Research Initiation: Leveraging Systems Thinking to Enhance the Holistic Formation of Engineers

研究启动：利用系统思维提升工程师的整体素质

• 批准号: 1830909
• 负责人: Raed Jaradat
• 金额: $ 20万
• 依托单位: Mississippi State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-09-01 至 2021-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1830909&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Research; Initiation; Leveraging; Systems; Thinking

As the world becomes increasingly complex, systems thinking continues to gain recognition as an important and necessary skill for future engineers. Systems thinking does not replace traditional technical skills required of engineers, but instead provides a complementary skill set to help better navigate complex systems and their corresponding problems. Systems thinking is defined as a way of framing how we see, interpret, make sense, and respond to the complex world we encounter on a daily basis. The increasing complexity of U.S. industries demands that universities train engineers with systems thinking skills to solve the range of interconnected problems companies may face. This project aims to understand the ability of engineering students to think at a system level in order to better fit their future engineering careers. The project provides essential insights into the preparation of 21st century engineering students with respect to systems thinking capability. By comparing student capabilities to the needs of employers, the current state of engineering education can be evaluated and modified. Better understanding students' systems thinking capability, as well as factors that may influence their capability, provides engineering educators with new knowledge to better inform preparation of future engineering students. This project helps to answer the need to have a large number of qualified engineers available for U.S. industry that can engage in higher levels of thinking required in complex systems problem domains. The project addresses a recognized challenge of current engineering formation: how to prepare future holistic engineers to better handle complex multidisciplinary problems. While systems thinking has been recognized as one of the essential skills for future engineers, measurement of systems thinking capability in this project will provide new insights. The project has three primary tasks: 1) evaluate current engineering students' systems thinking capability, using a previously validated survey instrument, and connect systems thinking capability to the established theoretical frameworks (inductive and deductive reasoning) 2) identify and explore various cognitive, demographic, academic, and intuitional factors that influence systems thinking capability; and 3) evaluate employers' needs to investigate gaps between students' systems thinking capacity and employers' needs. The grounding of systems thinking capability in the theory of inductive and deductive reasoning offers potentially transformative research for understanding the development of systems thinking. The comparison between student capability and employer needs will provide useful insights for engineering educators. In addition to assessing student capability, and comparing it to employer needs, this project identifies the underlying factors that influence systems thinking capability, providing theoretical guidance to the existing systems engineering body of knowledge. The implementation of the project tasks will enhance and foster the current state of engineering education knowledge and project systems thinking skills beyond the classroom. Therefore, engineering students will be better prepared for their future engineering careers and fill the U.S. industry's needs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

随着世界变得越来越复杂，系统思维继续成为对未来工程师的重要和必要技能的认可。 系统思维不会取代工程师所需的传统技术技能，而是提供了一个补充技能，以帮助更好地导航复杂的系统及其相应的问题。 系统思维被定义为构建我们每天遇到的复杂世界的看法，解释，有意义的方式。美国行业日益增长的复杂性要求大学培训工程师具有系统思维技能，以解决公司可能面临的相互联系的问题。该项目旨在了解工程专业学生在系统级别进行思考的能力，以更好地适合其未来的工程职业。 该项目为21世纪工程专业的学生在系统思维能力方面的准备提供了基本见解。 通过将学生能力与雇主的需求进行比较，可以评估和修改工程教育的现状。 更好地了解学生的系统思维能力，以及可能影响其能力的因素，为工程教育者提供新知识，以更好地为未来的工程专业的学生提供准备。该项目有助于回答有大量合格工程师可用于美国行业的需求，这些工程师可以从事复杂系统问题域中需要更高水平的思维。 该项目应对当前工程形成的公认挑战：如何准备未来的整体工程师以更好地解决复杂的多学科问题。尽管系统思维被认为是未来工程师的重要技能之一，但该项目中系统思维能力的测量将提供新的见解。 该项目具有三个主要任务：1）使用先前验证的调查工具评估当前的工程学生的系统思维能力，并将系统思考能力与既定的理论框架（电感和演绎推理）联系起来2）识别和探索各种认知，人口统计学，学术和直觉因素，影响系统思维能力； 3）评估雇主的需要研究学生系统思维能力和雇主需求之间的差距。系统思维能力的基础在归纳和演绎推理理论中的基础提供了潜在的变革研究，以理解系统思维的发展。 学生能力与雇主需求之间的比较将为工程教育者提供有用的见解。 除了评估学生能力并将其与雇主需求进行比较外，该项目还确定了影响系统思考能力的根本因素，从而为现有系统的知识体系提供了理论指导。项目任务的实施将增强和促进课堂上的工程教育知识和项目系统思维技能的当前状态。因此，工程专业的学生将为未来的工程职业做好准备，并满足美国行业的需求。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并认为使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准，被认为值得通过评估。

项目成果

Determinants of Systems Thinking in College Engineering Students: Research Initiation

大学工科学生系统思维的决定因素：研究启动

• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: Determinants of Systems Thinking in College Engineering Students: Research Initiation
• 作者: Stirgus, E;Nagahi, M;Jaradat, R;Strawderman, L;Eakin, D
• 通讯作者: Eakin, D