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Session 2045

Effect of Guided Research Experience on Product Design Performance: A Pilot Study

Gül E. Okudan 1 and Bonnie Osif2 School of Engineering Design and Professional Programs 1 Engineering Library2 The Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802

Abstract Teams are used in industry, not only to increase productivity in solving problems but also to form and sustain strategic capabilities through employee learning. To prepare students for similar problem solving responsibilities, and to foster engineering principles learning, a team-based teaching approach is used during the Introduction to Engineering Design (ED&G 100) course at The Pennsylvania State University. Throughout the course, four-student project teams work on two design projects over a 16-week semester. Design projects focus on product improvement or solution designs.

To date, several variables affecting the performance of design teams have been studied, such as team composition, female/male ratio in the organization, and teamwork skills training, to improve the performance of product designs. This study furthers this effort by investigating the effect of guided external research during the concept generation phase of the development process. The premise of the study is that as resources increase in number and complexity, and time constraints pressure an overcrowded curriculum, professors are challenged to find new methods to train students in the skills needed for the constantly changing workplace. A creative collaboration is one technique to address this issue.

This paper discusses this creative collaboration, and its impact on the design team performance. First, the approach for inclusion of guided research into curriculum is explained thoroughly, and then the results of the pilot study conducted in selected ED&G 100 course sections. Design team performance is measured using: 1) peer evaluations of the design demonstration (25%), and 2) a blind evaluation of the team’s design report (75%). Criteria for project performance include thoroughness of the project report, timeliness of the project report submission, compliance to project requirements, and utilization of engineering problem solving skills. Results indicate that indeed a higher design performance can be achieved when guided research is added to the design teaching.

1. Introduction

“Many engineers lack skills in accessing and retrieving information. Yet the ability to monitor,

Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society from Engineering Education 1

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Okudan Kremer, G. (2003, June), Effect Of Guided External Search On Product Design Performance: A Pilot Study Paper presented at 2003 Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--11976