Student Response to Sociotechnical Content in an Introduction to Circuits Class at Two Institutions

Integration of social issues into technical courses is important to prepare engineering graduates for the workplace. We implemented two sociotechnical modules, one about capacitators and conflict minerals and the other about EV batteries and the circular economy, in two introductory circuits courses. One course was at a large public university and the other was at a small private university. In this paper, we explore the students' responses to these modules. In group and individual interviews, students responded positively overall to including social issues in technical courses. They discussed how such content helped them learn, prepared them for their future careers as engineers, and was important to them personally. Most of the students would like to see relevant social issues incorporated into other technical classes. Although not unexpected, some students expressed that although social issues are important, "technical classes should be technical" and social issues should be included in separate courses such as general education or ethics. For instructors who might be hesitant to incorporate sociotechnical information in their classes, we hope that the findings from this practice paper, that most students respond positively, will be helpful. These modules can be valuable resources for engineering instructors interested in integrating social issues into their own Circuits courses helping many students to connect foundational circuits' topics to broader sociotechnical issues.