2006-86: INFORMED DESIGN AS A PRACTICAL PROBLEM SOLVING

APPROACH

Christopher Tomasi, Alfred State College

Christopher J. Tomasi is Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Technology at SUNY
Alfred State College of Technology. He has served on the leadership team of the New York State
Professional Development Collaborative since its inception in 2003.

Margaret Weeks,
Margaret "Peggie" Weeks is Project Director and Principal Investigator of the Advanced
Technological Education/NSF funded New York State Professional Development Collaborative.
She is Associate Director of the Center for Technological Literacy at Hofstra University.

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© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006

 Informed Design as a Practical Problem Solving Approach

Abstract

The informed design process was developed as an analytical road map for students to follow
when proceeding through an engineering design challenge. This practical problem solving
format affords students the ability to refine the constraints and parameters of a design challenge,
make the required design decisions and communicate their conclusions graphically via the
creation of working industrial drawings, construct working prototypes, perform computational
analysis, prepare laboratory reports, and present their conclusions.

In order for educators to provide the requisite skills and abilities that industry requires from
graduates of post-secondary engineering technology programs, students must develop the ability
to analyze and validate a myriad of considerations during the product design and development
phase of a design challenge. This should not be limited to interpreting design requirements and
customer specifications, but should also include exposure to applicable codes and standards,
intended and unintended modes of usage, hazards of human and non-human origin, ethical
concerns, and any internal or external influences that might impact the final product’s design.
This can all be accomplished by having students follow the principles of the informed design
cycle in conjunction with the expectation that students will use scientific and mathematical
principles to derive design challenge solutions.

The informed design process provides an excellent opportunity for students to develop time
management skills, conduct brainstorming sessions, and foster small group team based
dynamics. These skills are required not only of future engineering technologists, but of anyone
seeking employment in an ever-changing global community.

Introduction

Design has long been a central theme in engineering and engineering technology curricula.
When asked, "what do engineers do?" the typical response is "they solve problems." In that
context, design plays a huge role. In recent years, ABET has emphasized the importance of
design1; and the engineering education community has risen to the challenge of finding creative
ways to incorporate design into its programs at all levels.

The incorporation of design into academic programs is not limited, however, to post-secondary
engineering and engineering technology. The International Technology Education Association
(ITEA), with publication of its landmark Standards for Technological Literacy (STL)2, is
encouraging the learning of design for all K-12 students. In fact, STL devotes an entire chapter
to "Design" that outlines standards for students to develop an understanding of the attributes of
design; of engineering design itself; and of the role of troubleshooting, research and
development, invention and innovation, and experimentation in problem solving. The technology
education community has, in turn, risen to the challenge of developing effective instructional
resources for design at the K-12 level. An impressive example of this is Burghardt and Hacker's
middle school textbook, Technology Education: Learning by Design3.
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Burghardt and Hacker utilize "The Informed Design Process," illustrated in Figure 1, to
introduce students to the engineer's familiar world of problem solving. They point out4 that most
K-12 classroom settings do not challenge students to solve open-ended problems and believe that
informed design provides a way to optimize the use of design as a pedagogical strategy.

Figure 1. Informed Design Loop.

New York State Professional Development Collaborative

Three years ago, the New York State Professional Development Collaborative (NYSPDC) was
established with funding from the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological
Education program. NYSPDC is working to improve collaborations among technology educators
at the secondary and post-secondary levels; and to provide contemporary, pedagogically sound
curricular workshops for teachers that will ultimately impact student learning of technology in
New York’s high schools.5 The original focus was on getting high school teachers to embrace the
concept of informed design, and to have them incorporate engineering problem solving in their
classrooms. Leadership teams, comprised of information and engineering technology college
faculty and high school technology teachers, were trained to deliver professional development
workshops for teachers throughout the state of New York. The curricular materials used in the
workshops had been developed under a previous NSF project, the New York State Curriculum
for Advanced Technological Education (NYSCATE).6

The participating high school teachers have, in fact, embraced informed design and are
incorporating more engineering problem solving in their classrooms. However, the college
faculty have also found the pedagogical strategies to be useful in their engineering and
information technology classrooms.
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Informed Design in Mechanical Engineering Technology

All too often, post-secondary engineering technology students struggle with intentionally vague
design problems. How often have you heard students lament over design criteria they must first
research, quantify, and justify in order to make value added decisions? It is the student’s ability
to apply critical thinking skills and decision-making processes in addition to effectively
communicating analytical results that will enable them not only to survive but also to flourish in
industry. The addition of the informed design problem solving methodology can assist faculty
and students in this endeavor.

Consider the informed design process as a problem solving road map for students. The practical
step-by-step approach of the informed design process affords students the ability to refine design
constraints and communicate their conclusions graphically, mathematically, and technically in a
laboratory report format. The informed design process reinforces Bloom’s cognitive learning
domain by assisting engineering technology students in identifying, analyzing, and defining the
data found in an engineering design challenge. Since many engineering technology students are
tactile-kinesthetic learners, the cognitive domain reinforcement that informed design affords can
be a welcome addition to an ET course.

