THE ART OF THE POSSIBLE: DEVELOPING A COURSE TO INTRODUCE ENGINEERING TO NON-ENGINEERS

Understanding engineering is an important factor in fully participating in civic decision-making, however there are few opportunities for those outside engineering to learn about it. We developed and offered a course on engineering for Arts (and Commerce) students, to increase technical literacy, which counted toward the Arts degree Science requirement. A teaching team from three disciplines presented four technical modules themed around specific technologies, and covering a wide range of engineering practice topics. Students participated in many hands-on activities and demonstrations, and instructors used flipped classroom techniques. Assessment for each module consisted of both a short technical online quiz and a blog post about a topic in the news, which allowed students to bring in their own disciplinary knowledge. The final assessment was a group video project where students aimed to advocate for a position on a technical/civic issue related to one of the modules. We detail in this paper the results of our consultations with Arts; the course structure and goals; some of the specific content and activities designed (with an emphasis on correctly targeting pre-existing knowledge of the students); a reflection on the successes and challenges in the first offering, including student feedback; and suggestions for others who might want to develop such a course.