Thanks For Feeding Me My Lines

I just wanted to take a moment to say thanks to Prof. Alice & Prof. Robin for feeding me my lines. Here's the situation that prompted this reaction:

A couple of days ago, I attended the National Summer Learning Association annual conference in Indianapolis, IN. While there, I met a lady who works with the Concord Community Center in Indianapolis (link provided below). This center provides many services, but among these are services for children to learn about different careers; one way that this is facilitated is by a weekly "Career Day" on Monday - in which professional from various lines of work come and talk about what they do.

During conversation with her, I told her that I was pursuing a Ph.D. in Engineering Education. This immediately warranted further explanation. In so many words, I explained that we are concered with the major educational components of an engineer at all stages (k-12, college/grad school year, and post-graduation). I told her that the best way I understand it is by looking at some of the major questions asked: What does engineering education look like at the k-12 level? What are we teaching future engineers during the college years (and why)? How do we assessing their learning? What is the role of an engineer in society and are we preparing students for this role? Of course, I prefaced this statement with a disclaimer -I have honed this skill since starting grad school- letting her know that this is not ALL of what ENE is about, but these are some of the questions that are often asked and they speak to a lot of things we do.

She was intrigued and then shared that she struggles when children in the community center ask "What's an engineer? or What is engineering?" Then she said, "can you please explain this to me?" I smiled and even chuckled a little and told her that her timing is perfect because I had just written an essay on this. She responded, "I guess I was sent from your professor! (lol)." Again, I starting with a disclaimer that what I am about to suggest is not all-encompassing and there is still discussion about this even among engineers and engineering educators. I re-assured her that she hadn't missed some huge news flash that said: ENGINEERING IS... because there isn't one. I told her, the simplest way I have heard it described is as "design within constraints" or solving practical problems using a variety of resources, within lots of contraints. I proceeded to explain examples of what the constraints may be (budget, time, regulatory, environmental, etc.) I then described examples of resources (using math & science as tools, technology, materials, etc.) I let her know that engineers work in teams; we use creativity to design solutions and solve problems. Lastly, I reiterated that the work of an engineer is practical and collaborative. She seemed to understand and even described what I said in her own words, preparing her "lines" for what she will say the next time a student in the center asks her what an engineer is/does. I confirmed her understanding and closed with another disclaimer that this is just one viewpoint; this question is still being discussed to this day and students are writing whole essays on it (lol).

Though brief, she really appreciated talking with me (and I with her) and asked if I'd be interested in coming down for one of their "Career Days." Of course, I agreed and we exchanged contact info just in time for the workshop to start.

So again, thank you for feeding me my lines. I'm not sure if this conversation would have gone so well or if I would have been as confident in my response had it not been for this class. No, I didn't mention the names of the authors we've read nor their specific stances, but the combination of the readings, dicussions, personal reflections, and writing of the essays has helped me clarify my ideas on these topics. I must admit: it's been a good experience thus far. It's fed me my "lines." I never know when someone's going to ask, "So tell me... what is engineering?"


http://www.concordindy.org/