Three Sides of the Story: Addressing Engineering Competency Gaps through Classroom Debates on Controversial Environmental Issues

Abstract Industry professionals report that graduating engineers exhibit professional competency gaps particularly in nontechnical, “soft,” or “professional” knowledge and skills. Competency gaps are identified as skills such as teamwork and collaboration, professionalism, decision-making, listening and communication, and emotional intelligence. Engineering educators must devise pedagogical approaches to close these gaps. This study details a framework to implement a three-sided debate to enable educators to actively engage in improving upon engineering students’ nontechnical knowledge and skills enhancing their professional competencies prior to entering the engineering profession. There are few studies that could be found regarding the use of classroom debate to address professional skill competency gaps and better prepare our engineering graduates to meet industry expectations. The three-sided debate framework requires students to navigate and operate in the “complex middle,” or the nexus of an interwoven, multidimensional environment defining many situations, thus preparing them to more effectively and efficiently address real-world issues and challenges that move beyond the pro versus contra structure. This study determined that the classroom debate of contemporary environmental issues represented an agile and adaptable framework for professional competency development, which could be easily manipulated as issues and industry needs evolved over time. Thinking, learning, problem-solving, making decisions, and communicating in the complex middle amidst the “three sides of the story” in every debate developed and improved engineering students’ professional skills while addressing the competency gaps identified by industry professionals and employers in graduating engineers.