Integrating the Philosophy of Socrates into the Engineering Curriculum

Academic institutions in America have a difficult task, universe primarily responsible for the education of the population. Higher education institutions play the largest role in developing individuals and helping them find their roles within society. It is whence exigencyed to assure into how the opera hat institutions in the country are educating and developing the minds of the next generation of leaders.In particular, a great focus should be placed in the rise responsibility of STEM (Science Engineering Technology and Mathematics) graduates and their education due to the growing demand of STEM professionals in this era. Engineering curriculums, for the majority, follow specific criteria to define what is necessity and important for an engine room student to picture. This criteria is set by ABET, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, which has identified 11 (11) student outcomes upon graduation of an engineering Baccalaureate level program.Among these e leven outcomes, are three outcomes that involve something broader than technological knowledge, design and methods, and they are (1) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context (2) a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long instruction (3) a knowledge of contemporary issues. In order to accomplish these outcomes, it is necessary to implement ancient philosophies from one of the greatest philosopher that ever lived, Socrates.Socrates had a lot to say about knowledge, wisdom and education. He is famously known for the ideas that the only accredited wisdom is in knowing you know nothing, the unexamined life is not worth living, and education is the kindling of a flame, not the fill up of a vessel. Many students and professors in the school of engineering do not realize how little they know. For students, when accepted into a high ranked four-year institution, th ey might believe they are already among the best and the brightest, and this happens more often in the school of engineering.Students tend to think they have four more years of education left (typically) since theyve made it so far already and dont realize that their learning has just begun. For professors at top higher institutions in Engineering, many have earned at least Masters degree or better. It is common that most professors hold Ph. Ds at top research universities. With vast amount of knowledge these professors gain, they feel as if they know more than the students. Professors readily take up that they dont know everything. on that point are not many opportunities to question the curriculum that is assigned.More professors can benefit the students learning experience by providing an environment to learn beyond what is required. Both professor and students are at fault for not acknowledging their own ignorance, which hinders the students in their intellectual growth. Moreo ver, once students and professors can come to realize how some(prenominal) more there is to learn this can open a world of knowledge for them. Socrates highly valued curiosity and wonder stating that life should not go unexamined. So how does one go about ensuring the outcomes ABET outlines?They implement a philosophical approach to technical education. Although this is present in some courses it is not enough. close to syllabi outline in detail what you are departure to learn from concepts to chapters to home fiddle problems to exams on day one. Learning is structured and more about following the rules. There is not a lot of encouragement to seek knowledge in other disciplines. The importance of concepts and ideas about other topics such as philosophy, politics, and education is not usually taught in engineering courses.Yet it is required by ABET for students to have that board exposure to be great engineers. For example, the an aerospace student who is looking to work in the i ndustry after college needs to study the economy and politics. That student needs to understand how the economy stands regarding consumer spending and analyze the possibility of their country going to war. These factors can determine whether or not there is a need for commercial airplanes and/or a demand for defense airplanes.That student can then have a better understanding of what real engineering problems he will encounter and start thinking of ways to provide solutions by study more applications of such problems. It is also important to know where that industry is head and looking into trends from the past to predict future ones and have a clearer vision of where to seek employment. This education, however, is not covered in your typical engineering course. Faculty and staff needs to put a bigger emphasis and link to education distant of STEM.It is the curiosity and wonder of the students that will lead them to self-educate themselves on these broader topics outside of their c urriculum that they are expected have learned upon graduation. This leads to the issue that higher education has highly-developed as a compartmentalized learning system, seen more evident in the engineering schools. In my experience at a leading four-year, private, research university, it matt-up as if the engineering professors were concerned about what the students know as opposed to how they processed thoughts and ideas.This is contrary to the belief that Socrates had, education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel. With the focus to memorize formulas and problem solving methods students are just being filled with information and are then tested on how well up they can recreate what they learned in lectures and texts in an exam. When asked, most alumni admit that they have retained very little from the concepts and formulas they learned in class. They state what they very acquired out of engineering school was the problem solving ability.This makes sense, si nce books and the internet are available to an engineer as a professional there is no need to memorize the content. Practice with concepts and methods are necessary yet it is more important to understand how these concepts came to be. Socrates would encourage students to ask more about the who, what, why, how, and when in the midst of their learning experience. Developing a critical mind should be the focus of teaching not how well a student can memorize.Engineering programs across the landed estate dont place enough of an emphasis on critical thinking and self-education of concepts outside of engineering. Engineering education is not just about the practice of engineering methods its about recognizing hidden principles, patterns of learning and developing a desire for lifelong learning. With the teachings of Socrates, students will realize what they dont know and start to become more curious and pop out to self-educate themselves outside of the classrooms to become individuals tha t live fulfilling lives as professionals and members of society community.