Teaching Digital Twinning to Liberal Arts Students: Enhancing Critical Thinking, Technological Literacy, and Ethical Perspectives

An innovative course introduced digital twinning concepts to liberal arts students, aimed at enhancing technological literacy, critical thinking, and ethical awareness in an increasingly digital world. The course designed using Quality Matters rubrics and delivered through a competency-based education (CBE) model in an online, asynchronous format to 24 students in Fall 2024 with 96% student course complete rate. The curriculum offered a comprehensive introduction to key digital twinning concepts, applications, and their societal impacts. The flexible, self-paced structure accommodated diverse student populations with varying responsibilities. Pre-course survey revealed limited familiarity with digital twinning among participants. However, post-course survey responses demonstrated significant improvements, with students developing a nuanced understanding of the technology's complexities, including data privacy, ethical considerations, and accessibility challenges. The course successfully aligned with students' expectations for practical knowledge applicable to their careers, and the emphasis on the transformative potential of digital twinning across various fields, including healthcare, space, urban planning, defense, agriculture, and sustainability was the notable strength of the course. Post-course surveys revealed strong positive outcomes, with 63% of students extremely likely to recommend the course, 55% expressing high enthusiasm for digital twinning's potential, and 90% reporting confidence in understanding its industrial impacts. The paper demonstrates the effectiveness of integrating digital twinning education into broader curricula, emphasizing its relevance to liberal arts and interdisciplinary studies in preparing students for the technological demands of various industries.