Pertinent elements of critical thinking and mathematical thinking used by civil engineers

Abstract

Critical thinking and mathematical thinking are inexorably linked and indispensable in solving engineering problems. Therefore, a study to understand how the pertinent elements of critical thinking and mathematical thinking relate and interact in the real-world engineering practice is timely crucial. Unfortunately, there is not much information available explicating about the link. The first part of this paper reports a review on these matters based on rather limited resources. The second part describes a research design to conduct the study in order to understand the interrelation and interaction among the pertinent elements of critical thinking and mathematical thinking. It is followed by a discussion on findings of a pilot study. Insights from the review and the pilot study provide useful information for conducting the main study.