Research Initiation: Transformative Approaches to Teaching User-Centered Design

研究启动：以用户为中心的设计教学的变革方法

• 批准号: 1544277
• 负责人: Tahira Reid Smith
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: Purdue University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-10-01 至 2018-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1544277&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Research; Initiation; Transformative; Approaches; Teaching

The objective of this proposal is to initiate research on how compassionate design activities can help develop engineering students' self and social awareness. Engineers design solutions within complex contexts that often have broader social, political, economic, and environmental impact. However, research has shown a culture of disengagement in the professional formation of engineers. This culture of disengagement is one where engineers often separate the technical aspects of their work from the social context of the solution in an attempt to be impartial and objective in their decision making. Yet the complex social contexts in which engineers design are becoming more and more important as engineered solutions now have an expanding reach in our global society. To more fully engage engineering students' in social contexts, the work of this proposal will challenge engineering students to be compassionate in their design work to develop solutions that address users' fears, dignity, freedom, and emotional well-being. For example, they may design cancer diagnostic equipment that moves away from the sterile, robotic aesthetic toward a softer, friendlier experience for these highly emotional situations. The research team will explore how this kind of design experience develops engineering students' self and social awareness as well as their overall approach to the engineering design process. Engineering societies and accrediting boards have recognized a need to develop a more well-rounded engineer who has: a commitment to all aspects of innovation where they will need to assess societal impact, a better systems perspective, and greater strength in understanding design contexts. This project impacts the professional formation of engineers, helping students to become ready to solve the complex issues currently facing society.This research initiation proposal aims to explore issues related to these outcomes in the professional formation of engineers by addressing three primary objectives: 1) Integrate perspectives from mechanical engineering and engineering education scholars to develop a robust Compassionate Design framework for raising first-year and mechanical engineering students' self and social awareness; 2) Initiate research on the efficacy and impact of the Compassionate Design framework on students' professional formation related to both their professional and technical skills; and 3) Develop a proposal to more fully explore the technical and social relevance of the Compassionate Design approach. The team will test out potentially transformative approaches to teaching engineering design in mechanical and first-year contexts (locally) to initiate the development of a more comprehensive education and research project to impact the teaching of engineering design more broadly (nationally). The research team will test these activities in a first-year engineering course as well as sophomore and senior mechanical engineering design courses. A series of surveys, reflection assignments, and interviews will be administered and analyzed to provide insights into the effectiveness of this approach in raising students' awareness and ability to consider multiple perspectives (an important ability in engineering design). While this is a research initiation proposal where the initial work will be to more systematically develop a research plan, the PIs have begun to conceptualize a plan for the research. This plan follows a design research approach and will take place in the PI's design courses for initial testing and preliminary data collection as the team builds toward a larger research proposal. The team will work to address three guiding research questions: RQ1: Does compassionate design enable students to develop self/social awareness?; RQ2: Does compassionate design appeal to a different type of engineering student?; RQ3: How does the compassionate design framework impact the students' design process? The broader impact of such a professional orientation could attract and retain a new kind of student in engineering as well as promoting a professional orientation that emphasizes the humanitarian values of engineering.

本提案的目的是发起关于富有同情心的设计活动如何帮助培养工程学生的自我和社会意识的研究。工程师在复杂的环境中设计解决方案，这些解决方案往往具有更广泛的社会、政治、经济和环境影响。然而，研究表明，在工程师的专业形成中存在一种脱离文化。在这种脱离参与的文化中，工程师经常将他们工作的技术方面与解决方案的社会背景分开，试图在他们的决策中保持公正和客观。然而，工程师设计的复杂社会环境正变得越来越重要，因为工程解决方案现在在我们的全球社会中具有越来越大的影响力。为了让工程专业的学生更充分地参与到社会环境中，本提案的工作将挑战工程专业的学生在他们的设计工作中富有同情心，以开发解决用户恐惧、尊严、自由和情感健康的解决方案。例如，他们可能会设计癌症诊断设备，从无菌的机器人美学转向更柔和、更友好的体验，以应对这些高度情绪化的情况。研究小组将探讨这种设计经验如何培养工科学生的自我和社会意识，以及他们对工程设计过程的整体态度。工程学会和认证委员会已经认识到需要培养更全面的工程师，他们需要：对创新的各个方面做出承诺，他们需要评估社会影响，更好的系统视角，以及更强的理解设计背景的能力。这个项目影响了工程师的专业形成，帮助学生准备好解决当前社会面临的复杂问题。本研究计划旨在探讨与这些结果相关的问题，通过解决三个主要目标：1)整合机械工程和工程教育学者的观点，开发一个强大的富有同情心的设计框架，以提高一年级和机械工程学生的自我和社会意识；2)开展慈悲设计框架对学生专业技能和专业技能相关专业形成的功效和影响的研究；3)提出一项建议，以更充分地探索慈悲设计方法的技术和社会相关性。该团队将测试潜在的变革方法，在机械和一年级的背景下（本地）教授工程设计，以启动一个更全面的教育和研究项目的发展，以更广泛地影响工程设计的教学（全国）。研究小组将在一年级的工程课程以及大二和大四的机械工程设计课程中测试这些活动。一系列的调查、反思作业和访谈将被管理和分析，以提供洞察这种方法在提高学生的意识和能力考虑多角度（工程设计中的重要能力）的有效性。虽然这是一项研究启动提案，最初的工作将是更系统地制定研究计划，但pi已经开始概念化研究计划。该计划遵循设计研究方法，并将在PI的设计课程中进行初始测试和初步数据收集，以便团队建立更大的研究计划。该团队将致力于解决三个指导性研究问题：RQ1：富有同情心的设计是否能使学生培养自我/社会意识？RQ2：富有同情心的设计对不同类型的工程学生有吸引力吗？RQ3：富有同情心的设计框架如何影响学生的设计过程？这种专业方向的广泛影响可以吸引和留住一种新的工程学生，并促进强调工程的人道主义价值的专业方向。