Generally speaking, this course is taken by students wishing to fulfill the requirements for the minor in the history of science and technology. Panel discussions on new technologies and their intellectual and social impact are conducted by the students. This course is designed as an overview of advances of technological knowledge through the ages. TCC 101 and six semester hours of general education electives This course explores the ways scientists and inventors think, using concepts, theories and methods borrowed from several disciplines, but focusing especially on psychology. Topics covered include experimental simulations of scientific reasoning, a cognitive framework for understanding creativity and modeling discovery on a computer.
Students read and discuss articles and excerpts in class and conduct a short research project.
This course fulfills TCC2XX writing and speaking requirements. The goal of this course is to help students understand the way in which technology is created and improved, and also to make them into better designers. Standard university curricula frequently compartmentalize disciplines. Readings from psychology, history, computing, ethics and engineering accompany the modules. Students keep design notebooks, present the results of team projects and write an integrative paper in which they discuss invention and design and reflect on their own problem-solving processes.