MCA: Divergent Thinking Skills Training in Undergraduate Engineering Education: An Investigation of Stakeholder Perceptions

University Of Florida, Gainesville FL

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving students’ divergent thinking skills in undergraduate engineering education. Engineering students are trained to find one correct solution to a well-defined problem (convergent thinking). However, in the engineering workforce they are asked to think outside of the box (divergent thinking) to find a new solution to ill-defined challenges of the 21st century. Thus, there is a critical gap between engineering education and its practice. Currently, there are few opportunities in engineering degree programs for students to practice, develop, and apply their divergent thinking skills. This project will study the perceptions of divergent thinking in engineering education stakeholder groups, identify barriers to divergent thinking, develop methods to assess students’ divergent thinking skills, and develop course content to improve these skills. Stakeholder groups will include undergraduate engineering students, engineering faculty, university administrators, and engineering professionals. Project results and outcomes will be disseminated via engineering education conference participation, local and national workshops, journal publications, blog posts, and Creative Commons licensing. The overall goal of this project is to develop instructional materials and assessment methods that will help students learn and practice divergent thinking skills. This study intends to address the following research questions: What are the students’ experiences with divergent thinking skills during their degree program? How do engineering faculty develop students’ divergent thinking skills in their classes? How do employers benefit from divergent thinking skills of engineers? What value do administrators gain from the development of divergent thinking skills in undergraduate engineering education? Using a transcendental phenomenological approach, the project plans to collect and analyze in-depth interview data from members of each stakeholder group. Via purposive sampling, the perspectives of a diverse group of members from each of the stakeholder groups from a broad range of engineering disciplines will be examined. Assessment tools for divergent thinking will be developed based on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Results from the interviews will be used to inform the adaptation of scaffolding mechanisms in the learning sciences to support student learning of divergent thinking skills and the development of instructional materials. This MCA award is funded through NSF's IUSE: EHR Program, which supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. 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.