Real-world design settings can be complex, ill-structured, open and typically uncertain and/or ambiguous about their goals and solution paths. This study contributes to understanding how to work with these types of problems in a course project setting. The main objective of the study is to identify, propose and validate a set of practical…

This article aims to present our experience with transmedia storytelling in the design of materials selection, integrating two disciplines within an undergraduate mechanical engineering curriculum in Brazil. The students' project involved developing a narrative within the fictional universe of superheroes while exploring material properties using…

What difficulties do architecture students encounter in the structural design for their final master project? How do they address these difficulties? This paper presents the topic and focuses on these two research questions by examining the students' experience, using thematic analysis with a qualitative approach. We obtained the data through…

In engineering, kinematics is widely regarded as a fundamental topic with the literature agreeing that students possess a wide range in understanding of the topic. This study aims to take a second-order approach by understanding and exploring the qualitatively different ways in which students approach solving kinematics problems. Phenomenography…

A concern in engineering education is students adopting a 'recognise and reproduce' approach to problem solving. In this study, an assignment was conceived and analysed through Legitimation Code Theory -- which allows for visualisation of students' thinking, and to illuminate how students construct knowledge in open-ended problem solving. The…

This article conducts a systematic review of the literature, which seeks to present opportunities and trends in fostering creativity in science and engineering. The literature review is based on four phases: to identify eligible articles, screen and classify the selected documents, analyse the content and the citations, and report the findings and…

This paper presents a design-based research project undertaken to test and implement an interest-based engineering challenges framework for pre-college students. This work is motivated by the need for innovative engineering education practices in pre-college settings, and making engineering more inclusive for people from diverse backgrounds. The…

A study was conducted on the views of the nature of engineering held by 114 first-year engineering majors; the study built on prior work on views of the nature of science held by students, their instructors, and the general public. Open-coding analysis of responses to a 12-item questionnaire suggested that the participants held tacit beliefs that…

Design-based learning (DBL) is an educational approach in which students gather and apply theoretical knowledge to solve design problems. In this study, we examined how critical DBL dimensions (project characteristics, design elements, the teacher's role, assessment, and social context) are applied by teachers in the redesign of DBL projects.…

Engineering design is known as an answer to an ill-defined problem. As any answer to an ill-defined problem, it can never be completely right or absolutely wrong. The methods that universities use to teach engineering design, as a consequence of this, suffer from the same fate. However, the accumulated experience with the "chalk and…

For a structural engineer, effective communication and interaction with architects cannot be underestimated as a key skill to success throughout their professional career. Structural engineers and architects have to share a common language and understanding of each other in order to achieve the most desirable architectural and structural designs.…

Assessment has become a central aspect of engineering education for evaluating student learning, attaining accreditation, and ensuring accountability. However, the final step of the assessment process, which requires assessment results be used to redesign courses and programmes, is appreciably underdeveloped in the literature. As such, this work…

The importance of intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences has long been known but educators have debated whether to and how to incorporate those topics in an already crowded engineering curriculum. In 2010, the authors used the classroom as a laboratory to observe the usefulness of including selected case studies and exercises from the…

This study aims to compare and evaluate the learning ability and performance differences between two groups of students undergoing project-based learning (PjBL), with one group having prior PjBL experience, while the other group is being freshly exposed to PjBL. More specifically, it examines if there are significant differences in knowledge…

Seven years of industrial experience followed by 30 years of academic research and teaching in structural engineering have led the author to believe that the prime objective of a university design course is not the design project itself but to train students to solve problems, as this will last them throughout their careers. It is shown how design…