The purpose of this study is to develop instructional support tools to help instructors at engineering colleges plan and operate capstone design lectures based on design thinking process. To that end, this study develops a capstone design instructiona...
The purpose of this study is to develop instructional support tools to help instructors at engineering colleges plan and operate capstone design lectures based on design thinking process. To that end, this study develops a capstone design instructional model based on design thinking process, and instructional support tools to help instructors prepare and operate in accordance with the developed model.
This study used the design and development research method, and consists of the following steps. Firstly, the researcher developed a draft instructional model based on a literature review, and improved on the model based on expert review results to develop the final instructional model. Then, the primary instructional support tools in the printout format were developed based on the findings of an additional literature review and an analysis of instructors’ needs, followed by a review of the instructional support tools by experts and users. The secondary instructional support tools were developed in the website format based on the review results, and the aids were reviewed by users to identify possible improvements. Based on the identified improvements, the researcher improved on the instructional support tools to complete the final versions of the instructional support tools.
The instructional model used for the development of the instructional support tools consisted of the following stages: preparation, orientation, definition of problems, ideating, solution development, final presentation, and follow-up activities. This instructional model provides for stage-specific activities and guidelines, and the roles of instructors and industrial experts. The design thinking activities included in the model include: empathizing and describing problems (definition of problems); developing creative ideas (ideation); and prototype development and repeated tests by prototype users.
The developed instructional support tools provide guidance on stage-specific activities and supporting elements for each activity to facilitate instructors’ preparation and operation of lectures in accordance with the instructional model. The supporting elements included in the instructional support tools include detailed description of each activity, activity forms, checklists, materials for distribution to industrial experts, materials for distribution to learners, and additional explanatory materials. The tools include websites to help instructors identify the supporting elements for the required activities. The website menus consist of a user guide, a guide on the instructional model, a guide on class preparation, and a guide on class operation. In addition, the features of this tool are three types of capstone design classes(the in-depth learning type, the practical problem solving type, and the free problem solving type), a summary of the roles of instructors and industry experts at each stage, and detailed guidance of learners' self-directed team learning activities, summarized guide materials for beginner professors. And, a strategy to induce participation motivation and a strategy to prevent free riders were suggested to help instructors operate capstone design lectures.
This study holds significance in that it proposed specific procedures for Capstone Design lectures based on the design thinking process and developed instructional support tools that provide for the roles of instructors and industrial experts, forms required for lectures, distributed materials, and additional materials, to provide instructors at engineering colleges looking for ways to apply design thinking to capstone design lectures.