Incubating engineers, hatching design thinkers: Mechanical engineering students learning design through Ambidextrous Ways of Thinking

Abstract

Design Thinking and Engineering Thinking are complimentary yet distinct aspects of mechanical engineering design activities. This paper examines these distinctions in the context of mechanical engineering students designing in a project-based learning course at Stanford University. By qualitatively analyzing and plotting student teams' prototyping activities, the students' work patterns can generally be assessed along a framework of Ambidextrous Ways of Thinking. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2010.