Diaz-Ramos, E. M., & Price, D., & Mendelson, L. (2025, April), Work in Progress: Design and Fabrication Decisions in Upper-Division Mechanical Design Courses: Student Survey Redesign and Implementation  Paper presented at 2025 ASEE PSW Conference, California Polytechnic University, California. 10.18260/1-2--55204

\bibitem{asee_peer_55204}
  Diaz-Ramos, E. M., \& Price, D., \& Mendelson, L. (2025, April), \emph{Work in Progress: Design and Fabrication Decisions in Upper-Division Mechanical Design Courses: Student Survey Redesign and Implementation}
  Paper presented at 2025 ASEE PSW Conference, California Polytechnic University, California.
  10.18260/1-2--55204

Ever Mauricio Diaz-Ramos, Drew Price, and Leah Mendelson.  "Work in Progress: Design and Fabrication Decisions in Upper-Division Mechanical Design Courses: Student Survey Redesign and Implementation".  2025 ASEE PSW Conference, California Polytechnic University, California, 2025, April.  ASEE Conferences, 2025.  https://peer.asee.org/55204 Internet.  20 Jul, 2025

\bibitem{asee_peer_55204}
  Ever Mauricio Diaz-Ramos, Drew Price, and Leah Mendelson.
  "Work in Progress: Design and Fabrication Decisions in Upper-Division Mechanical Design Courses: Student Survey Redesign and Implementation".
  \emph{2025 ASEE PSW Conference, California Polytechnic University, California, 2025, April}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2025.
  https://peer.asee.org/55204 Internet.  20 Jul, 2025

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_55204
author = "Ever Mauricio Diaz-Ramos, Drew Price, and Leah Mendelson"
title = "Work in Progress: Design and Fabrication Decisions in Upper-Division Mechanical Design Courses: Student Survey Redesign and Implementation"
booktitle = "2025 ASEE PSW Conference"
year = "2025"
month = "April"
address = "California Polytechnic University, California"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/55204}
number = {10.18260/1-2--55204}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This work-in-progress (WIP) poster investigates project-based learning in upper-division undergraduate mechanical design courses. Our work focuses on how students experience the engineering design process and how they make decisions about fabricating physical design artifacts in this context. In previous work, we conducted a pilot survey on students’ use of the design process and fabrication decision making during a team-based open-ended mechanical design project [1]. Initial pilot survey results suggested limited participation in both user-oriented design and analysis and indicated wide variation in the factors that influenced students’ fabrication decisions.

To gain further insights in this work, we have developed a two-phase survey, building upon the pilot study, to examine the influences behind design and fabrication decisions with greater clarity and context. The first phase of the survey investigates how students make these decisions, examining the importance they place on various aspects of the design and fabrication processes. The second phase includes short-response questions aimed at gathering context on these decisions and exploring the reasoning behind students' decisions. Both phases of the survey design are informed by an extensive review of curricula (e.g., students’ prior design, fabrication, and analysis experiences) and resources (e.g., machine shops and makerspaces) across a wide range of courses and institutions. This poster will present an overview of the key features of our survey instruments and protocols for students and the development of a complementary survey focused on faculty and staff.

[1] Mendelson, L. and Price, D. (2024), Work in Progress: The Roles of Design and Fabrication in Upper-Division Mechanical Design Courses  2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--48519
AU  - Ever Mauricio Diaz-Ramos
AU  - Drew Price
AU  - Leah Mendelson
CY  - California Polytechnic University, California
DA  - 2025/04/10
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Work in Progress: Design and Fabrication Decisions in Upper-Division Mechanical Design Courses: Student Survey Redesign and Implementation
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/55204
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--55204
ER  -