In the Mechanical Engineering Technology curriculum at S.U.N.Y. Alfred State College of

Technology, the informed design process is used in both MECH 3224: Mechanical Design
Principles and MECH 4224: Mechanical Systems Design. These sophomore level courses cover
all aspects of a traditional machine design course using algebra, trigonometry, and basic statics to
solve mechanical design problems. By design, as students progress through the material
presented in both of these courses, they are required to make decisions based on their
interpretation of the design criteria.

These design decisions can range from determining the most advantageous material grade for the
machine's operating environment, to the selection of specific stock components that produce the
highest system output efficiencies. Students are also required to research what applicable
industrial codes would govern their design and then implement those design considerations into
the computational analysis. In a class of fifty students, this often results in a variety of different
designs and fosters a great deal of creativity and discussion as the students debate whose design
best meets the pre-determined design criteria for each assignment.

The informed design process is used in the following way for the aforementioned mechanical
design courses. Once the design challenge is assigned, students are to first read and digest the
entire assignment. This requires clarifying the specifications and constraints stated in the design
criteria. It is at this first step in the informed design process where the true value of this problem
solving methodology can be seen. Prior to using the informed design process, students would
immediately start their computational analyses without regard to what it was they were solving.
This often resulted in incomplete and/or incorrect analysis of the problem. However, the
informed design process reduces this possibility by first starting with analysis. Once
specifications and constraints have been researched and quantified, computational analysis can
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begin.
Using the informed design problem solving process allows students to submit multiple design
alternatives for possible solution to a particular design challenge. Having the students generate
several alternative designs and then submitting not only the alternative designs for approval but
communicating in writing which design they consider to be optimal, affords an additional layer
of cognitive knowledge and application assessment for the educator. It is also a powerful
learning tool in terms of getting students to think about future requests from industry clients.

The creation of a working prototype in a machine design course complements the tactile-
kinesthetic learning component. Students are required to develop a working prototype that
emulates their computational and graphical solution to the design challenge. Using LEGO
Engineering Educational Products, students eagerly await the opportunity to complete this step
of the informed design process as seen in the illustrations below.

At some point during the course of each semester and much to the chagrin of the students, an
intentional and previously unannounced revision is made to the design challenge. This revision
typically manifests itself in the form of a change in the design criteria or in the project scope.
The ability of engineering technologists to nimbly alter their designs offers yet another
opportunity to measure how well a student applies and comprehends the design criteria.
Although unpopular with the students, this act illustrates that it is indeed rare when the scope of a
design challenge is static. Exposing students to change in the academic environment facilitates
the necessary malleability that industry will expect of them.

Seniors in the Mechanical Engineering Technology curriculum are also using principles of the
informed design problem solving methodology to assist them in their Capstone Project. During
this two semester learning experience, students are continuously rendering and refining the scope
of their projects to align with their Gantt charts and budgets. During the 2004-2005 academic
year, a student named Chris Scott from Portville, New York used the informed design process in
an intriguing way. Chris wanted to design and develop an affordable prosthetic arm for people
without insurance. The informed design process served as his road map as he generated a host of
alternative designs. The first designs considered using pneumatics and hydraulics for speed and
strength. However, additional research illustrated these design options would not be practical
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from both fabrication and financial aspects. After further research, Chris decided on the use of
an ACME thread in a Lead Screw application. The drive system would be a surplus drill motor.
The control system would consist of three push button switches located in the sheath and
operated with his appendage. The photographs below illustrate the final prosthetic arm design.

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Adding the informed design problem solving process affords engineering technology students a
structured and easily followed “road map” through any design challenge assignment. As the
demand for skilled mechanical engineering designers and technologists knowledgeable in both
the theory and application continues to increase, industrial constituents will benefit from
graduates trained in the use of the informed design problem-solving format. This benefit will be
evident when it takes less time for entry-level designers and technologists to complete industrial
design challenges, and when the solutions to such design problems are robust and well
developed. When students enter industry, contact can be maintained to determine if this
methodology is currently and effectively being utilized in the workforce.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. ABET, Inc. Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Technology Programs. www.abet.org

2. International Technology Education Association, Standards for Technological Literacy, ITEA, 2000.
3. Burghardt, M. David, and Hacker, Michael, Technology Education: Learning by Design, Prentice Hall, 2004.
4. Burghardt, M. David, and Hacker, Michael, "Informed Design: A Contemporary Approach to Design
Pedagogy," The Technology Teacher, 64, 1, September 2004.
5. Martel, Donald, Waffle, Marty, and Weeks, Peggie, "Professional Development Collaborative Focuses on High
School/College Faculty Partnerships," Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education
Annual Conference and Exposition, ASEE, 2005.
6. Burghardt, M. David and Hacker, Michael, The New York State Curriculum for Advanced Technological
Education. www.nyscate.net, 2003.

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