Constructive Controversy in Engineering Undergraduate, Masters, Doctorate, and Professional Settings

Abstract

Constructive Controversy has been incorporated as part of the preparation of participants in academic programs in engineering since the early 1980’s. It was introduced initially in undergraduate programs and more recently in Masters and Doctorate programs as well as Professional Masters programs and faculty professional development programs. The importance of developing Constructive Controversy skills for professionals is increasing given the rapidly increasing complexity of decisions and the paramount importance of innovation. We argue that Constructive Controversy is an excellent approach for operationalizing innovation as a social process. In this paper we document the approach through: (1) briefly reviewing the development of Constructive Controversy including the social interdependence theoretical framework and the details of this type of cooperative learning approach; (2) providing instructional guidelines, references and resources; and (3) reviewing current case examples in educational and professional development settings.