Engineering Empathy: A Multidisciplinary Approach Combining Engineering, Peace Studies, and Drones

Abstract

As educators we train our students to view the world using a particular disciplinary lens. In engineering this means helping our students to "think" like engineers. We teach them to categorize and solve problems using a technically focused mindset. For instance, they learn the importance of using hard data to quantify success or failure. Other disciplines, especially in the social sciences, focus additional attention on normative and substantive issues. Students are taught the importance of developing contextual understanding and of recognizing that lived experiences generate different perceptions of reality. This variety in discipline specific thinking gives rise to a rich diversity of ways to interpret the world. These mindsets, however, can also act like silos that prevent the exchange of information. For example, while engineers share a common language, they often find it difficult to explain to a non-specialist how they reached a particular decision. As teams are rarely composed of individuals from a single discipline, this presents a fundamental challenge. How do teams collaborate effectively across disciplinary boundaries?This paper, submitted as a work-in-progress, presents the current state of our course development. We discuss our learning outcomes, describe our pedagogical approaches, and identify areas of concern associated with this approach to multidisciplinary engineering education. By providing a detailed framework of the class as currently designed, we hope to solicit meaningful feedback from the multidisciplinary engineering community before teaching the course in the fall of 2017.

Contextualizing a New General Engineering Curriculum in the Liberal Arts

“…For instance, we are developing courses that are co-taught between engineers and social scientists. 12 We are also developing relationships with community partners, such as local primary and secondary schools, that inform our classes and towards which we can contribute our engineering knowledge. These cross-boundary partnerships are instrumental in identifying the relevant contexts for our courses and projects.…”

Work In Progress: Developing Changemaking Engineers (Year 2)

“…An engineering faculty member and a faculty member from another school on campus are developing this course. The course focuses both on the design and use of drones while focusing on cultivating empathy across disciplinary boundaries [3].…”

Board 118: Developing Changemaking Engineers – Year Four

“…ENGR 494 -Engineering Peace An engineering faculty member and a faculty member from a school of Peace Studies have developed this course that focuses both on the design and use of drones while cultivating empathy across disciplinary boundaries. [1,13,14,15]. The class is taken as an elective by engineers (usually seniors) and graduate students in Peace Studies.…”