Professional Practice Simulations in a First-Year Engineering Course

January 9, 2012

Naomi Chesler and colleagues in the Epistemic Games project developed a first-year engineering design course that meets the criteria and constraints of several traditional stakeholders. It also provides a platform for studying the ways a first-year engineering student progresses from thinking like a novice to thinking like a professional engineer.

Chesler and colleagues developed a computer-based professional practice simulator for use in pre-existing first-year Introduction to Engineering courses. It requires minimal resources from course directors and requires no expertise in an engineering discipline. The simulation provides an introduction to professional communication styles, the engineering design process, library skills and citation requirements, and the engineering disciplines. Completing the simulation’s two design-build-test cycles require no engineering knowledge. Instead, the simulation emphasizes managing conflicting client requirements, making trade-offs in selecting a final design, and justifying design choices.