Learning Equity in First-Year Engineering Design

Abstract

This research was facilitated in a required first-year design course during Fall 2019 and Winter 2020 quarters. The course focuses on user-centered design and requires students to collaborate with real-world project partners and users. Approximately 140 students participated in the study across nine control sections (5 in fall, 4 in winter) that retained the standard course design format or nine experimental sections (5 in fall, 4 in winter), which piloted intentional team role rotation as the curricular innovation. The team roles were (i) primary research, (ii) secondary research, (iii) training-building-testing, and (iv) project management and are described below.• Project Management Lead: Guides the team in setting priorities, goals, tasks and