MIND strengths: the unique cognitive architecture of engineering and technology students.

Abstract

Engineering and technology education is uniquely positioned within formal education systems to facilitate the development of a broad range of cognitive competencies such as designerly thinking, spatial reasoning and modelling. It is posited that this environment requires an entirely different mental discipline due to the substantial presence of design as a learning medium. Therefore, it is paramount to explicitly identify this cognitive architecture to support the educational aims of the discipline. The ‘MIND’ strengths framework is presented as a potential cognitive framework for engineering and technology education. Aligning with this, the ‘MIND’ strengths survey was administered to a cohort of final year engineering and technology education students. The results of this survey identify it as a reliable tool and an initial ‘MIND’ profile is subsequently deduced. Findings also present the potential of a gender difference favouring males within the survey which aligns with pertinent psychometric literature.