Students' Self-regulation in a Senior Capstone Design Context: A Comparison Between Mechanical and Biological Engineering Design Projects

摘要

Self-regulated learning (SRL), which is often called self-regulation, is a complex repository of knowledge and skills for planning, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and continually improving the learning process. Studies suggest that the recursive, dynamic, multidirectional, and complex nature of self-regulated learning always occur in a context. This study intent to learn about the influence of contexts on students' self-regulation during the Capstone design course by comparing the biological engineering (BE) and the mechanical & aerospace engineering (MAE) students' self-regulation activities. We recruited four senior student groups. They worked in four different Capstone design projects at a public university in the mountain west of the United States of America. Two groups were recruited from the BE department, and another two groups were recruited from the MAE department. Various qualitative and quantitative data was collected. The analyses were framed using Butler & Carrier's model of self-regulation in context and Dym & Little's prescriptive design process frameworks. Four engineering experts, two from each respective engineering discipline, were recruited to help code the design process. The interrater agreement yields an almost perfect agreement. Additionally, the data was also coded based on SRL constructs. Our findings suggest that all groups shared numerous similarities in regulating their activities throughout the design process and project management. Any dissimilarities found were due to the nature of the sub-discipline, problem, design, and team.