Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Education Sciences
Author ORCID Identifier
Dawn Bohn https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6283-2185
Lucas O’Bryan https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1365-1764
LuEttaMae Lawrence https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6066-5096
Mike Tissenbaum https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0356-5448
Volume
15
Issue
5
Publisher
MDPI AG
Publication Date
4-28-2025
Journal Article Version
Version of Record
First Page
1
Last Page
16
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Abstract
This study examines the integration of human-centered design (HCD) in a Food Science capstone course and explores its impact on students’ learning outcomes and skill development. This case study investigated how 42 undergraduate students engaged with HCD processes—including understanding, synthesizing, ideating, prototyping, and implementing—to develop innovative food products. Through pre- and post-surveys, interaction analysis, and performance assessments, the findings revealed that HCD activities significantly enhanced students’ knowledge, collaboration, creativity, and metacognitive skills. Additionally, students demonstrated improved food science competencies, such as product formulation and sensory evaluation. This study highlights the benefits of embedding HCD within STEM curricula to foster authentic, interdisciplinary learning experiences. The findings provide evidence-based recommendations for scaling HCD integration in applied STEM courses, emphasizing the need for structured scaffolds and iterative feedback to maximize learning outcomes.
Recommended Citation
Shehab, S., Bohn, D., O’Bryan, L., Lawrence, L., & Tissenbaum, M. (2025). Integrating Human-Centered Design into Undergraduate STEM Capstone Courses: A Food Product Development Case Study. Education Sciences, 15(5), 542. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15050542
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