Date of Award:

5-2014

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department:

Engineering Education

Committee Chair(s)

Kurt H. Becker

Committee

Kurt H. Becker

Committee

M. Scott DeBerard

Committee

John S. Gero

Committee

Oenardi Lawanto

Committee

Edward M. Reeve

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to investigate the design behavior. A commonly used design strategy called “problem decomposition and recomposition” was the focus of the study. Dyads of engineering experts, dyads of engineering seniors, and dyads of engineering freshmen completed an engineering design challenge within an hour. The entire design process was video and audio recorded. After the design session, participants participated in a group interview.

The conversation and behavior from the design were transcribed, segmented, and coded. Two coding systems including the FBS ontology and “levels of the problem” were used in this study. A series of statistical techniques were used to analyze data. Interview data and participants’ design sketches also worked as supplemental data to help answer the research questions.

There were a series of interesting findings that emerged from analyzing the quantitative and qualitative data. Several gaps were identified between students’ design behaviors and experts'. The findings of this study will help better understand the development of expertise in engineering design and lead to improvements in engineering education.

Checksum

4f29e8d6f8780b3f4d2b676001d38c18

Download

Share

COinS

Copyright for this work is retained by the student. If you have any questions regarding the inclusion of this work in the Digital Commons, please email us at .