Gains in Engineering-Related Skills Achieved by Students in Technological and Engineering Literacy Minors

The need for a greater understanding of engineering and technology by non-engineers is widely recognized as important for both a well-rounded education and economic competitiveness. Informed citizens in today’s world should possess a broad understanding of technology and be empowered by this understanding to make informed decisions on technologically-related issues. In response to this need, some engineering programs have successfully reached across campus in efforts to improve the technological and engineering literacy of non-engineers. The establishment of the Technological Literacy Division of the American Society for Engineering Education attests to the interest among some engineering faculty in advancing technological and engineering literacy among non-engineers. A key issue in these efforts is the extent to which non-engineers can develop engineering-related skills and abilities. This work reports results obtained regarding increases in engineering-related skills by undergraduate students who are not engineering majors. The non-engineers were successful in using the systematic and quantitative methods of the decision matrix to evaluate options and technological trade-offs. In addition, the non-engineers, when surveyed, expressed a recognition and appreciation of the value of these systematic and quantitative methods compared to their ability to make similar decisions without the use of engineering methods. The non-engineers were not just becoming comfortable with what engineers do, they were acquiring engineering-related skills and appreciating the value of those skills in solving a particular type of problem. The non-engineers also showed increases in their abilities to explain a technological system, including recognition of key underlying principles, identification of major components, and consistent description of system operation.