress: change of environment, change of perception, and relaxation methods.

  1. Change of environment.  Sometimes all that is needed to change the environment is the realization that there are alternatives.  A student may find that part of his or her lifestyle is increasing stress, and this stress can be reduced by changing lifestyles.
  2. Change of perception  Being upset over these "failures" is not a problem. The problem lies in being so upset that the person is unable to function. Another related problem is the catastrophe syndrome, that is, believing that a catastrophe will occur whether something happens or does not happen.
  3. Relaxation techniques: Physical activity, Meditation
Relaxation is necessary to be efficient over long periods; however, relaxation itself almost appears to be the opposite of efficiency.

The paradox that we must learn to live with is that only by allowing for inefficiencies can we truly be efficient as human beings.

II.  Learning engineering

The cognitive domain is involved with thinking, knowledge, and the application of knowledge.

1 Knowledge.
Knowledge consists of facts, conventions, definitions, jargon, technical terms, classifications, categories, and criteria.
It also consists of the ability to recall methodology and procedures, abstractions, principles, and  theories in the field.

2 Comprehension.
Comprehension is the ability to understand or grasp the meaning of material, but not necessarily to solve problems or relate it to other material.

3 Application.
Application is the use of abstract ideas in particular concrete situations.

4 Analysis.
In engineering, analysis usually consists of breaking down a complex problem into parts. Each part can then be further broken down or be solved by application of engineering principles. The connections and interactions between the different parts can be determined.

5 Synthesis.
Synthesis involves taking many pieces and putting them together to make a new whole. A major part of engineering design involves synthesis.

6 Evaluation.
Evaluation is a judgment about a solution, process, design, report, material, and so forth. The judgment can be based on internal criteria. Is the solution logically correct? Is the solution free of mathematical errors? Is  the report grammatically correct and easy to understand?

Problem-Solving Taxonomy

1 Routines.
Routines are operations or algorithms which can be done without making any decisions.

2 Diagnosis.
Diagnosis is selection of the correct routine or the correct way to use a routine.

3 Strategy.
Strategy is the choice of routines and the order in which to apply them when a variety of routines can be used correctly to solve problems.

4 Interpretation.
Interpretation is real-world problem solving. It involves reducing a real-world problem to one which can be solved. This may involve assumptions and interpretations to obtain data in a useful form.

5 Generation.
Generation is the development of routines which are new to the user.

Engineering Program


Design produces a system, component, or process for specific needs. The design process is often iterative and includes decision making normally with economic and other constraints. Appropriate mathematics, science, and engineering principles should be employed in the design process. The fundamental elements often include setting objectives and criteria, synthesis, analysis, construction, testing, evaluation, and communication of results.

III.  Problem solving


Engineering education focuses heavily on problem solving, problem solving is a complicated process.

concept map of problem solving

Expert problem solvers

Experts have about 50,000 chunks of specialized knowledge and patterns stored in their brains in a readily accessible fashion (Simon,
1979). The expert has the knowledge linked in some form and does not store disconnected facts.

Problem-solving strategies

0 I can.
1 Define.
2 Explore.
3 Plan.
4 Do it.
5 Check.
6 Generalize.

Getting unstuck

1 Simplify the problem and solve limiting cases.
2 Check to see that the problem is not under- or overspecified.
3 Relate the problem to a similar problem which you know how to solve.
4 Generalize the problem. Sometimes the problem is easier to understand and solve in a very general form.
5 Try substituting in numbers.
6 Try solving for ratios.
7 Get the facts and be sure there actually is a problem.Another way to say this is, "If it's not broke, don't fix it."
8 Change the representation of the problem.
9 Ask questions about the problem. Specifications are often set arbitrarily but may make the problem extremely difficult to solve. Question them.
10 Concentrate on the parts of the problem that can be solved.
11 Take a break.
12 Ask what the hidden assumptions are or what you have forgotten to use.
13 Refocus on the fundamentals.
14 Guess the solution and then check the answer.

The six categories of blocks

Students need to solve problems to learn how to solve problems. Unfortunately, rote learning and drill will at most teach how to do routines which are necessary but not sufficient to becoming a good problem solver.
Students need to solve more challenging problems

Creativity

Creativity is a novel and unexpected way of defining or solving a problem which leads the observer to ask, "How did you think of that?"
Creativity requires divergent thinking and usually appears at the define or explore step in problem solving if it is present.
Note that creativity is only part of the entire problem-solving step.

Everyone is born with creative abilities.

To be creative

Ask these simple questions:
Knowledge is necessary to be creative.
An interesting question is, What knowledge?
Cross-fertilization of knowledge is required.
Students should take a variety of courses in many areas and not overspecialize.
This should include advanced-level courses in different disciplines. 
The edges between disciplines are often the most productive areas for creative ideas.

The principles of brainstorming

1 Develop a lot of ideas.
2 Build on the ideas of others.
3 Make no criticism during the development phase.
4 Evaluate the ideas afterward.
5 Further develop promising ideas.

Lateral thinking is an approach suggested by de Bono (1971, 1973, 1985). It involves restructuring patterns, changing viewpoints, jumping around, deliberately trying to change things, changing the problem statement, and avoiding logical (vertical thinking) analysis.

Since lateral thinking is used only in the define and explore stages, it is completely checked by logical analysis in the later stages. Essentially, lateral thinking is more an attitude than a method.

Writing can be a very useful method to think about thinking and to think creatively in engineering.

C - combine
R - reverse
E - expand
A - alter
T - tinier
I - instead of
V - viewpoint change
I - in another sequence
T - to other uses
Y - yes! yes! (affirm new ideas)

Most engineers tend to be heavily left-brain-oriented. Their creativity can be enhanced by having them learn how to shut off the left brain and use the right brain.

IV.  Engineering Code of Ethics

Fundamental Principles

Engineers shall uphold and advance the integrity, honor, and dignity of the engineering profession by:
1. using their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare;
2. being honest and impartial and serving with fidelity the public, their employers, and clients; and
3. striving to increase the competence and prestige of the engineering profession.
4. supporting the professional and technical societies of their disciplines.

Fundamental Canons

1. Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public in the performance of their professional duties.
2. Engineers shall perform services only in areas of their competence.
3. Engineers shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.
4. Engineers shall act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of interest.
5. Engineers shall build their professional reputations on the merits of their services.
6. Engineers shall act in such a manner as to uphold and enhance the honor, integrity, and dignity of the engineering profession.
7. Engineers shall continue their professional development throughout their careers, and shall provide opportunities for the professional development of those engineers under their supervision.

last update  15 August 2007