Gear switching: From “technical vs. social” to “sociotechnical” in an introductory control systems course

Abstract

Practicing engineers regularly impact people and communities through their designs, yet the integration of social and technical factors in engineering education is often lacking or absent. This paper describes the initial integration of social justice into an introductory feedback control class at a public four-year university. We begin with a description of the class and the purpose and scope of social justice integration. Next, we report on our assessment results, focusing on data acquired through assignments, focus groups, and individual interviews with students. Focus group and individual interview data indicate that students “switch gears” between social and technical factors in their technical studies because these two concepts are often treated as separate, unrelated entities. This gear switching can make the integration of social and technical elements more difficult, but also offers opportunities for deeper learning and better preparation for the engineering profession.