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The Creative Experience in Engineering Practice: Implications for Engineering Education
Author(s) -
Klukken P. Gary,
Parsons J. Roger,
Columbus Peter J.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of engineering education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.896
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 2168-9830
pISSN - 1069-4730
DOI - 10.1002/j.2168-9830.1997.tb00276.x
Subject(s) - creativity , experiential learning , openness to experience , autonomy , process (computing) , engineering education , creative work , engineering ethics , experiential knowledge , phenomenon , engineering , pedagogy , psychology , knowledge management , mathematics education , computer science , engineering management , social psychology , political science , philosophy , epistemology , law , operating system , physics , quantum mechanics
This research came about as an outgrowth of mounting concern among industrial leaders about the impact of traditional engineering education on the creative potential of future engineers. As there is little agreement on creativity or how to teach it, we chose to begin the study without assuming a theoretical stance about engineering creativity. Instead, we started with a search for first‐hand information about creativity and the creative process experienced by working engineers. This phenomenological research paradigm is a way to describe a complex, dynamic experience without prior assumptions, the results of which can then be used to generate theory or develop a structure directly from the data. This approach has similarities to an expert system development, in which the knowledge and skills of an expert are gathered and processed to develop an understanding of the system or phenomenon. Eight professional engineers from the southeastern United States were selected by peer nomination as examples of (expert) creative engineers. They were trained in different areas of engineering (eg. chemical, mechanical, industrial) and worked in organizations ranging from large international consulting firms to small regional businesses. These subjects were interviewed about their experiences in doing creative work and their thoughts about the creative process, including the impact of relevant educational experiences. These interviews were audio‐recorded and subjected to a phenomenological data analytic procedure, which extracted the experiential themes and educational issues. The experiential themes involved in the creative process of working engineers clustered as• Desire and fulfillment (motivation), • Autonomy and support (environment), • Openness and knowledge (tools), and • Engrossment and connection (process).This paper discusses the implications and application of these themes for curricular innovation in engineering education.