Examining engineering design cognition with respect to student experience and performance

• Autores: Greg J. Strimel, Eunhye Kim, Scott R. Bartholomew, Diana V. Cantu
• Localización: The International journal of engineering education, ISSN-e 0949-149X, Vol. 34, no. 6, 2018, págs. 1910-1929
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This study investigated the design cognition and performance results of secondary and post-secondary engineeringstudents while engaged in an engineering design task. Relationships between prototype performance and design cognitionwere highlighted to investigate potential links between cognitive processes and success on engineering design problems.Concurrent think-aloud protocols were collected from eight secondary and 12 post-secondary engineering studentsworking individually to design, make, and evaluate a solution prototype to an engineering design task. The collectedprotocols were segmented and coded using a pre-established coding scheme. The results were then analyzed to compare thetwo participant groups and determine the relationships between students’ design cognition, engineering experience level,and design performance. Significant differences between participants with secondary engineering experiences and thosewithout were found in regards to the amount of time various cognitive processes were employed to complete a design task.For the given design scenario, students with secondary engineering experiences achieved significantly higher rubric scoresthan those without. Improved design performance was also found to be significantly correlated with more time employingthe mental processes ofanalyzing,communicating,designing,interpreting data,predicting, andquestioning/hypothesizing.Important links between educational experiences in engineering design,prior to college, and studentsuccess on engineeringdesign problems may indicate necessary shifts in student preparation.