Conference Agenda

Understanding the cognitive processes that support designing is essential for fostering effective decision-making and creativity in design education. This study presents a novel approach to quantitatively characterize and measure framing and reframing (F-RF) behaviors during design problem-solving.

F-RF is an essential cognitive process in problem-solving, influencing how problems and solutions are viewed. A frame, shaped by the problem-solver's knowledge, experience, and values, acts as a conceptual lens, affecting how information is interpreted and decisions are made. In design, framing plays a critical role by identifying and defining constraints, goals, and potential solutions, guiding designers in how they perceive and approach their tasks. Effective framing allows for the strategic redefinition of problems, fostering the exploration of ideas.

Quantitative measurement methods for F-RF are underexplored. This approach presented here uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques to analyze F-RF behaviors during design tasks. By employing verbal protocols, this methodology provides an objective means to track and assess designers’ F-RF behavior through their relative semantic distances.

A case study involved a controlled experiment with five independent undergraduate students, tasked with designing a small museum. During a 55-minute design session, they verbalized their thoughts, which were recorded for analysis.

The results demonstrated that the data-driven NLP approach effectively characterized and tracked F-RF behaviors throughout the design process. It facilitated identifying and measuring F-RF occurrences in students' verbal protocols. This approach also enabled the quantification of semantic distance values associated with design F-RF, revealing insights into the students' designing behavior. The design sessions had Designing and Finalizing phases. No significant differences were found in the number of frames generated during these phases. However, the semantic distance value of F-RF was higher in the Finalizing phase. The analysis revealed different patterns, with cyclical phases of high-semantic F-RF value – associated with an increase in divergent thinking– alternating with low-semantic F-RF– associated with convergent thinking. Unlike traditional models, which suggest initial divergence at the early stages of the process, followed by a final stage of convergence, this study revealed a more dynamic F-RF process involving a cyclical interplay of expansion of the design space.

The study supports innovative assessment methods in design education, emphasizing the importance of understanding framing-related cognitive processes to foster effective design practices. The proposed NLP approach advances design research and enables new assessment strategies for design education, which may be used to enhance student performance.

By tracking F-RF activity using NLP, educators gain deeper insights into students' design behaviors. Reflecting on these cognitive processes promotes the development of problem-framing skills, which are associated with high-quality creative design outcomes. Integrating this methodology in design studios can strengthen students' framing skills, improving their outcomes and preparing them for complex real-world design challenges. Additionally, it can address the need for assessment methods in multidisciplinary team-based design projects that emphasize collaborative design and framing.

Additionally, developing automated feedback systems based on this methodology could provide timely relevant insights for educators and students. Such systems would increase students' awareness of framing behaviors, supporting their learning experience.

The possibility of automatic evaluation in online exams offers the advantage of automatic evaluation compared to paper-based exams with manual assessment. Nevertheless, teachers and students have major concerns about digital exams e.g. automatic evaluable question types are easier for students, because they can guess or recognize the answer without knowing it. To analyse these concerns for Engineering Design Education this paper investigates to what extent can be found differences in the results between digital and paper-based examination formats when assessing the same learning outcomes. For three courses, the analysed data contains one data set of a paper-based examination with mostly open questions and rather big complex tasks one data set with results from several small automatic evaluable tasks for the same learning outcome per course. Based on the analysis, the paper discusses provides recommendations for automatic evaluable exam tasks in Engineering Design Education.

Dyslexia, prevalent among students in art and design in higher education in the UK, is considered a learning disorder. As such, its treatment in educational environments is commonly reduced to mitigating the student difficulties derived from dyslexia rather than leveraging the strengths of dyslexic students in key skills for product design. Studies suggest that dyslexic students in art and design might represent around 30% of the student population, as opposed to estimations ranging from 3% to 17% in the general population.

This research aims to rethink dyslexia in higher education product design courses, focusing on its power rather than treating it as a problem for students. It is well-known that people with dyslexia have key skills in product design, such as visualising, imagining, communicating, reasoning, connecting, or exploring. Primary and secondary sources were consulted to rethink how dyslexic students are taught and assessed in a product design course at the University of Brighton.

