Applying philosophical inquiry: Bringing future engineering education researchers into the Philosophy of Engineering Education

Abstract

An ability to apply philosophical inquiry to both create and critique arguments about the current and future state of engineering education is a critical capability for future engineering educators to develop. However, there are few, if any, examples of how to do this. In this paper we describe a course that we have been offering for four years at Purdue University, History and Philosophy of Engineering Education, as an example of how to address this gap. We describe the learning objectives, conceptual frameworks used, learning and assessment activities, and examples of course assessments that illustrate learning outcomes.