Integrating Design Heuristics into Engineering Education as a Pedagogy for Ideation

该项目正在通过一项实验室研究，以及在现有工程设计课程的背景下，调查系统化的正式方法(设计启发式)在工程教育的设计工作中产生的影响。在一个焦点中，该团队正在描述工程学学生对概念生成的理解，特别是他们如何处理概念生成，他们在构思时的目标是什么，以及他们相信什么使概念生成成功。在第二个重点中，他们评估了一年级工科学生在使用设计启发式方法时的解决方案创造力和质量以及解决方案集的多样性，并与现有的思维方法(SCAMPER和形态分析)和学生自己的方法进行了比较。在第三个焦点中，他们使用包含设计项目部分的入门工程学和高级顶石设计课程，研究设计启发式教学对学生思维结果的影响以及随着时间的推移对思维过程的概念的影响。最后，他们正在通过一本使用设计启发式产生教学想法的指南和一个教师研讨会，向工程专业的学生和教师提供设计启发式方法和教学方法。调查人员正在收集关于这些方法的相对有效性的数据，一名外部评估员正在审查学生的选择和分配、方案的适当性、干预措施的保真度以及数据的编码、分析和解释。更广泛的影响包括一个强有力的传播计划，包括一个教师发展研讨会，向其他人通报这种方法。

The project is investigating the impact of a systematic formal approach (Design Heuristics) for idea generation in design efforts in engineering education through a laboratory study, as well as in the context of existing engineering design courses. In one focus the team is characterizing the understanding engineering students have about concept generation, specifically how they approach it, what their goals are when they ideate, and what they believe makes it successful. In a second focus, they are assessing the solution creativity and quality and the solution set diversity of first-year engineering students when using Design Heuristics as compared to existing ideation methods (SCAMPER and Morphological Analysis) and students' own approaches. In the third focus, they are investigating the effects of Design Heuristics instruction on student ideation outcomes and conceptions of the ideation process over time using introductory engineering and senior capstone design courses that include a design project component. Finally, they are making the Design Heuristics approach and pedagogy available to engineering students and instructors through a guidebook for teaching idea generation with Design Heuristics and through a faculty workshop. The investigators are collecting data on the comparative effectiveness of the approaches and an external evaluator is reviewing the student selection and assignment, the appropriateness of the protocols, the fidelity of the interventions, and the coding, analysis, and interpretation of the data. Broader impacts include a strong dissemination plan with a faculty development workshop to inform others of the approach.