ERIC Number: EJ736653
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 15
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0270-4676
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Can the University Escape from the Labyrinth of Technology? Part 3: A Strategy for Transforming the Professions
Vanderburg, Willem H.
Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society, v26 n3 p189-203 2006
This third part continues the exploration of how we can overcome the limitations of the present knowledge system. In preparation, two aspects of current engineering theory and practice are examined because they are paradigmatic: the concept that engineering is essentially problem-solving, which goes against our understanding of human skill acquisition, and the existence of parallel modes of knowing technology derived from professional education and practice and from living in a society permeated by technology. The former suspends practitioners in the previously examined triple abstraction as a primary microlevel characteristic of the current knowledge system and is thus separated from experience and culture. The second mode of knowing derives from daily life experience, symbolically represented by the organization of the brain-mind, which also functions as a mental map for skillfully coping with the world according to a culture. The practitioner primarily derives analytical exemplars from the former knowing and design exemplars from the latter. It is shown how this affects the building of cities and the design of production systems. Umbrella concepts and round tables are introduced as further steps toward transforming university departments, and (as we will see in Part 4) the operation of the university. (Contains 1 note.) [For Part 4, see EJ736654.]
Descriptors: Theory Practice Relationship, Skill Development, Engineering Technology, Hidden Curriculum, Technological Advancement, Engineering, Problem Solving, Higher Education, Knowledge Representation, Engineering Education
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A

Peer reviewed
Direct link
