On Teaching Tacit Knowledge in Engineering Design and Professional Practice.

The tacit knowledge associated with the application and integration of codified knowledge, personal experience, and the fundamental technical engineering knowledge is typically not developed in engineering students as a result of their coursework. Consequently, engineering students are not fully equipped for the demands of design even if their project requires largely codified knowledge. They require significant guidance and mentorship to describe design bases in their own words, to develop criteria for plausible solutions and then to research, identify, and synthesize plausible solutions. For experienced practitioners, this tacit knowledge is inherent to process, systems, and product design and is fully internalized. Filling or partially filling this knowledge gap comprises the invisible curriculum in undergraduate engineering design education. In this contribution, we describe how tacit engineering and engineering design knowledge is developed iii our process design courses. how we structure implicit learning experiences, attempt to improve learning outcomes, and better prepare our developing engineers for early practice. Practical design projects, instructors with diverse knowledge and experience. a flipped course design (permitting intensive face-to-face interaction, mentorship, and creating opportunities to tell engineering stories during classroom sessions), individual and team assessment, and modeled interactions are used to create meaningful engineering experiences that help students develop their knowledge and understanding of the tacit curriculum. We provide reflections on our experiences. We expect our contribution to be of value across all engineering disciplines, and for professional practice development more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]