Evaluation of self-directed usage of parallel and iterative prototyping strategies by first-year engineering students

Prototyping is an important component of the engineering design process and has become a frequently studied topic in engineering education. The iterative strategy of creating prototypes, where a single design is refined with repeated improvements, is widely taught and considered to be the default approach to prototyping. However, research has shown that a parallel approach to prototyping, where multiple concepts are tested simultaneously, has potential benefits when exploring a complex design space. Recent studies on parallel prototyping in first-year engineering classrooms have shown that students required to use a parallel strategy produced higher performing final designs than students who used an iterative strategy. This work places the parallel and iterative prototyping strategies in a typical classroom setting where first-year engineering students have control over their strategy.