Exploring Spatial Reasoning Ability and Design Cognition in Undergraduate Engineering Students

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher B. Williams ◽  
John Gero ◽  
Yoon Lee ◽  
Marie Paretti
Keyword(s):  
Design Education ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Spatial Reasoning ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Reasoning Ability ◽  
Design Cognition ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Paper Folding ◽  
Protocol Study

This paper presents preliminary results from the first phase of a longitudinal study of design cognition and the effects of design education on design practice. The study aims to monitor the development of engineering design thinking through a three-year protocol study of control and experimental groups of engineering students. Using innovations in cognitive science that include ontologically-based coding of protocols and new methods of protocol analysis, the study is intended to characterize students’ cognitive development, identify differences over time, and relate those differences to students’ educational experiences. The first phase of this study focuses on assessing students’ spatial reasoning ability. Spatial reasoning is the ability to process and form ideas through spatial relationships among objects. It has been found to correlate strongly with the design ability associated with one’s ability to generate, conceptualize, and communicate solutions to problems. Sophomore students entering two different majors took four spatial reasoning tests (Paper Folding, Vandenberg, Mental Rotation, and Spatial Imagery Ability) that addressed their ability to visualize objects and mentally manipulate them over an ordered sequence of spatial transformations. The results of these tests are presented in this paper. Tests were conducted to determine statistical significance in order to evaluate whether a student’s spatial reasoning ability correlates with their choice of engineering major. The students’ test performances are also compared with existing data from other fields (e.g., architecture, visual arts, science, and humanities).

Exploring the Effect of Design Education on the Design Cognition of Mechanical Engineering Students

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher B. Williams ◽  
John Gero ◽  
Yoon Lee ◽  
Marie Paretti
Keyword(s):  
Design Education ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Protocol Analysis ◽  
Design Cognition ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Protocol Study ◽  
The Impact

In this paper, the authors report on progress of a longitudinal study on the impact of design education on students’ design thinking and practice. Using innovations in cognitive science and new methods of protocol analysis, the authors are working with engineering students to characterize their design cognition as they progress through engineering curricula. In this paper, the results from a protocol study of sophomore Mechanical Engineering students are presented. Specifically, data gathered from two experimental sessions (conducted before and after the students’ introductory design course) are analyzed to identify changes in design thinking cognition. Design cognition is determined using protocol analysis with the coding of the protocols based on a general design ontology, namely, the Function-Behavior-Structure (FBS) as a principled coding scheme (as opposed to an ad hoc one). Preliminary results indicate that statistically significant changes in students’ design cognition occur over the course of their sophomore year. The change manifests itself in an increase in focus on the purposes of designs being produced, which is often a precursor to the production a higher quality designs, and an increase in the design processes associated with the introduction of purposes of designs.

Initiating Development of a Concept Inventory for Engineering Design

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey R. Mountain
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Design Concept ◽  
Concept Inventory ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Education Community ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Fundamental Understanding

It has been stated that the topic of design is not conducive to assessment by concept inventory. While design problems are more ambiguous than problems in analytical subjects, such as physics, statics, or thermodynamics; the broader design education community of scholars might agree on a set of concepts that are essential to the fundamental understanding of design. Following a review of textbooks, industry interviews, and other literary sources, this paper will propose a set of commonly accepted overarching concepts that might form a nucleus of an engineering design concept inventory. This is intended primarily to initiate a dialog among the design engineering education community about the future development of a design concept inventory and it’s applicability in assessing the design content knowledge of undergraduate engineering students prior to entering the profession as graduate engineers.

International Trends in Engineering Design Education—A Partial View

1979 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 540-545
Author(s):  
A. Bar-Cohen
Keyword(s):  
System Design ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Engineering Program ◽  
International Trends ◽  
Engineering Design Education ◽  
Partial View ◽  
Developed Nations

Approaches to engineering design education in several developing and developed nations are reviewed and found to suggest widespread recognition of the need for early and frequent student exposure to the pragmatic and often controlling aspects of mechanical system design. In this context, it appears that the undergraduate engineering program at most U.S. Universities may not contribute to the ability of engineering students to pursue successful careers in engineering innovation and design.

scholarly journals Exploring the Effect of Design Education on the Design Cognition of Sophomore Engineering Students

