Higher Perceived Design Thinking Traits and Active Learning in Design Courses Motivate Engineering Students to Tackle Energy Sustainability in Their Careers

Abstract

Engineers play an important role in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations, which aim to provide a more sustainable environment for future generations. Through design thinking, creativity, and innovation, sustainable engineering solutions can be developed. Future engineers need to acquire skills in their engineering curriculum to feel equipped to address sustainable design challenges in their career. This paper focuses on the impact of perceived design thinking traits and active learning strategies in design courses to increase senior engineering students’ motivation to engage in energy sustainability in their career. A national survey was distributed to senior engineering students in the United States (n = 4364). The survey asked students about their motivation to engage in sustainable design, their perceived design thinking traits (i.e., integrative feedback, collaboration), and if they experienced active learning strategies in design courses (i.e., learning by doing). The results highlight that higher perceived design thinking ability increases senior engineering students’ interests in designing solutions related to energy sustainability. Active learning experiences positively influence senior engineering students’ interests in designing solutions related to energy sustainability. These findings show the importance of teaching design thinking in engineering courses to empower future engineers to address sustainable challenges through design and innovation.

The Implementation of Design Thinking in Education: Will It Serve the Purpose?

“…and 2) Is Design Thinking appropriate to all? The conclusions drawn from the studies of Hennessey & Mueller (2020), Hoople et al (2020), Kayembe & Nel (201), Léger et al (2020, Milovanovic et al (2021 Noh & Karim, (2021), Panke (2019), Polat & Bayram (2022) and Retna (2016) are consistent with this viewpoint. The implementation of Design Thinking is also said to be affected by the cultural view of the executor (Hoople et al, 2020).…”

“…Design Thinking is a notion that must be emphasized in education to cultivate a competitive generation in the 21st century. Since students must be prepared for occupations that have not yet been invented, for technologies that have not yet been developed, and to solve social issues that have not yet been anticipated, Milovanovic et al (2021) raised Design Thinking as an innovative approach to be incorporated in the school's environment. This should serve as an inspirational force for the successful implementation of Design Thinking in the context of teaching and learning.…”

“…Many studies for instance Hoople et al (2020), Prapulla et al (2022), and Tschimmel & Santos (2019) revealed that a person who can practice Design Thinking in their problemsolving expertly will have high adaptability and could survive the harsh competition of the 21 st century. Milovanovic et al (2021) proposed Design Thinking as a new approach to be integrated into the school's environment since it is unavoidable because students must be prepared for occupations that have not yet been created, for technologies that have not yet been invented, and to solve social issues that have not yet been anticipated. This remark by Milovanovic et al (2021) ought to serve as a powerful motivation for the execution of Design Thinking in the educational environment.…”

“…Milovanovic et al (2021) proposed Design Thinking as a new approach to be integrated into the school's environment since it is unavoidable because students must be prepared for occupations that have not yet been created, for technologies that have not yet been invented, and to solve social issues that have not yet been anticipated. This remark by Milovanovic et al (2021) ought to serve as a powerful motivation for the execution of Design Thinking in the educational environment. Therefore, in recent years, various educational institutes around the world have integrated Design Thinking into their curriculum.…”

Design thinking traits and cognitive passive resistance: mediating effect of linear thinking

“…Therefore, the analytical thinking required for engineering hinders the adoption of design thinking (Moore et al , 2016), as engineers approach design processes from different perspectives than those proposed by design thinking (Coleman et al , 2021). The engineering field needs to be more creative (Milovanovic et al , 2021), but engineering business cultures are still oriented towards linear processes for problem-solving (Eddington et al , 2020), with analytical thinking being the main driver of decisions (Ben Mahmoud-Jouini et al , 2019).…”