Development of a Civil Engineering Design Course Based On Reflective Action

Added to solid technical skills, there are a number of "soft" skills that a civil engineer must possess to be successful in practice.A concept for a course is proposed where students can develop technical and nontechnical practice skills using the learning approach of reflective action which was first introduced by Donald Schon in the 1980's.Reflective action is demonstrated through a design problem involving the development of a residential housing design aimed at improving the substandard conditions in a poor neighborhood in the Dominican Republic.The course is composed of three parts, with each part representing three active learning components.The first part of the course includes a period of research to prepare participants to conduct field research in the Dominican Republic over spring recess.This preparation is guided by "reflection-on-action," i.e., determining from regulations and prior practice approaches to design that would appear to have application in the local circumstance.In the field research, students are guided in "reflection-in-action" as they apply their preparation to determine on-site applicability as well as the cultural and community implications impacting design.The design will be completed after the students return.It is guided by "reflection-for-action" as they develop a design that meets the local technical and economic realities as well as community and cultural expectations of the people that the design will be meant to serve.The pedagogical approach presented herein may be useful to those developing engineering design courses.