Student Goal Formulation in an Introductory Engineering Design Course through Systems Thinking Scenarios

Andrea Goncher-Sevilla; John Alexander Mendoza-Garcia; Mengyu Li

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Systems Thinking
Tagged Division: Systems Engineering Division (SYS)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/48011

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Paper Authors

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Andrea Goncher-Sevilla University of Florida orcid.org/0000-0002-1913-408X

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Andrea Goncher-Sevilla is an Instructional Assistant Professor in Engineering Education at the University of Florida. She earned her PhD in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech and focuses on teaching and learning projects in human centered design and humanitarian engineering.

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John Alexander Mendoza-Garcia University of Florida orcid.org/0000-0002-4943-6222

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John Mendoza Garcia is an Instructional Associate Professor at the Department of Engineering Education in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering at the University of Florida. He received his Ph.D. in Engineering Education at Purdue University, and he has a Master's and a Bachelor's in Systems and Computing Engineering from Universidad de Los Andes, in Colombia, and Universidad Nacional de Colombia respectively. He teaches and investigates the development of professional skills such as problem-solving, systems thinking, and design thinking. He worked in Industry before transitioning to academia.

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Mengyu Li University of Florida

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Mengyu Li is an Instructional Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) at the University of Florida (UF). She teaches numerous undergraduate and graduate level ISE courses, including: Supply Chain Management, Senio

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Abstract

One key process of Systems Design is goal formulation. It should be conducted with consideration of short- and long-term goals from both technical and contextual aspects. To be competitive in professional practice, engineering graduates should be able to engage in and complete such activities with a high level of competency. In our study, first year engineering students were asked to engage in a scenario-based task with goal formulation activities. Results from this study contribute to the development of effective teaching strategies to educate engineering students in their development of Systems Thinking Skills.

Study participants were tasked to complete a scenario-based assessment proposed by Grohs, et al. (2018) that focuses on systems thinking and problem-solving by responding to a scenario. The scenario prompts (Prompt 5 and 6) asked students to formulate goals for a specific issue. Data was collected electronically and analyzed using qualitative coding methods by applying the assessment tool rubric to evaluate students’ ability to identify both short-term and long-term goals from both technical and contextual aspects. We rated their answers on the expectations of a successful plan and a draft idea of it, which according to the authors, elicits students’ goal formulation skills.

Results show that when given design constraints (e.g., budget) and instructions (Prompt 6), more participants properly formulated their goals with consideration of short- and long-term plans from both technical and contextual aspects. However, the percentage dropped when the information was not provided, and the participants had to make reasonable assumptions (Prompt 5). The majority of the participants managed to formulate long-term goals.

The findings demonstrate that most engineering students recognize that systems change and evolve with time, therefore the importance of addressing the changing problems with short- and long-term goals. However, many of them need scaffolding to assist their goal formulation activities, such as design constraints and guidelines. Systems engineering educators might consider teaching contents that would train students to gather necessary information and build scaffolding on their own through the goal formulation activities.

Citation
Format

Goncher-Sevilla, A., & Mendoza-Garcia, J. A., & Li, M. (2024, June), Student Goal Formulation in an Introductory Engineering Design Course through Systems Thinking Scenarios Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/48011

TY - CPAPER
AB - One key process of Systems Design is goal formulation. It should be conducted with consideration of short- and long-term goals from both technical and contextual aspects. To be competitive in professional practice, engineering graduates should be able to engage in and complete such activities with a high level of competency. In our study, first year engineering students were asked to engage in a scenario-based task with goal formulation activities. Results from this study contribute to the development of effective teaching strategies to educate engineering students in their development of Systems Thinking Skills.

Study participants were tasked to complete a scenario-based assessment proposed by Grohs, et al. (2018) that focuses on systems thinking and problem-solving by responding to a scenario. The scenario prompts (Prompt 5 and 6) asked students to formulate goals for a specific issue. Data was collected electronically and analyzed using qualitative coding methods by applying the assessment tool rubric to evaluate students’ ability to identify both short-term and long-term goals from both technical and contextual aspects. We rated their answers on the expectations of a successful plan and a draft idea of it, which according to the authors, elicits students’ goal formulation skills.

Results show that when given design constraints (e.g., budget) and instructions (Prompt 6), more participants properly formulated their goals with consideration of short- and long-term plans from both technical and contextual aspects. However, the percentage dropped when the information was not provided, and the participants had to make reasonable assumptions (Prompt 5). The majority of the participants managed to formulate long-term goals.

The findings demonstrate that most engineering students recognize that systems change and evolve with time, therefore the importance of addressing the changing problems with short- and long-term goals. However, many of them need scaffolding to assist their goal formulation activities, such as design constraints and guidelines. Systems engineering educators might consider teaching contents that would train students to gather necessary information and build scaffolding on their own through the goal formulation activities.
AU - Andrea Goncher-Sevilla
AU - John Alexander Mendoza-Garcia
AU - Mengyu Li
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Student Goal Formulation in an Introductory Engineering Design Course through Systems Thinking Scenarios
UR - https://peer.asee.org/48011
ER -