The 'Structured' Engineering Design Notebook: A New Tool for Design Thinking within a Studio Design Course

Bergsman, Kristen Clapper

doi:10.18260/1-2--31076

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 9 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…To maintain focus on the design process, the projects assigned tend to represent a broad range of engineering disciplines; for example, some teams might be assigned projects relating to civil engineering topics, while other projects might represent electrical and computer engineering fields. Consistent with the design process are the exploratory approaches of identifying a problem and developing creative solutions (Bergsman, 2018). Within this context, the sources of documentation in the notebook could range from site observations to design details, teamwork and decision-making processes.…”

Section: The Engineering Notebook Workhopmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, raising student's awareness of genres specific to their disciplines can increase their appreciation for discursive practices in their field. The Engineering Notebook used in professional engineering is an example of a specific genre of writing common in engineering (Bergsman, 2018). First-year engineers are not only unfamiliar with this new genre, but the task of documenting relevant content can represent a challenge.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Genre-specific conventions of the Engineering Notebook.

D'Silva

2021

DW/R

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First-year engineering students not only have to grapple with academic discursive practices specific to their discipline, but they also have to learn genre-specific conventions. The engineering notebook is one such genre common in the field of engineering. This article describes specific teaching strategies employed in the delivery of a workshop designed specifically for first-year engineers. The purpose of the workshop was to equip novice engineers with engineering notebook conventions that constitute a major literacy practice in their respective discourse community.

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Section: The Engineering Notebook Workhopmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Genre-specific conventions of the Engineering Notebook.

D'Silva

2021

DW/R

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“…Similarly, given the importance of design in engineering practice, instructors must also design a curriculum that allows students to effectively engage in design thinking and practice design in authentic contexts. One tool that is being increasingly utilized by instructors is the engineering design notebook [3]. Design notebooks "are an essential pedagogical tool in the area of design", as they provide spaces for reflection, brainstorming, and documentation [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some professions emphasize the benefit of primarily blank notebooks, which are used to record data and sketch ideas, among other things [4]. However, Bergsman highlights the benefit of including more structure in an engineering design notebook, noting that it "[provided] scaffolding for design thinking" as well as for "learning and engaging with the engineering design process" [3]. This is especially beneficial when working with students that have limited experience with design notebooks, as they often express confusion about what should go in a blank notebook and uncertainty regarding the value of unguided documentation [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teacher and Student Perception of Engineering Design Notebook Utility

Dunham,

Deboer,

Radhakrishnan

et al.

2023 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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Design is not the only important aspect of engineering, but it is "widely considered to be [its] central or distinguishing activity" [1]. Mastering design skills requires students to practice design in authentic contexts and engage in thoughtful reflections for meaning-making. Engineering design notebooks are gaining attention by instructors to integrate their facilitation (structured, semi-structured or open) and reflections, as the notebook serves the dual purpose of learning and assessment. The notebook (product or process-focused) is intended to record the thoughts, design iterations, and research conducted by students, while the instructors are able to assess student progress in a formative and/or summative manner.While the structure can vary significantly, we can make an important distinction between process-and product-based notebooks. A product-based notebook focuses more on reflection after the product is finished, such as a design portfolio that documents the sequential design stages. Design portfolios have been used as authentic assessment tools by instructors [2]. By contrast, a process-based notebook focuses on reflection throughout the design process. Engineering design notebooks can be structured intentionally to highlight this distinction, with a format intended to encourage reflection and emphasize process-based engineering as critical to applying design strategies in novel contexts. Thus, both students and teachers share the utility of the engineering design notebook. Students can use the notebook as a space for reflection and brainstorming, which is especially useful as a tool for instructors to have additional insight into their students' thought processes. This additional insight provided to teachers particularly becomes a valuable asset in blended and online learning environments.Our blended learning international program works with learners who are displaced and their teachers, where student-teacher contact is limited and inconsistent. Our program recognizes local knowledge spaces and enables their role in the development of long-term community-oriented engineering solutions. To provide additional structure for students' learning and support facilitators with the scope for consistent formative assessment we developed a process-based engineering design notebook. The notebook was constructed to mirror the course content, with significant space for brainstorming, design ideas, and reflection.In this paper, we investigate the perceived utility of the engineering design notebook to both instructors and students, as the notebook is meant to serve the needs communicated by the students while additionally being a valuable resource for teachers. We conduct qualitative analysis through teacher and student interviews. We will apply thematic analysis and draw overall themes on the perceived utilities of design notebooks described by the instructional team and their respective students. As a result, we demonstrate how engineering design notebooks help teachers support their students in an international ...

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Connected design rationale: a model for measuring design learning using epistemic network analysis

Irgens¹

2021

Instr Sci

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The 'Structured' Engineering Design Notebook: A New Tool for Design Thinking within a Studio Design Course

Cited by 5 publications

References 9 publications

Genre-specific conventions of the Engineering Notebook.

Genre-specific conventions of the Engineering Notebook.

Teacher and Student Perception of Engineering Design Notebook Utility

Connected design rationale: a model for measuring design learning using epistemic network analysis

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