Collaborative Research: Investigating Impacts on the Ideation Flexibility of Engineers

这个工程教育研究项目调查了学生在学习工程设计时产生想法(构思)的能力。对于所有工程师来说，当他们探索问题空间并为社会问题制定短期和长期解决方案时，构思能力是一项关键技能。该项目调查了三个假设有助于学生产生想法能力的关键因素，并探索了这些因素之间的相互关系。该项目的更广泛的意义和重要性源于支持工程实践者思维灵活性的潜力，给予工程教育人员更大的能力来支持和指导工程学位课程的思维。研究人员提出了一项雄心勃勃的计划，以确保研究成果广泛传播给工程教职员工。该项目与NSF的战略目标重叠，即通过培养一支具有新能力和专业知识的工程队伍来改造边境。此外，NSF为社会创新的目标是通过支持创新学习系统的发展而实现的。

This engineering education research project investigates students' ability to generate ideas (ideation) as they learn engineering design. Ideation is a critical skill for all engineers as they explore problem spaces and develop both short-term and long-term solutions to societal problems. The project investigates three key factors hypothesized to contribute to students' idea generation capability, and explores the interrelation between the factors.The broader significance and importance of this project arise from the potential to support ideation flexibility among engineering practitioners, giving greater capabilities for engineering educators to support and direct ideation in engineering degree programs. The investigators have proposed an ambitious plan to ensure that the research results are broadly disseminated to engineering faculty members. This project overlaps with NSF's strategic goals of transforming the frontiers through preparation of an engineering workforce with new capabilities and expertise. Additionally NSF's goal of innovating for society is enabled by supporting the development of innovative learning systems.