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EPICS-Purdue Research Activities and Approaches

EPICS-Purdue Research Activities and Approaches. Carla B. Zoltowski EPICS Conference 2009. As educators…. How can educators help students develop understanding and skills needed for human-centered design?

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EPICS-Purdue Research Activities and Approaches

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  1. EPICS-Purdue Research Activities and Approaches Carla B. Zoltowski EPICS Conference 2009

  2. As educators…. How can educators help students develop understanding and skills needed for human-centered design? What experiences contribute most to students’ learning of human-centered design and development of understanding of the user?

  3. First need to map the space First educators need to map the space, i.e., understand the variations in the way that the students experience and understand Human-centered design Understand the user and the role of the user in design Incorporate the users’ needs into the product

  4. Research Questions What are the qualitatively different ways that students who design for “others” experience and understand human-centered design, understand the user and the role of the user in design, and incorporate the users’ needs into the products? Secondary: What are the attributes of service-learning courses that help students develop an understanding of human-centered design process?

  5. Methodology Phenomenography Qualitative method of research in which the object of research is the “variation in ways of experiencing phenomena.” (Marton and Booth) Roots in educational research in Sweden Qualitatively different ways in which learners experienced or understood a phenomenon were related to the qualitative differences in the outcome of that learning.

  6. Embodied understanding of practice Impact on skill development “When teaching is understood as knowledge transfer, efforts to improve tend to focus on the teachers’ presentation of content.” “When teaching is understood as facilitating learning, developing skill in monitoring and enhancing the learning that occurs is emphasized.” Dall’Alba & Sandberg, 2006

  7. Model for professional skill development Dall’Alba & Sandberg, 2006

  8. Phenomenographic Research Explore the range of meanings within a sample group Collective experience vs. individual experience Typically uses interviews Interviews considered within context of all of the other interviews No other evidence used in analysis except transcripts

  9. Llew Mann

  10. Outcome Space Example

  11. Participants Students over 18 who have participated in design experiences where they are “designing for others” EPICS Engineers Without Borders Engineers for World Health ME Senior Design Course ENE “User-centered Design Course” Broadly service-learning, but vary in degree that they reflect characteristics

  12. Participants Purposeful sampling for maximum variation Type of academic experience Number of semesters of experience Academic year Type of customer/client/user Student’s gender Student’s ethnicity Approximately 20 – 30 participants

  13. Interview Protocol Background questions Begins with same initial question that asks the students to describe an experience. Explore details and reasons why Concluding questions that asks them to describe, based on what we have discussed, what “human-centered design” means to them.

  14. Interview Protocol What experiences do you believe contributed the most to your understanding of design? What experiences do you believe contributed the most to your understanding of the user in your design experience?

  15. Analysis Read and re-read entire set of transcripts Sorted into initial categories Similarities and differences are described Categories refined through several iterations of process Analysis of the structural relationship begins

  16. Validity and Reliability Validity Requires being able to defend the results to the research community Tests the extent to which the results are seen as useful to the intended audience (Akerlind, 2005). Reliability Make interpretive steps clear to readers by fully detailing the steps, and presenting examples that illustrate them. (Guba, Sandberg, Kvale, Akerlind)

  17. Retention Benefits Service-Learning linked to retentionincreases Astin et al. correlated service-learning participation to retention increases Controlled for volunteering Consistent with Tinto’s theory of enhanced campus integration to promote persistence at the university Local Connections

  18. Retention Benefits EPICS participation in 1st and 2nd year enhances retention in engineering

  19. EPICS and Female Participation EPICS is aligned with the literature to increase participation among underrepresented populations EPICS at Purdue draws almost 2X women from ECE &ME Following up with interviews of women

  20. Questions?

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