CAREER: Developing Divergent Thinking throughout Engineering Education and Practice

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

Numerous professional reports cite the strong technical skills of engineering graduates, but also point to their lack of creative thinking. Creative approaches to engineering problems require divergent thinking to explore a wide range of possible solutions. Divergent thinking allows engineers to consider alternatives at every stage during problem solving; for example, in the ways they define the problem, differing approaches they consider, and the range of potential solutions devised. Without divergent thinking, engineers frequently apply the usual approaches without considering ways to change or innovate. Studies show that the key to creativity is learning to move easily back and forth between divergent thinking about alternatives and convergent decision making. While engineering education excels in training on convergent technical skills, there is widespread agreement that engineering educators struggle with teaching about the divergent thinking skills required for creativity. Developing training on divergent thinking within the engineering curricula will transform engineering education by embedding creativity within engineering cultures. Further, by supporting engineers in divergent thinking to explore ideas, innovative approaches and solutions can successfully address the complex engineering problems they face. This project identifies divergent thinking practices in engineering contexts and develops empirically-based methods for training engineering students in divergent processes to foster flexible and creative solutions for engineering problems. Guided by two key frameworks (Search Spaces and Social Cognitive Theory) the research will leverage interviews about engineering experiences and scenario-based experiments to answer the following research questions: 1) How do engineering students and practitioners bound and explore problems and solutions? 2) How do engineering students and practitioners self-assess their process, progress, and outcomes? 3) What cognitive and perceived environmental factors impact bounding and exploration of alternatives? This work will also produce empirically-based educational tools including a divergent thinking guide, a divergent thinking self-assessment tool, a repository of engineering stories about divergent thinking, and a hybrid learning module. These educational deliverables will serve as a foundation for curricular reform in high school and undergraduate engineering education, and leverage training experiences in professional engineering practice to integrate divergent thinking within core engineering skills. Further, as engineering students become increasingly aware of the high value placed on divergent thinking within engineering, students interested in creative contributions to engineering will find more ways to engage with and contribute to the field, supporting their choice to enter and stay in engineering by building their feelings of connection, support, and belonging in the field. Building divergent skills to think differently is a touchstone for the field: Diverse ideas from diverse contributors strengthen education and practice in engineering. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.