Structuring the design experience

Abstract

A description is given of a workshop intended to help engineering faculty explore methods of structuring both projects and specific task assignments for engineering design courses. Emphasis is on the needs of students in the second and third years. The workshop will include a mix of short presentations, group exercises, and discussions. The presenters plan to address the workshop primarily to the needs of engineering faculty who began their teaching careers with assignments to analytical courses, but who now, because of the retirement of older colleagues, must step into design classes. The workshop will focus on three major topics: defining and incorporating objectives for design courses on behavioral terms; ways in which individual students differ in personality and learning style, and why this should be reflected in a variety of design activities and challenges; and selected techniques from design theory and quality control that design instructors may find useful as classroom techniques.<>