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1. Experts’ and Novices’ Perspectives on the Priority of the Head, Heart, and Hand in Civil Engineering: A Mixed Methods Study

   Jeremi London, Christina Lam (January 2020, IJEE International Journal of Engineering Education)

   null (Ed.)

   Although some have called for engineering curricula that fully integrates learning in the head (cognitive), hand (skill), andheart (affective) domains, others acknowledge the difficulty of overhauling existing curriculum to adequately prioritize the‘‘heart’’. The opinions of experts are often consulted to inform curricular changes, but this is rarely compared to theopinions of novices. There is a need for a better understanding of both experts’ and novices’ perspectives on the role of the‘‘heart’’ in engineering education and in engineering work. With an emphasis on civil engineering, this study uses aconvergent parallel mixed methods research design and Shulman’s Three Apprenticeships framework to investigateexpert and novice perspectives on the priority of affective constructs in undergraduate education and their approach todesigning facilities for users with needs different from their own. Data was collected from civil engineering experts andnovices at an annual regional civil engineering-focused conference. Results suggest experts and novices may have differentperspectives on which values should be emphasized earlier versus later in civil engineering education. Implications of theresults from this study suggest that while many values should be emphasized in engineering education, it might beimportant for educators to emphasize certain values (e.g., compassion) earlier rather than later to assist in thedevelopment of a well-rounded engineer. 

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2. Human Expertise and AI in Civil Engineering: Competencies for Responsible Engineering Practice

   Volpe, E; Simmons, D R; Beddoes, K (September 2025, Annual Conference of the European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI))

   As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly evolves, its integration into civil engineering presents both significant opportunities and challenges. Through a qualitative analysis of interview, survey, and reflection journal data, this study explores the perspectives of early-career civil engineers regarding the current and potential roles of AI in engineering practice. While AI is seen as a valuable tool for automating routine tasks and enhancing efficiency, concerns persist about its reliability, ethical implications, and potential overreliance. Participants emphasized the importance of maintaining human oversight, with AI serving as an aid rather than a replacement for engineering judgment. The study identifies key competencies essential for engineers to effectively and ethically integrate AI, including AI literacy, critical thinking, ethics, and cybersecurity awareness. As AI continues to influence the field, it is crucial to equip engineers with these competencies through education and ongoing professional development. The paper offers recommendations for integrating responsible AI practices into engineering education and the workplace, highlighting the need for continuous training in both technical skills and ethical decision-making. This research contributes to the growing literature on responsible AI integration, providing insights that can guide the future workforce in navigating the complexities of AI-enhanced engineering practices. 

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3. What should we do with Emotion AI? Towards an Agenda for the Next 30 Years

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3678884.3689135  

   Andalibi, Nazanin; Stark, Luke; McDuff, Daniel; Picard, Rosalind; Gratch, Jonathan; Howell, Noura (November 2024, ACM)

   What should we do with emotion AI? Should we regulate, ban, promote, or re-imagine it? Emotion AI, a class of affective computing technologies used in personal and social computing, comprises emergent and controversial techniques aiming to classify human emotion and other affective phenomena. Industry, policy, and scientific actors debate potential benefits and harms, arguing for polarized futures ranging from panoptic expansion to complete bans. Emotion AI is proposed, deployed, and sometimes withdrawn in collaborative contexts such as education, hiring, healthcare, and service work. Proponents expound these technologies’ benefits for well-being and security, while critics decry privacy harms, civil liberties risks, bias, and shaky scientific foundations, and gaps between technologies’ capabilities and how they are marketed and legitimized. This panel brings diverse disciplinary perspectives into discussion about the history of emotions—as an example of ’intimate’ data—in computing, how emotion AI is legitimized, people’s experiences with and perceptions of emotion AI in social and collaborative settings, emotion AI’s development practices, and using design research to re-imagine emotion AI. These issues are relevant to the CSCW community in designing, evaluating, and regulating algorithmic sensing technologies including and beyond emotion-sensing. 

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4. Early Career Engineers’ Advice for Civil Engineering Instructors

   Beddoes, Kacey (January 2023, Hawaii International Conference on Education)

   There is a growing interest in engineering education research on school-to-work transitions and early career engineers. Much of this work documents misalignments and gaps between engineering education and engineering practice. Contributing to that growing body of research, this paper presents findings on the advice that early career engineers would give to engineering instructors. The research question addressed in this paper is: What is the most important advice that recent graduates have for civil engineering instructors? Data came from interviews with civil engineers in the United States. Sixteen early career civil engineers were asked what advice they would give instructors in civil engineering programs. Open coding methods were used to identify and categorize themes in the responses. In contrast to the other interview questions, for which participants’ answers differed to a large degree, the uniformity with which participants answered the “advice” question was striking. Nearly all participants said that instructors should have a better understanding of real-world engineering work practices and/or experience working in industry. Their reasoning and explanations are elaborated upon in this analysis. Programs and suggestions on how this could be accomplished are discussed. 

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5. Understanding Expert Perceptions of PBL Integration in Introductory Aerospace Engineering Courses: Thematic Analysis of Focus Groups with PBL and Aerospace Engineering Instructors

   Olewnik, A.; Schrewe, L.; Ferguson, S. (January 2023, ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition)

   Problem-based learning (PBL) is gaining momentum in engineering education as a student-centered teaching approach that engages students in problems that mirror realities of practice. While the goal of this pedagogical approach is to more authentically prepare and train students for success in the field, it can be both challenging and frustrating for faculty to effectively implement. In this research paper, the opinions of faculty experts from aerospace engineering and PBL are considered. Data were collected through two structured focus groups to identify areas deemed critical for the transition of an introductory, second-year aerospace engineering course to PBL at an R1 university on the East Coast of the United States. Four different dimensions of PBL integration were considered: design, learning objectives, implementation/facilitation, and assessment. Through a thematic analysis of focus group transcripts, results showed that while the experts identified many areas that were critical to consider during this transition, there are important areas of divergence among the expert groups. In fact, areas of distinct opposition were exposed. This study highlights the importance of considering feedback from both content/technical experts and pedagogical design experts during the development and integration of PBL and lays the groundwork for further exploration of if and how consensus between these two groups can be found to support improved curriculum development. 

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