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Human-Centered Design Incorporated in the Freshman Year through an Active Learning Engineering Design Lab: Best Practices, Lessons Learned, and Proposed Improvements

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Conference

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Salt Lake City, Utah

Publication Date

June 23, 2018

Start Date

June 23, 2018

End Date

July 27, 2018

Conference Session

Student Empathy and Human-Centered Design

Tagged Division

Design in Engineering Education

Page Count

12

DOI

10.18260/1-2--30588

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/30588

Download Count

409

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Paper Authors

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Kirsten Heikkinen Dodson Lipscomb University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-5626-4393

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Dr. Kirsten Dodson is an assistant professor in the mechanical engineering department in the Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering at Lipscomb University. She graduated from Lipscomb University with her Bachelors degree before moving on to Vanderbilt to finish her Doctoral degree. Upon completing her research at Vanderbilt, she joined the faculty at her alma mater where she has focused on thermal-fluids topics in teaching and humanitarian engineering applications in research.

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Joseph B, Tipton Jr. Lipscomb University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-1978-1076

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Dr. Joseph B. Tipton, Jr. is an associate professor and chair of mechanical engineering at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN. He enjoys teaching blended courses that span the curriculum with a focus on thermo-fluid systems. His primary research interest is the application of numerical methods to solve unique problems in the cooling of structures under high heat loads. For several years, this has focused on the design and simulation of thermofluid effects in the cooling of fusion reactor components.

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Mark Philip McDonald Lipscomb University

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Mark McDonald holds the BCE from Auburn University (2003, Summa Cum Laude and University Honors Scholar), the MSCE from the University of California, Berkeley (2004), and the Ph.D in Civil Engineering from Vanderbilt University (2008). As a researcher, he has published over 40 research papers in archival journals and in conference proceedings in the areas of probabilistic methods in engineering, design optimization, transportation engineering, structural engineering, and multidisciplinary analysis and optimization applications for civil systems with a focus on optimization of hydropower generation. As an educator he has taught a wide variety of courses in structural and transportation engineering and mentored numerous student projects, including the design of several pedestrian bridges and ASCE Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge teams. Dr. McDonald is an alumnus of the 2011 ASCE ExCEEd Teaching Workshop at the United States Military Academy and seeks to integrate active learning methods, hatchets, and chainsaws into his lectures whenever he can.

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Greg Nordstrom Lipscomb University

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Dr. Nordstrom holds a BSEE from Arizona State University, a Master of Science in ECE from the University of Tennessee, and a Ph.D. in ECE from Vanderbilt University. He joined the Lipscomb faculty in 2006, doing robotics research and teaching classes across the ECE curriculum. Previously he has held faculty positions at Vanderbilt University and the United States Air Force Academy.

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A. Fort Gwinn Lipscomb University

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Dr Fort Gwinn is associate dean of the Raymond B Jones College of Engineering at Lipscomb University and also teaches Mechanical Engineering courses in machine design, vibrations, and finite element analysis. Prior to coming to Lipscomb University in 1999, he spent 22 years in the automotive and aerospace testing industry where he gained valuable insights in engineering design and analysis.

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Abstract

Engineering and design have been given new broader definitions in recent years to include terms such as client-centered, sustainability, and global from organizations like ABET and ASME [1-2]. Additionally, engineering companies seek more than just a high GPA, but rather interpersonal skills and real-world project experience. Engineering faculty at Lipscomb University recognize the present and coming changes in the field and are seeking ways to improve the curriculum to address these changes. In 2017, the faculty initiated the redesign of the freshman Introduction to Engineering lab course to include key elements of human-centered design throughout an engineering design process experience. One of the unique aspects of the redesigned course is the utilization of partnerships with the Peugeot Center and Engineering for Change to ensure these key elements were implemented properly and sufficiently supported. The long-term goal of this research is to produce a freshman engineering course for Lipscomb University that effectively prepares students for an engineering career through exposure to humanitarian projects with the aid of these partnering organizations. This redesigned course may also serve as an example for other universities that wish to introduce human-centered design and service-learning projects for improved student outcomes with respect to ABET standards. In this paper, best practices and lessons learned are presented from the first iteration of the redesigned course from fall 2017 as well as proposed improvements for the second iteration of the course for fall 2018. Preliminary data and observations from the first iteration of the course are utilized to improve for the second iteration. Highlights from the first iteration include student interactions with clients as well as an understanding of how engineering translates to improving the lives of others. Areas of improvement will involve integrating the lecture period with the lab and providing opportunities for student exposure to disciplines outside their own lab section.

Dodson, K. H., & Tipton, J. B., & McDonald, M. P., & Nordstrom, G., & Gwinn, A. F. (2018, June), Human-Centered Design Incorporated in the Freshman Year through an Active Learning Engineering Design Lab: Best Practices, Lessons Learned, and Proposed Improvements Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--30588

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