Engineering Habits of Mind: How EE Majors Talk About Their Knowledge of Circuits

The preparation of future engineers is often characterized as ensuring students possess technical knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge to solve problems. Researchers often advocate that emphasis is placed on using instructional strategies aimed at improving the way students develop this technical knowledge, and that they are provided opportunities to use it. Also, the goal of engineering and science education is to encourage students to employ various modes of thinking about concepts rather than passively duplicate what they have been exposed to. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the spontaneous habits of mind demonstrated by undergraduate electrical engineering students when asked to explain the phenomena of electric current in basic circuits. Engineering habits of mind are defined as a unique set of values, skills and attitudes associated with engineering depicted by one’s ability to make informed choices when faced with uncertainty in problem solving. The habits of mind framework used to guide this study was first published in the Project 2061 initiative led by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and further developed by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). This exploratory work was guided by the following question: What habits of mind do undergraduate electrical engineering students use when answering conceptual questions about electric current? The data for this study were student interviews conducted using a think aloud protocol. The questions on the protocol were aimed at uncovering students’ conceptual knowledge and possible misconceptions about basic circuit concepts. The findings from this work can potentially address key questions relating to curriculum design in engineering as well as to suggest ways in which teaching in engineering classrooms can be improved for maximum benefit to both instructors and students.