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Spatial visualization is the ability to mentally manipulate, visualize, and transform objects in one’s mind. Numerous research studies have reported that spatial ability is strongly associated with predicting success and retention in STEM-related fields such as math, engineering, computer programming, and science. Spatial skills are a critical cognitive ability for many technical fields, particularly engineering. Studies have shown the importance of free-hand sketching in the development of 3-D spatial skills. Similarly, sketching is an integral skill in the engineering design process, especially in the idea-generation phase. However, little work has been performed examining the link between spatial skills and the quality of sketches produced during the engineering design process. There were two phases to data collection for this research. In the first phase, 127 undergraduate engineering students completed four spatial tests. In the second phase, 101 students returned to complete three design tasks. This paper examines the performance of the 17 low spatial and 13 high spatial visualizers on one of these tasks where individuals are asked to design ways for remote villagers to catch and use rainwater. Through analysis of the sketches produced by the students, initial insights indicate that there may be an association between the spatial skills of students and the quality of the sketches they produce for their engineering design solutions. These insights will be discussed relative to the potential influence of spatial skills and sketch quality on engineering education, specifically in developing design capability.
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Investigating Priming Effects of Sketch Evaluation Instructions on Idea Generation Productivity
Abstract Engineering design involves intensive visual-spatial reasoning, and engineers depend upon external representation to develop concepts during idea generation. Previous research has not explored how our visual representation skills influence our idea generation effectiveness. A designer’s deficit in sketching skills could create a need for increased focus on the task of visual representation reducing cognitive resources available for the task at hand — generating concept. Further, this effect could be compounded if designers believed that their sketching skill would be evaluated or judged by their peers. This evaluation apprehension could cause additional mental workload distracting from the production of idea generation. The goal of this study is to investigate and better understand the relationship between designers’ sketching skills and idea generation abilities. In this paper, we present preliminary results of the relationship between independent measures of sketching skill and idea generation ability from an entry-level engineering design and graphics course. During data collection, task instructions were given in two ways to independent groups: one group was instructed upfront that sketching would be evaluated, while the second group was kept blind to the sketch evaluation. In this paper, we also examine the potential priming effects of sketch quality evaluation apprehension on idea generation productivity. The results show that sketching quality and idea quantity are largely independent, and that the priming effects of sketch evaluation instructions are small to negligible on idea generation productivity.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2013612
- PAR ID:
- 10405702
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the ASME 2022 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference IDETC-CIE2022
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract BackgroundSketching exists in many disciplines and varies in how it is assessed, making it challenging to define fundamental sketching skills and the characteristics of a high‐quality sketch. For instructors to apply effective strategies for teaching and assessing engineering sketching, a clear summary of the constructs, metrics, and objectives for sketching assessment across engineering education and related disciplines is needed. PurposeThis systematic literature review explores sketching assessment definitions and approaches across engineering education research. Methodology/ApproachWe collected 671 papers from five major engineering and education databases at all skill levels for reported sketching constructs and metrics, cognition, and learning contexts. Based on the selection criteria, we eliminated all but 41 papers, on which we performed content analysis. Findings/ConclusionsEngineering, design, and art emerged as three major disciplines in the papers reviewed. We found that sketching assessment most often employs metrics on accuracy, perspective, line quality, annotations, and aesthetics. Most collected studies examined beginners in undergraduate engineering design sketching or drawing ability tests. Cognitive skills included perceiving the sketch subject, creatively sketching ideas, using metacognition to monitor the sketching process, and using sketching for communication. ImplicationsSketching assessment varies by engineering discipline and relies on many types of feedback and scoring metrics. Cognitive theory can inform instructional activities as a foundation for sketching skills. There is a need for robust evidence of high‐quality assessment practices in sketching instruction. Assessment experts can apply their knowledge toward improving sketching assessment development, implementation, and validation.more » « less
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Sketching is a valuable skill in engineering for representing information, developing design ideas, and communicating technical and abstract information. It is an important means of developing spatial abilities which are predictive of success in STEM fields. While existing spatial ability tests are predictive of engineering visualization skills, they do not allow students to develop drawing skills through spatial exercises. The Object Assembly Sketching test examines sketching skills with object assembly tasks using mental imagery and mental rotation. This study focuses on the development and pilot testing of a new sketching skills test using object assembly exercises. We piloted the test in two sections of an undergraduate mechanical engineering design course. Inter-rater reliability of two raters scoring students sketches on eight criteria was acceptable across exercises, but low across criteria. Students scored highest on Representation Accuracy, Scale, and Symmetry, and exhibited complex understanding of perspective sketching. We intend to revise the rubric to score for aesthetics and make instructions more precise.more » « less
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Sketching is a valuable skill in engineering for representing information, developing design ideas, and communicating technical and abstract information. It is an important means of developing spatial abilities which are predictive of success in STEM fields. While existing spatial ability tests are predictive of engineering visualization skills, they do not allow students to develop drawing skills through spatial exercises. The Object Assembly Sketching test examines sketching skills with object assembly tasks using mental imagery and mental rotation. This study focuses on the development and pilot testing of a new sketching skills test using object assembly exercises. We piloted the test in two sections of an undergraduate mechanical engineering design course. Inter-rater reliability of two raters scoring students sketches on eight criteria was acceptable across exercises, but low across criteria. Students scored highest on Representation Accuracy, Scale, and Symmetry, and exhibited complex understanding of perspective sketching. We intend to revise the rubric to score for aesthetics and make instructions more precise.more » « less
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Abstract Illusory correlation (IC) is a cognitive bias that appears when decisions are based on false perception of patterns from limited data and can prevent subjects from detecting present correlations. It appears in design or psychology studies as a secondary bias, but has not been studied in-depth in engineering design. This research examines the presence of IC during concept evaluation of the engineering design process and how current engineering design education may mitigate the appearance of IC. To examine IC, different products at four different sketch quality levels and render quality levels, from quick hand drawing to shaded product render, were presented to participants through a survey-based data collection instrument. The four sketch and/or render quality levels simulate the variety of presented drawings when a design engineer is evaluating colleagues’ concepts during group work. Participants, 70 undergraduate (novice) and 21 graduate (advanced) engineering students at a major southeast US institution, were asked to rank these products based on a series of function-based and preference-based attributes. The collected data were analyzed to see if sketch and/or render quality impacted participants’ ability to gage functionality of the presented products. Results indicated no statistically significant linear correlation between better rankings of products and the sketch and/or render quality level of the provided depictions for function-based questions; however, a non-linear relationship was present for preference-based questions where participants gave higher rankings to products drawn at intermediate quality levels. No statistically significant differences were found in the strength of correlations between rankings and sketch and/or render quality levels in the comparison of novice and advanced student designers, but advanced student designers’ perception of product functionality was more strongly correlated to pre-determined baseline answers based on user ratings of the selected products. This may indicate less vulnerability to IC bias with more design engineering education due to a stronger intuition for and understanding of product functionality based on visual inspection.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1115/detc2022-91313
