REFLECTIVE PRACTICE IN ENGINEERING DESIGN

Civil engineers are valued by society for their knowledge and skills w hich, though based on theory, are forged through experience. Indeed, t he real world is a messy place of complex, interacting systems which t ime and time again demonstrate the inadequacies of engineering theory. The scientific approach to engineering education does not equip gradu ates effectively for professional practice. This paper introduces the concept of 'reflective practice', explains how it can be formalized an d suggests that it should be adopted alongside the traditional technic al rationality approach to teaching engineering design. It involves an alysing past failures, using artificial intelligence and, above all, l ooking at the big picture.