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Design Thinking in Online Spaces: How Students Develop Their Engineering Identities

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Engineering identity plays a key role in the educational experiences of undergraduates majoring in engineering fields. Design thinking pedagogy can enhance engineering identity. However, little is known about how design-thinking pedagogy influences engineering identity development within an online environment, and specifically how this looked during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how a design thinking-oriented engineering course delivered online supports undergraduate students’ engineering identity development during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers collected 63 observations, totaling approximately 79 hours of observation of an embedded systems engineering course. Findings revealed the importance of language and framing in shaping engineering identity in online learning spaces. In addition, online student-faculty interactions were seen as an area of growth. Finally, the study found that online spaces can complicate opportunities for engineering identity performance. This study has implications regarding intentionality and online learning. To enhance engineering identity, faculty and administrators should consider how they use language to frame their courses and create meaningful student-faculty interactions.

Source: International Journal of Education in Mathematics Science and Technology

DOI: 10.46328/ijemst.4312

Authors: Sarah L. Rodriguez, Erin Doran, Amy Updegraff, Justin Sabrowsky, Amanda R. Stevens

Institutions: Virginia Tech, The University of Texas at El Paso, Upper Iowa University, Appalachian State University, Tarleton State University

Language: English

Topic: Engineering Education and Pedagogy

Subfield: Architecture

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: diamond

OpenAlex ID: W4404225306

FWCI:

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