Student Perceptions of Design Projects that Involve Developing Assistive Devices for Elementary School Children with Disabilities

Matthew T. Siniawski; Victoria Louise Graf; Shawna Leigh Draxton

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Conference: 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Publication Date: June 15, 2014
Start Date: June 15, 2014
End Date: June 18, 2014
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Impact of Community Engagement on Students
Tagged Division: Community Engagement Division
Page Count: 11
Page Numbers: 24.1119.1 - 24.1119.11
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--23052
Permanent URL: https://sftp.asee.org/23052
Download Count: 710

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Paper Authors

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Matthew T. Siniawski Loyola Marymount University

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Dr. Matthew T. Siniawski is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA. He teaches the senior capstone design project courses and has recently begun mentoring students on the design of assistive devices for children with disabilities. One of his research interests lies in understanding how these Learning Through Service projects impact participating engineering students and community partners. He is also interested in researching classroom-based pedagogies of engagement and developing a standards-based grading system for engineering project courses.

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Victoria Louise Graf

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Shawna Leigh Draxton WISH Charter

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Shawna Draxton is the founding principal of WISH Charter, a kindergarten through sixth grade elementary school that demonstrates best practices in the areas of collaboration and co-teaching, inclusive education, parent partnerships, differentiated instruction, and positive behavior support. Prior to serving the WISH community, Shawna taught at CHIME charter elementary and worked in a variety of capacities for the LAUSD.

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Abstract

Student Reflections on Undergraduate Engineering Capstone Design Projects That Involve Developing Assistive Devices to Promote Inclusion for Elementary School Children with DisabilitiesAbstractOne of the major goals of the engineering profession is to improve the human condition. It istherefore important for engineering educators to introduce the idea of public service so thatstudents can recognize the potential impact their profession can have on society. One uniqueapproach to engaging engineering students in service-based learning involves the design anddevelopment of assistive devices for persons with disabilities. Some previous papers specificallydiscuss incorporating design projects involving assistive devices into capstone design courses,but no literature exists that provides a clear understanding of how engineering undergraduatestudents participating in such projects perceive the opportunity as a means to learn engineeringskills. This project begins to fill this major gap in the literature.Teams of undergraduate mechanical engineering students at an ABET accredited small privateuniversity in the southwest were tasked to develop assistive devices during their yearlong 2012-2013 capstone design course sequence. For these projects, the student teams partnered with anationally recognized local free independent charter elementary school that is dedicated toproviding an inclusive educational environment for all children. In a full inclusion setting,students with special needs are educated alongside students without special needs as the first anddesired option while maintaining appropriate support and services. A growing body of researchindicates that inclusive education is an effective practice for most students. For example, it iswell documented that inclusive education can yield positive outcomes for all of those involved,including the focus students, typical peers, classroom teachers, and the school community atlarge.The engineering student teams were required to submit their designs to the 2013 RESNA StudentDesign Competition, an annual competition sponsored by Rehabilitation Engineering andAssistive Technology Society of North America. This paper will provide a discussion of thedesign projects and a qualitative assessment of how engineering undergraduate studentsparticipating in such projects perceive the opportunity as a means to learn engineering skills. Inparticular, this paper will utilize an open-coding approach to identify emergent categories inpost-intervention student responses to questions regarding student learning and development asprofessionals and as members of society in general.

Citation
Format

Siniawski, M. T., & Graf, V. L., & Draxton, S. L. (2014, June), Student Perceptions of Design Projects that Involve Developing Assistive Devices for Elementary School Children with Disabilities Paper presented at 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana. 10.18260/1-2--23052

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -            Student Reflections on Undergraduate Engineering Capstone           Design Projects That Involve Developing Assistive Devices to             Promote Inclusion for Elementary School Children with                                   DisabilitiesAbstractOne of the major goals of the engineering profession is to improve the human condition. It istherefore important for engineering educators to introduce the idea of public service so thatstudents can recognize the potential impact their profession can have on society. One uniqueapproach to engaging engineering students in service-based learning involves the design anddevelopment of assistive devices for persons with disabilities. Some previous papers specificallydiscuss incorporating design projects involving assistive devices into capstone design courses,but no literature exists that provides a clear understanding of how engineering undergraduatestudents participating in such projects perceive the opportunity as a means to learn engineeringskills. This project begins to fill this major gap in the literature.Teams of undergraduate mechanical engineering students at an ABET accredited small privateuniversity in the southwest were tasked to develop assistive devices during their yearlong 2012-2013 capstone design course sequence. For these projects, the student teams partnered with anationally recognized local free independent charter elementary school that is dedicated toproviding an inclusive educational environment for all children. In a full inclusion setting,students with special needs are educated alongside students without special needs as the first anddesired option while maintaining appropriate support and services. A growing body of researchindicates that inclusive education is an effective practice for most students. For example, it iswell documented that inclusive education can yield positive outcomes for all of those involved,including the focus students, typical peers, classroom teachers, and the school community atlarge.The engineering student teams were required to submit their designs to the 2013 RESNA StudentDesign Competition, an annual competition sponsored by Rehabilitation Engineering andAssistive Technology Society of North America. This paper will provide a discussion of thedesign projects and a qualitative assessment of how engineering undergraduate studentsparticipating in such projects perceive the opportunity as a means to learn engineering skills. Inparticular, this paper will utilize an open-coding approach to identify emergent categories inpost-intervention student responses to questions regarding student learning and development asprofessionals and as members of society in general.
AU  - Matthew T. Siniawski
AU  - Victoria Louise Graf
AU  - Shawna Leigh Draxton
CY  - Indianapolis, Indiana
DA  - 2014/06/15
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Student Perceptions of Design Projects that Involve Developing Assistive Devices for Elementary School Children with Disabilities
UR  - https://sftp.asee.org/23052
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--23052
ER  -