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Board 286: “Exploring Other People’s Mind, Exploring Your Own Mind” —A Story of Divergent Thinking from Mechanical Engineering Practice

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Tagged Topics

Diversity and NSF Grantees Poster Session

Page Count

11

DOI

10.18260/1-2--42775

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/42775

Download Count

193

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Paper Authors

biography

Laura R. Murphy University of Michigan

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Laura is a PhD Candidate in Design Science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her work investigates inclusive design processes, developing strategies for practicing engineers to more deeply account for diverse perspectives during design activities.

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Shanna R. Daly University of Michigan Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-4698-2973

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Shanna Daly is an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. She has a B.E. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Dayton and a Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Purdue University.

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Thanina Makhlouf

biography

Colleen M. Seifert University of Michigan

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Colleen M. Seifert is an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan. She received her Ph.D. in psychology at Yale University. She was an ASEE postdoctoral fellow at the University of California – San Diego

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Abstract

Divergent thinking is the process of exploring many options and perspectives and is a key part of effective and inclusive engineering outcomes. In engineering education, divergent exploration is often applied within idea generation; however, many other stages in engineering projects may benefit from divergent exploration, such as defining problems, identifying stakeholders, selecting problem solving approaches, and understanding potential implications of engineering decisions. Professional engineers often struggle to identify and manage diverse perspectives, and little is known about the practice of divergent exploration in engineering projects. To investigate, we interviewed a mechanical engineer about her exploration practices in a past professional project. From her striking examples of divergent thinking and barriers to its practice, we constructed a narrative-based educational tool for students, educators, and practitioners. The engineer’s first-hand experiences demonstrate that to think divergently, engineers must understand system constraints, explore widely, seek information from many sources, take risks, seek varied perspectives, and explore multiple methods to solve problems.

Murphy, L. R., & Daly, S. R., & Makhlouf, T., & Seifert, C. M. (2023, June), Board 286: “Exploring Other People’s Mind, Exploring Your Own Mind” —A Story of Divergent Thinking from Mechanical Engineering Practice Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42775

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