Lifelong Learning and Critical Thinking for Twenty-First Century Engineers

Lifelong Learning and Critical Thinking for Twenty-First Century Engineers It is generally accepted by engineering educators, most notably, by ABET , the formal engineering accreditation body, that technical knowledge has exploded to the point where no four year BE program, however intense, can provide a comprehensive introduction to a contemporary practice-level understanding of an engineering field. Moreover, the pace of change in engineering disciplines has become so rapid, tha90t many details appropriate to today’s practice may no longer be nearly as relevant within a decade’s time. The emerging response from engineering educators is to recognize that pedagogy for twenty-first century engineers must primarily stress the process of how to learn technical material over the course of an entire career. Continued decades of inquiry by cognitive psychologists and education researchers [1,2,3] affirm that the successful independent learner is a critical thinker. Driven by some personal sense of curiosity, armed with a patient skepticism of received authority, acquainted with the unremitting demands of evidentiary reasoning, and comfortable with the social construction of reality, critical thinkers are innovative problem solvers who work effectively in groups to find tools that fit their problems, developing the new skills required along the way to wield them.