Table 2 Epistemic features of science and engineering (based on Couso & Simarro, 2020)
From: Engineering practices as a framework for STEM education: a proposal based on epistemic nuances
Epistemic feature | Description | Science | Engineering |
|---|---|---|---|
Aim | Main purpose of the discipline | Construct reliable explanations of natural phenomena | Construct of human-made optimal solutions |
Spheres of Activity | Main areas of activity or fields of action of the discipline carried out to pursue its aim | Inquiry, argumentation and modelling | Creation, evaluation and realization |
Forms of Knowledge | Types of products generated by and used for the activities of the discipline to answer the discipline's aim | Theories, laws, models, etc | Technologies, processes, etc |
Values and Quality Criteria | Epistemic objectives of the discipline that ensure its value and quality | Accuracy, objectivity, universality, theoretical consistency, coherence, simplicity, empirical adequacy, validity and reliability | Practical success of a technical solution: applicability, reliability, effectiveness and efficiency |
Methodological Rules | Main rules that guide the way activities are done and knowledge is generated and used within the discipline | Hypothesis should be testable (theoretically or with real experiments) There has to be convergence of a variety of evidence supporting a claim | Solutions should be testable (no room for idealization) Solutions need to be comparable in terms of applicability, efficiency and efficacy |