Toward Defining Nature of Engineering in the Next Generation Science Standards Era

Abstract

In this chapter, we created a list including epistemic aspects of engineering based on the literature and the Framework. Each item on the list is named as a nature of engineering aspect. These nature of engineering aspects include the views that engineering involves systematically engaging in the practice of design to achieve solutions to human problems; engineering design process includes three major components (defining a problem, designing solutions, and optimizing design solutions); engineers make decisions based on predetermined criteria and constraints during the engineering design process; creativity and imagination is used throughout the engineering design process; engineering design solutions are open to revision; engineering design solutions are optimized based on evidence from the test data; there is no single best design solution to a given engineering design problem; engineering is not a solitary pursuit; engineering is failure-laden; and engineering is socially and culturally embedded. The chapter ends with a summary of research about the fledgling nature of engineering literature and the pedagogical recommendations to teach nature of engineering.