Exploring the effects of a visual thinking strategies workshop on the reflective thinking of undergraduate engineering students

Engineering education has long focused on the application of science, math, and technology for solving problems. However, a broad perspective on social issues and interrelated environmental considerations is also needed to address the complex problems of today. The arts and humanities can provide important and often neglected perspectives and help engineers to develop skills for making wise, informed decisions through reflective thinking. In this work-inprogress paper, we contribute to the literature by advancing understanding of the effects of an art-based teaching and learning technique known as Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), which has not been explored in engineering education to date. In this mixed-methods study, we employed qualitative analyses of writing samples and statistical analyses of survey responses to explore the impact of a VTS training workshop on upper-level environmental engineering students' reflective thinking. The preliminary findings suggest that VTS may help students to become more reflective, more aware of their knowledge of broader contexts, and therefor better able to use that knowledge in developing engineering solutions. Furthermore, our sample of engineering students saw great value in and potential for VTS in engineering education and practice.