Critical thinking for engineers and engineering critical thinking

Design decisions for a critical thinking curriculum for engineering students serve as a point of departure to briefly describe an under-appreciated reason to emphasize critical thinking in engineering programs. An increasing focus on the role of context, environment and systems in shaping human judgement means that engineers should be especially aware of the propensity for designs and implementations to affect the reasoning of people for whom they function as lived experience. Preparing engineers to recognize and work responsibly around these issues is a secondary reason to teach critical thinking in those programs.