Developing the engineering way of thinking

摘要

Children are natural engineers but the primary school system does not encourage that mindset; and even secondary school teaching of engineering is highly variable, according to a report commissioned by the Royal Academy of Engineering. The academy has repeatedly highlighted a looming skills shortage in the engineering sector. Researchers at the University of Winchester's Centre for Real World Learning, who prepared the report, Thinking Like an Engineer - Implications for the Education System, interviewed a variety of engineering educators and practising engineers to identify six "engineering habits of mind" that generate very specific ways of thinking and approaching problems. The six are: systems thinking; adapting; problem finding; creative problem solving; visualising; and improving.