The impact of a prototype exemplar on design creativity: A case study in novice designers

Abstract

An investigation into the impact of the presence of a prototype exemplar in an introductory design experience is described. The design experience occurred early in an Introduction to Engineering course following a single lecture on the engineering design process. The design activity, necessarily simple at this stage, consisted of designing, building, and testing a drag racer, constructed from LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT parts and powered by a single rubber band. Students participating in the design experience were divided into two functional groups: laboratory sections where a prototype exemplar was present and laboratory sections were no example was provided. Assessment of the prototype exemplar impact was accomplished through a two-pronged approach. First, photographs of each racer were taken at multiple stages in the design experience and analyzed by the faculty, and second, a twelve-statement survey was given to all students. In addition to assigning numerical values (on a scale from 1 to 6) for their responses to the survey statements, students were asked to respond with short, written statements. A similar rating of survey statements such as: "I am familiar with the engineering design process" (average values of 3.67 and 3.89) and "My partner came up with many ideas on how to build the racer" (average values of 4.78 and 4.60) suggests that the two groups had similar backgrounds about the engineering design process and that internal group interaction were similar, respectively. Stronger agreement was found in the control group for the statements: "Looking at the other teams' racers improved our design" (average values of 3.86 and 3.07) and "Looking at other teams' racers decreased the need for original ideas" (average values of 3.71 and 2.33). It appears that in the control group - without an example, the prospect of an example had greater value than the exemplar group valued the actual example. © 2012 American Society for Engineering Education.