Interviews with two dyslexic Product Design students revealed their strengths, such as hands-on skills, creativity, and visual thinking, as well as their challenges, such as difficulties with processing large amounts of information, reading dense text, and essay-based assessments. Secondary sources confirmed these strengths and challenges, highlighting how dyslexia provides advantages like visual and spatial reasoning, holistic thinking, and creative problem-solving, which align well with the knowledge and skills required in Product Design.

A 12-week dyslexia-friendly Product Design module was developed using the Double Diamond methodology. This module is structured into six two-week stages and includes hands-on activities and flexible formative assessment formats. The syllabus is visually structured to match the strengths of dyslexic students. Course materials are provided in traditional text, visual, and multimedia formats. Flexible assessment formats allow students to choose between traditional (text-based), visual (poster-like), or multimedia (audio or video) submissions, enabling students to communicate their learning through their preferred modality. Regular formative feedback supports time management and working memory issues, with feedback sessions that can be recorded for later review.

The inclusion of these flexible formats, concise project briefs, and accessible teaching materials is expected to match the strengths of dyslexic students and offer neurotypical students a wider set of assessment paths. This diversified array of assessments supports student engagement and confidence, helping dyslexic students become aware of their strengths and creating an inclusive learning environment for all.

This research highlights the need to extend the focus from accommodating the challenges of dyslexia to actively matching its strengths. Flexible assessment formats, accessible materials, and practical projects foster a positive learning experience for all students. Future work will focus on implementing the proposed module, its impact on neurodivergent profiles, and the potential for integrating AI tools to enhance accessibility and inclusivity in design education.

Engineering and design courses are often rooted in strong professional practices. Recent graduates often express a gap between the educational content of their degree courses and professional practices. The competency-based approach enables educational professional to fill this gap. Thus, the question we are asking in this paper is the following: if the competency-based approach is introduced into an engineering school in a structured way, how do the various stakeholders react to and take ownership of this new teaching method? To answer this question, we will use two types of data collected as part of the creation of a ‘Bachelor of Science and Technology - Sustainable Design’ programme. The first set of data comes from a questionnaire distributed among the stakeholders of an engineering school. The aim of this questionnaire is to gain a better understanding of their understanding of the competency-based approach and the means they are using to implement it. The second set of data was obtained from a recording of a competency-based approach training course for the same stakeholders. This second set of data enables us to understand the reaction of stakeholders to the technical issues involved in implementing the competency-based approach within a training course and an institution. This paper shows how the competency-based approach enables stakeholders of a training programme to improve their pedagogical activities.

Within the framework of the "Product Family Design" course in the third year of design studies, a company associated with the university-industry linkage program (Education Partner) Ronal Group Mexico, presented the challenge of designing a new wheel rim design specifically for the Mexican market. The company's goal was to create rims with a unique identity, ensuring that these designs were both manufacturable and competitive with European products. To address this challenge, a methodology integrating theory and practice was structured, merging academic content with client needs for contemporary markets within a higher education institution. This approach allowed students to work closely with the industry in an applied and collaborative learning environment. The design process culminated in the creation of manufacturable 2D and 3D proposals using advanced AI and traditional design tools, from which two designs were selected for production in the Mexican market. This outcome highlighted the students' ability, under proper management and support, to meet both industry requirements and course objectives. The combination of design methodologies, interpersonal skills (soft skills), and the interdisciplinary approach between academia and industry were key factors in the project's success, fostering educational innovation. The project demonstrated that effective university-industry linkage (UIL) management is possible within an academic setting, ensuring adequate interdisciplinary synergy between teaching experience, industry needs, and student motivation (. This establishes a successful pathway for educational innovation, process analysis to propose sustainable alternatives, and the development of competitive products. As a result, a flexible and applicable methodology is presented, aiming for outcomes that transform academic experience.