Reflective practice in a pluri-disciplinary innovative design course

Critical Thinking, Reflective Practice, and Adaptive Expertise in Engineering

“…40,[127][128][129] Additionally, the virtual experimentation of the design process, a critical element in many engineering disciplines, perfectly exemplifies Schӧn's reflective conversation and other views of reflection. [130][131][132] And perhaps more importantly, a critical evaluation of reflection within engineering, as initiated by van Gyn, 66 may lead to positive changes and challenges to existing power structures. 128 In addition to benefiting the practicing engineer, reflective practices appear to contribute to the development of specific competencies and transferrable skills and to the transformation of values Page 24.342.6 and attitudes.…”

“…Some experts claim that reflection is a purely innate disposition that improves over time without explicit instruction, 135 while others advocate the need to foster the behavior to achieve optimum results. 36,95,128,132,136,137 Unfortunately, instead of practicing proper reflection, many engineering students and instructors tend to focus on concrete events and often fail to improve adequately due to the lack of established mechanisms to measure growth. 132,[138][139][140] Attempts to infuse reflection into the engineering curriculum fall into four primary categories: verbally induced reflection; experiential reflection; retrospectively analytical reflection; and academically emancipative reflection.…”

“…36,95,128,132,136,137 Unfortunately, instead of practicing proper reflection, many engineering students and instructors tend to focus on concrete events and often fail to improve adequately due to the lack of established mechanisms to measure growth. 132,[138][139][140] Attempts to infuse reflection into the engineering curriculum fall into four primary categories: verbally induced reflection; experiential reflection; retrospectively analytical reflection; and academically emancipative reflection. Verbally induced reflection is the processing of technical information into language or vice versa and includes the use of: journals; 124,129,141,142 notebooks; 138,143,144 papers, reports, and learning essays; 124,129,139,[145][146][147] reflective readings; 147 group reflective discussion; 147,148 question-answer-techniques; 149 and direct mentorship.…”

“…150,151 Over time, students value these techniques 124 and show growth of engineering maturity and epistemology, 143 but tend to mirror the perceptions and values of their instructors. 138,150 Experiential reflection refers to instances in which students reflect on situations experienced directly, virtually, or vicariously, such as: games or simulations; 144,[151][152][153] problem based learning, project oriented learning, case studies, and combinations thereof; 133,140,154,155 design based learning; 132,156 service learning; 141,157,158 internships; 142 and development of programs and software. 159 Retrospectively analytical reflection seeks to determine relationships between previously obtained knowledge and experiences, including: creating diagrammatic representations of processes or concepts; 145,148,160 incorporating computer-based, student developed, or peer-and self-assessments; [161][162][163] and creating group reconstructed representations of experiences.…”