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Advancing Engineering Education: Linking Systems Thinking Skills to the Tools through a Revised Framework

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Conference

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Portland, Oregon

Publication Date

June 23, 2024

Start Date

June 23, 2024

End Date

July 12, 2024

Conference Session

Systems Thinking

Tagged Division

Systems Engineering Division (SYS)

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/46525

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Paper Authors

biography

Amin Azad University of Toronto

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Amin is a doctoral student at the University of Toronto’s Department of Chemical Engineering, pursuing a collaborative specialization in Engineering Education. Amin focuses on applying Systems Thinking Principles to Engineering Education and assessing its learning outcomes when solving wicked problems, especially in the field of Entrepreneurship. Amin obtained his MASc. and BASc from the University of Toronto, both in Industrial Engineering, and has worked as a consultant and researcher in tech companies. Amin’s hobbies include exploring the outdoors, trying new food, and traveling.

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biography

Emily Moore P.Eng. University of Toronto

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Emily Moore is the Director of the Troost Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering (Troost ILead) at the University of Toronto. Emily spent 20 years as a professional engineer, first as an R&D engineer in a Fortune 500 company, and then leading

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Asher Hounsell

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Abstract

Scholars have advanced the argument advocating for the integration of Systems Thinking (ST) into engineering education, positing its efficacy in equipping engineering students with the capacity to discern and comprehend intricate challenges and opportunities embedded within complex problem domains. This pedagogical approach fosters a holistic mindset that enables students to address multifaceted predicaments while remaining attuned to the dynamic shifts occurring in the market and the broader external landscape (Sterman, 2000; Halecker & Hartmann, 2013; Halecker & Hartmann, 2013). Nevertheless, a noticeable research gap persists in the elucidation of the specific skillsets and cognitive paradigms that each ST tool augments. Within this paper, we embark upon a systematic literature review encompassing an array of studies that have explored the prominent tools employed in instructing Systems Thinking. Our objectives are threefold: firstly, to delineate the diverse skill sets these tools serve to enhance; secondly, to expound upon the distinct modes of cognition with which they are intricately associated; and finally, to proffer a comprehensive rubric designed for the evaluation of a particularly salient ST tool, ascertained to be exceptionally pertinent in the context of opportunity identification during entrepreneurial endeavors.

Azad, A., & Moore, E., & Hounsell, A. (2024, June), Advancing Engineering Education: Linking Systems Thinking Skills to the Tools through a Revised Framework Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://strategy.asee.org/46525

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