The Wicked Problems in Sustainable Engineering (WPSE) Initiative: Pilot Results of a Cross-Institutional Project-Based Course Offering
The Wicked Problems in Sustainable Engineering (WPSE) Initiative: Pilot Results of a Cross-Institutional Project-Based Course Offering
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可持续工程中的棘手问题 (WPSE) 计划：跨机构项目课程的试点结果
DOI：
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发表时间：
2014
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Sarah Brownell
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
J. Hess;J. Hess;Sarah Brownell
邪恶问题的特点是缺乏结论性的表述，有许多利益相关者，有反应而不是解决方案。许多技术上的可持续性问题显示出邪恶的因素（如气候变化、基础设施、城市规划）。在学生的本科教育中，接触到邪恶的问题既重要又具有挑战性。作为对这一领域教学障碍的回应，可持续世界工程师组织发起了可持续工程中的邪恶问题（WPSE）倡议。在本文中，我们展示了跨校园倡议的必要性和可行性，该倡议向学生介绍了可持续性和棘手问题，并为学生提供了在设计团队中解决棘手问题的小组成部分的机会。我们在2013年秋季在两所参与WPSE课程的大学中展示了项目设计和试点年的结果。这两门课程都以学生小组设计应对空气污染的根本原因为中心项目。通过对学生对可持续发展和专业实践的态度的前后调查结果，以及整个学期间隔的关键设计审查，展示了我们的试点结果。随着WPSE与更多的学院和大学一起为其第二年做准备，我们讨论了吸取的经验教训，并建议对未来的产品进行更改。
Wicked problems are characterized as problems that lack a conclusive formulation, have numerous stakeholders, and have responses rather than solutions. Many technical sustainability problems show elements of wickedness (e.g. climate change, infrastructure, urban planning). Exposure to wicked problems during a student’s undergraduate education is both critical and challenging. As a response to instructional barriers in this area, Engineers for a Sustainable World has developed the Wicked Problems in Sustainable Engineering (WPSE) Initiative. In this paper, we demonstrate the need for and feasibility of a cross-campus initiative that introduces students to sustainability and wicked problems and provides students the opportunity to work through small components of wicked problems in design teams. We present the program design along with the results of a pilot year of the WPSE course offerings at two universities that participated during the fall of 2013. Both courses had student teams design responses to root causes of air pollution as a central project. Results of preand postsurveys of student attitudes towards sustainability and professional practice, as well as critical design reviews spaced throughout the semester, are presented to demonstrate our pilot results. As WPSE prepares for its second year with a larger number of colleges and universities, we discuss lessons learned and suggested changes for future offerings.