Design for transfer of design thinking development in undergraduate bioengineering students

Whereas design thinking (DT) constitutes a foundational competency in undergraduate engineering, many students fail to apply it. This study used a theoretical framework of students’ role identity and motivation to investigate students’ transfer of DT across tasks. Students engaged in weekly reflections on work product created during a Biodesign course, and purposely selected students were interviewed at the end of the course and again following the capstone course. Evaluation of the capstone data indicated minimal DT transfer. The analysis indicated that students struggled with learning and applying DT in their Biodesign projects. Students’ Biodesign role identities involved an orientation to the ‘right’ solution, focus on grades, and lack of agency over their prototypes. The findings point to the need for early hands-on experiences with DT that encourage student agency and ownership over projects to promote development and internalization of this important competency into their emerging engineering role identity.