Developing transdisciplinarity in first-year engineering

Background:For engineers who aim to address sustainability challenges, participating in transdisciplinary teams is key. Yet developing transdisciplinary knowledge, including systems thinking, metacognition, and empathic thinking, is not well supported in traditional engineering programs. Purpose:The extent to which selected learning activities in the introduction to engineering courses support student development of systems thinking, metacognition, and empathic thinking is investigated. Design/Method:Focus group discussions with instructional teams and student interviews are examined to elucidate how course activities improved student transdisciplinary knowledge. Threshold concepts frame the qualitative analysis of the collected data. Implications for teaching and learning are discussed. Findings:Results suggest the investigated learning activities support student development of transdisciplinary knowledge as indicated by changes in systems thinking, metacognition, and empathic thinking. Where prior quantitative exploratory studies revealed little change in transdisciplinary knowledge indicators pre- and post-course, deeper qualitative analysis uncovers students manifested improvements in transdisciplinary knowledge indicators as narrated by the students themselves and as observed by instructors and teaching assistants. Conclusions:Integrating transdisciplinary knowledge development into engineering programs, starting with appropriate learning activities in first-year engineering courses, may provide new pathways for transforming curricula aimed at educating the 21st-century engineer.