An evaluation framework for engineering design projects for gender bias, domain relatedness, and ambiguity: Development

Engineering design learning is one of the key components for an engineering degree; thus engineering design projects are commonly included in engineering curricula to help students cultivate design thinking and creative problem-solving skills. However, an engineering design project is prone to the following issues if it is not appropriately provided to engineering students. First, gender bias can occur when the design project is perceived to be more skewed to one gender in comparison to the other. Second, domain bias can occur when the discipline of the design project is not related to the chosen major and interest areas of a student. Third, ambiguity can arise from the lack of clarity on design objectives and the scope. These issues can lead to diminished engagement and self-efficacy for engineering students. In order to tackle these issues, this study performs a preliminary work to build a framework that appropriately assesses engineering design projects. The evaluation framework is based on a measurement system that helps educators to evaluate the appropriateness of the design projects through designated questionnaires. The framework for design projects proposed in this study would help engineering educators to better prepare and revise their design projects, so that the engineering design projects can improve student engagement and learning performance.