Examining the Effect of a Paradigm-Relatedness Problem-Framing Tool on Idea Generation

Abstract

focuses on strategies for design innovations through divergent and convergent thinking as well as through deep needs and community assessments using design ethnography, and translating those strategies to design tools and education. She teaches design and entrepreneurship courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, focusing on front-end design processes. Dr. Seda McKilligan, Iowa State UniversityDr. McKilligan is an Associate Professor of Industrial Design. She teaches design studios and lecture courses on developing creativity and research skills. Her current research focuses on identifying impacts of different factors on ideation of designers and engineers, developing instructional materials for design ideation, and foundations of innovation. She often conducts workshops on design thinking to a diverse range of groups including student and professional engineers and faculty member from different universities. She received her PhD degree in Design Science in 2010 from University of Michigan. She is also a faculty in Human Computer Interaction Graduate Program and the ISU Site Co-Director for Center for e-Design.Dr. Kathryn W. Jablokow, Pennsylvania State University, Great Valley Dr. Kathryn Jablokow is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Design at Penn State University. A graduate of Ohio State University (Ph.D., Electrical Engineering), Dr. Jablokow's teaching and research interests include problem solving, invention, and creativity in science and engineering, as well as robotics and computational dynamics. In addition to her membership in ASEE, she is a Senior Member of IEEE and a Fellow of ASME. Dr. Jablokow is the architect of a unique 4-course module focused on creativity and problem solving leadership and is currently developing a new methodology for cognition-based design. She is one of three instructors for Penn State's Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Creativity, Innovation, and Change, and she is the founding director of the Problem Solving Research Group, whose 50+ collaborating members include faculty and students from several universities, as well as industrial representatives, military leaders, and corporate consultants.c American Society for Engineering Education, 2017 Examining the Effect of a Paradigm-Relatedness Problem Framing Tool on Idea Generation AbstractConsidering a wide range of ideas is crucial for engineers as they seek to solve complex problems. Paradigm-relatedness is one dimension on which ideas can range from more incremental-ideas that refine and improve existing solutions-to more radical-ideas that approach a problem from a new perspective or seemingly unrelated angle. We developed a tool that consists of a set of framing strategies an engineer can apply to a design task to assist in generating ideas that differ from their initial ideas. We created two versions of the tool-one with an incremental set of framing strategies and another with a radical set. We explored whether the framing tool impacted the paradigm-relatedness of ideas generat...

Idea generation, development and selection: a study of mechanical engineering students’ natural approaches and the impact of hybrid learning blocks

“…The problems were developed to minimize the expertise needed in a particular context to ensure that students did not need extensive knowledge to generate ideas. We modified three existing tasks used in other studies that had similar criteria (Rechkemmer et al 2017) and we conducted two rounds of pilot tests to refine the language. After the pilot tests, the two tasks we selected were: (1) the low-skill snow transporter problem that asks students to design a personal tool for people who lack ski and snowboard experience, and (2) the one-handed opener for lidded food containers problem that asks students to develop a way for people with limited use of one upper extremity to open a lidded food container.…”

Investigating mechanical engineering students’ approaches to opportunity recognition process

“…A number of these strategies and tools are highly advantageous in supporting best practices in design. [19][20][21] While extensive research has been conducted to examine different aspects of engineering design such as problem framing, 22,23 design ethnography, 24 concept generation, 19,20,25 concept selection, 26 prototyping, 27,28 and iteration, 29 research has underexplored the opportunity recognition/problem identification aspect of engineering design education. The presented exploratory work addresses this gap by qualitatively examining the research question: how do mechanical engineering students approach the opportunity recognition process?…”

Investigating Student Perceptions of Team-based Brainstorming During Conceptual Design: Challenges and Recommendations

“…Such problems might help students think more creatively about engineering solutions in ways that help them grow in their creative capacity over time. Additionally, problem framing tools designed to shift ideation towards paradigm-modification (e.g., Rechkemmer et al (2017)) may help students ignore constraints and think more creatively.…”

“…The framework helps to describe the degree to which brainstorming output might contain novel or innovative solutions. Rechkemmer et al (2017) used this framework to examine the effects of task framing on paradigm preservation or modification [9]. They found that task framing can influence ideation styles and creative output.…”