Simplifying equations via assumptions is integral to the "engineering method." Algebraic scaling helps in teaching the engineering skill of making good assumptions. Algebraic scaling is more than a pedagogical tool. It can create a solution where one was not possible before scaling. Scaling helps in engineering proper design…

Purpose: Engineering students gain confidence and competency through continual practice of key skills. The social cognitive theory construct of self-efficacy provides a useful measure to assess students' beliefs in their ability to succeed or perform tasks. Research focused on the impacts of curricular engineering design experiences on student…

Speculative design is an emerging form of critical material engagement with possible futures. Designers working speculatively call attention to current and future sociotechnical dilemmas, and aim to provoke debate about the moral, political and ethical implications of sociotechnical innovation. Despite the popularity of speculative design and its…

An increased interest in expanding engineering education with youth brings with it a multitude of approaches toward developing engineering programming. In this article, I explore how developing programming for the purpose of fostering liberatory design offers a means of supporting young people in both personally consequential and technically…

Engineering design practices in STEM education focus on reflecting the discipline-specific work of engineers in a manner that is suitable for the student level and course learning objectives. Using an engineering design context also facilitates student identification of global problems and feasible solutions to address such problems. In this…

This study presents a structured hybrid framework integrating Design Thinking (DT), the Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate (CDIO) methodology, and Root Assessment (RA) to enhance project-based learning (PBL) in engineering education. The framework addresses limitations in conventional PBL by embedding iterative ideation, structured engineering…

Engineering design entails making value-laden judgments against ill-defined, ambiguous, and/or competing sociotechnical criteria. In this article, we argue that such conditions make engineering designers particularly susceptible to the potentially deleterious effects of mis/disinformation in the processes and practices of engineering design, their…

Framing engineering problems in a humanitarian engineering (HE) context has been shown to have a significant impact on students' learning, particularly how they understand and articulate sociotechnical design considerations. However, no studies explicitly compared differences in sociotechnical thinking for different forms of engineering context.…

Background: The engineering profession has changed dramatically, and engineers today must work in diverse (multidisciplinary or international) groups. As such, practice in diverse student groupwork can be beneficial to develop all-round skillsets. However, simply mixing students with different backgrounds into one group is not always effective in…

Contribution: The proposed operational model offers a detailed framework for understanding the complexities of design thinking. It helps instructors evaluate each stage, promoting the development of high-quality designs. This model emphasizes the link between the various stages and the final design quality, steering students toward achieving…

The design process is full of judgment, especially around successes and failures that occur through each iteration. Decisions about how to proceed when ideas do not work can be especially challenging for beginning designers. Yet, experts are able to demonstrate more natural regulation of the process. This research focused on the experiences of…

This ethnographic study investigates the teaching and learning of the design process in biomedical engineering classrooms. Through classroom fieldwork, we examine how faculty and students conceptualize and implement the design process, focusing on its linear teaching methods, the abstraction of users, and the reinforcement of expertise…

Project-based learning (PBL) is a learning technology praised for its ability to grow domain-specific and domain-general skills and related knowledge and attitudes. However, consistently designing effective PBL experiences is challenging, primarily due to the lack of instructor support and guidance for designing PBL experiences aligned with…

Reform documents advocate for innovative pedagogical strategies to enhance student learning. A key innovation is the integration of science and engineering practices through engineering design (ED)-based physics laboratory tasks, where students tackle engineering design problems by applying physics principles. While this approach has its benefits,…

Purpose: Biomedical engineers that have the ability and skill sets to comprehend and retain basic anatomy and physiology (A&P) knowledge, apply fundamental engineering principles, use critical thinking, and communicate effectively across multiple disciplines to facilitate successful development and clinical translation of medical devices. The…