WIP: Scaffolding the Design Process for Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering Students: Towards a Self-Regulated Design Learning

ABSTRACT

This is a work in progress. Biomedical engineering undergraduates use the design process to solve open-ended problems in studio-based courses, cornerstone design experiences, or senior capstones. Some professional skills that are acquired through these ABET accredited courses are the abilities to design a technology-based product or service, to address a real-world problem, and to communicate effectively. The forced transition to online education due to the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the fact that higher education students need more self-regulated learning (SRL) skills to engage in effective time management, prioritize their tasks, watch lectures, and complete assignments. Most literature concerning self-regulated learning has not acknowledged the underpinnings of how design pedagogy and the studio culture can play significant roles in achieving these important skills in engineering design. As in many other subdisciplines, the deployment of design education is often informed by folk pedagogy, rendering it limited in scope, non-replicable and difficult to transfer to other disciplines and areas. This article looks to explain some of the theoretical and practical underpinnings of Self-Regulated Learning Design and to describe techniques implemented in 2021 to scaffold the design learning process in our well-known Design Teams biomedical engineering course. We use a Design Based Research approach to describe some of the scaffolding techniques and to assess and propose possible improvements to these teaching practices. Future work will include thorough qualitative assessments of the experiences of past and current students as well as an expansion of the theoretical framework and literature involved. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.