Pilot Study: Impact of Social Consciousness on Engineering Design Decision Making

One of the tasks of engineering design education is to ensure that students have a strong understanding of their customers and environments. They must understand the context of their decision-making and how it affects people in diverse communities. This requires students to see how a design may be biased toward or against a particular population and to develop sensitivity about issues of race, gender, religion, nationality, age, physical ability, and much more. Over the last two years, a team of faculty across disciplines as well as staff specializing in diversity, equity, and inclusion have developed a set of design exercises focused on social consciousness. These exercises are designed to be completed within a single lecture (50-75 minutes) facilitated by a pair of multidisciplinary instructors and provide insight into possible biases within the design process. This paper presents the development and implementation of the exercises, including detailed facilitator instructions and guidelines for educators. These exercises have gone through several iterations in a pilot study with engineering design classes and focus groups. The pilot study shows positive feedback indicating that these exercises help students understand their design environment and identify possible prejudices before they are an issue; they also help create a more globally aware student who is prepared for positive and engaged citizenship.