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Williams ◽  
Marie Paretti ◽  
Yoon Suk Lee ◽  
John Gero
Keyword(s):  
Design Education ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Design Cognition

Comparing the Design Cognition of Two Engineering Majors: A Measurement-Based Approach

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoon Suk Lee ◽  
John Gero ◽  
Christopher B. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Design Education ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Protocol Analysis ◽  
Structure Design ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Problem Solution ◽  
Design Cognition ◽  
Engineering Majors ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Experimental Group

This paper presents the results of two years of a three-year longitudinal study on the impact of design education on students’ design thinking and practice. Two engineering majors in a large research-intensive state university are being studied. The control group is a major focused on engineering mechanics. The experimental group is a mechanical engineering major that uses design as a context for its curriculum. A task-independent protocol analysis method grounded in the Function-Behavior-Structure design ontology is utilized to provide a common basis for comparing students across discipline and year. This study reports data collected at the beginning and at the end of students’ sophomore year, and at the end of their junior year. Students in the experimental group completed an introductory mechanical design course, while students in the control group had no formal design component in their curriculum. The results of analyzing and comparing the percent occurrences of design processes and problem-solution index from the protocol analysis of both cohorts are presented. These results provide an opportunity to investigate and understand how students’ design cognition is affected by a design course.

scholarly journals PUZZLE-BASED LEARNING: AN APPROACH TO CREATIVITY, DESIGN THINKING & PROBLEM SOLVING. IMPLICATIONS FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacy A Costa
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Engineering Education ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Exploratory Analysis ◽  
First Year ◽  
Critical Problem ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Engineering Degree

This paper will explore research practices already being conducted in various institutions, strengthening this paper's position that puzzle-based learning is a foundational methodology which assists newly admitted undergraduate engineering students, how to best approach critical problem solving. Furthermore, this paper will provide recommendations for an introductory protocol to introduce the incorporation of puzzle-based learning into a seminar-style course for First Year Introductory Engineering, and as a component of the engineering degree. The paper results in an exploratory analysis of what could be a starting place for future studies or classes to be conducted.

HOW STUDENTS DEFINE THEIR SUCCESS: A RESEARCH STUDY

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Ullrich ◽  
David S. Strong
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Survey Instrument ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
Full Study ◽  
Definition Of Success ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Diverse Groups

How undergraduate engineering students define their success and plan for their future differs notably amongst students. With a push for greater diversity and inclusion in engineering schools, it is valuable to also better understand the differences in these areas among different students to allow institutions to better serve the needs of these diverse groups.  The purpose of this research study is to explore students’ definition of success both in the present and projecting forward 5 to 10 years, as well as to understand to what level students reflect on, and plan for, the future. The proposed survey instrument for the pilot stage of this research includes 56 closed-ended questions and 3 open-ended questions. Evidence for the validity of the research instrument is established through a mixed-method pilot study. This paper will discuss the survey instrument, the pilot study, and outline plans for the full study.

scholarly journals USE INTERACTIVE MEDIA TO ENHANCE CREATIVITY OF DESIGNERS BY STIMULATING THE SENSES IN THE CONTEXT OF ART DESIGN EDUCATION

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 3319-3328
Author(s):  
Xiaoxiao Liu ◽  
Yukari Nagai ◽  
Kumi Yabuuchi ◽  
Xiuxia Cui
Keyword(s):  
Design Education ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Interactive Media ◽  
Media Technology ◽  
Education Environment ◽  
The Senses ◽  
Art Design ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Core Issues

AbstractCreativity is very important for designers, and methods to stimulate designers' creativity are the long-term focus of art design education. The senses are an important channel for designers to receive information and define core issues. Stimulating the designer's senses can help enhance their perception and creativity, and is of great benefit for the quality and efficiency of the design outcome. Today's interactive media technology provides more possibilities and advantages for designers' perception and sensation. The purpose of this research is to explore a way to stimulate the designer's senses through the use of interactive media, thereby improving the designer's design thinking and creativity, and providing designers with innovative design support. By means of interactive ground projection and experiments, and discussion of the advantages of interactive media to stimulate designers' senses, this research proposes innovations in art design educational media, which is valuable for the training and learning of designers and the development of virtual education environment in the future.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document