2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Defining Engineering Judgment

Presented at ERM Technical Session: Developing Engineering Competencies I

In this research brief, we present our methods research on beginning to define engineering judgment. Judgment is critical to the field of engineering. However, when asked to define engineering judgment, engineers, including faculty, often cannot readily do so. Although judgment is a common term, it has been an elusive notion. This elusiveness may be due to the many conceptions of engineering judgment found in the literature. Unfortunately, given the lack of an agreed-upon, concrete definition for engineering judgment that integrates the various conceptions, its assessment relative to the formation of engineers has been limited. In this research brief, we describe our process to begin the development of an expert, consensus-driven definition for engineering judgment using the Delphi technique and the various conceptions for engineering judgment in the literature. A working or preliminary definition, which is being used to develop assessment and instructional materials for engineering judgment, is presented.

Authors

Dr. Renee M Clark University of Pittsburgh [biography]

Renee Clark is Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. She also serves as a Data Engineer and Director of Assessment for the Engineering Education Research Center (EERC) within the Swanson School of Engineering at Pitt. She uses data analytics to study techniques and approaches in engineering education, with a focus on active learning techniques and the professional formation of engineers. Dr. Clark is currently funded as Principal Investigator by the National Science Foundation for her research, which includes defining and assessing engineering judgment as well as the use of adaptive online learning in the engineering classroom. Dr. Clark teaches Statistics for IE undergraduates and also serves as a study abroad instructor. She is an Associate Editor for Advances in Engineering Education. She has over 30 years of experience as an engineer and IT analyst in industry and academia. She completed her post-doctoral studies in engineering education at the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Samuel J Dickerson http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2281-5115 University of Pittsburgh [biography]

Dr. Samuel Dickerson is an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. His general research interests lie in the area of electronics, circuits and embedded systems and in particular, technologies in those areas that have biomedical applications. He has expertise in the design and simulation of mixed-signal integrated circuits and systems that incorporate the use of both digital and analog electronics, as well as optics, microfluidics and devices that interface to the biological world. Dr. Dickerson is also interested in enhancing undergraduate engineering education and investigates new and innovative methods for improving the learning experience for electrical and computer engineering students.
Andreea Toader University of Pittsburgh

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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