Empathy in Engineering: Why it Matters Wednesday, September 20 th , 2017 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM, ET
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Today’s Speakers Nicola Sochacka Joachim Walther Shari Miller Co-Director, Engineering Associate Professor and Associate Professor and the Education Research CLUSTER Founding Director of the Associate Dean of the School of Engineering Education Social Work University of Georgia Transformations Institute (EETI) University of Georgia University of Georgia
Educating Empathic Engineers
why empathy in engineering? why now?
I. Fundamental Canons Engineers, in the fulfillment of their professional duties, shall: 1. Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public. 2. … https://www.nspe.org/sites/default/files/resources/pdfs/Ethics/CodeofEthics/Code-2007-July.pdf
New Study Reveals Engineering Schools Fail To Teach Empathy Jon Marcus , PTC With its relentless emphasis on technical problem-solving, engineering education may be overlooking something equally important according to a new study. .. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ptc/2013/12/16/new-study-reveals-engineering- schools-fail-to-teach-empathy/#5ba88ec0482f
Brain Can't Empathize And Analyze At Same Time, New Study Wednesday 31 October 2012 By Catharine Paddock PhD Scientists have discovered that the brain circuits we engage when we think about social matters, such as considering other people's views, or moral issues, inhibit the circuits that we use when we think about inanimate, analytical things, such as working on a physics problem or making sure the numbers add up when we balance our budget. And they say, the same happens the other way around: the analytic brain network inhibits the social network . http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/252241.php
empathic design “The basic movement of empathic design is that of researchers and designers moving towards end-users, of trying to get closer to their lives and work, of trying to empathize with them, with their experience and emotions.” (p. 10) Steen, M., Kuijt-Evers, L., & Klok, J. (2007, July 5-7). Early user involvement in research and design projects – A review of methods and practices Paper presented at the 23rd EGOS Colloquium (European Group for Organizational Studies), Vienna.
how we approached the challenge...
engineering and social work: a transdisciplinary dialogue productive tensions and remarkable similarities educating practitioners for 21 st century challenges
engineering and social work: a transdisciplinary dialogue fostering a mutually beneficial and rewarding collaboration “Technological Agency in Social Work Practice” “Educating Empathic Engineers”
what has come out of our collaboration...
a new theory of empathy for engineering
Who we are What we will do What we can do
Who we allow How we What skills ourselves to be develop we seek Who we are What we will do What we can do
empathy modules in a design course
course context sophomore engineering and society course in mechanical engineering design sequence Engineering embedded in complex, socio-technical systems Focus: Systems understanding & problem framing Linking skills, orientation, and being through reflection
Module 1: Module 2: Module 3: Module 4: Self Emotion Affective Mode awareness regulation responding switching
Intro to empathy Skills facet exercises Debrief Application scenario: Roleplay Debrief & reflection
some key principles of facilitation
critically self-reflective orientation instructor’s use-of-self is the primary tool willingness to be self-reflective, to use self as consciously and effectively as possible
prioritize process in the classroom process of engaging actively is most essential process also becomes content
modeling through intentional behavior convey empathic skills, orientation, and way of being make specific use of active communication techniques in classroom when debriefing
a range of student responses
less buy in “The only part of the exercise that was even marginally challenging was during the role play when my group members started arguing amongst themselves during the role play. In real life, I would have simply asked the belligerent parties to leave the room for being disruptive, but during the role play I had to devote all my energy to keeping the group on track.” Excerpt from a post-module reflection
more buy in “As an engineer, this activity made me realize how important listening can be. Engineers are required to communicate well, and this means more than just working around problems… With attentive listening, responses come naturally, and in the future I will try to be a better listener rather than just a problem solver .” Excerpt from a post-module reflection
insight “When my partner responded to my story analytically I felt like he was less worried about me… I was able to see how a person who felt very strongly about a situation could take offense to an overly analytical response, because it almost turns them into a variable in a problem.” Excerpt from a post-module reflection
struggles “During today’s module, I struggled to get my head around… how to apply mode switching. This was not easy and it was unnatural… Yet mode switching is a good skill to have as an engineer because you need to be able to empathize with your stakeholders and solve problems at the same time. I am sure I will be trying to perfect this way of communication for the rest of my life .” Excerpt from a post-module reflection
transformation “In the past, I considered myself as a truly rational person who believed in science, and I treated those laymen as “less knowledgeable” and “irrational”… I thought a nuclear power plant was just about science, technology, and economy. In fact, I was the arrogant one … Now, I believe this world is a big and complex system that no subsystems should be ignored. Being an engineer who is so specialized in science and technology does not mean it is appropriate to ignore others…” Excerpt from final reflection from a sophomore mechanical engineering student
references and resources Walther, J., Miller, S. E., & Sochacka, N. W. (2017). A Model of Empathy in Engineering as a Core Skill, Practice Orientation, and Professional Way of Being. Journal of Engineering Education, 106 (1), 123-148. Brewer, M. A., Sochacka, N. W., Walther, J., & Miller, S. E. (2017). How do students meaningfully interpret the role of empathy in engineering? A social phenomenological study. Paper presented in July at the 2017 Research in Engineering Education Symposium (REES), Bogotá, Columbia. Walther, J., Miller, S. E., & Sochacka, N. W. (2016). Fostering empathy in an undergraduate mechanical engineering course. Paper presented at the 2016 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference and Exposition, New Orleans, LA.
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