| Design of experiments is an important aspect of engineering, yet little research has been done in the area. It is important to understand the experimental design process steps that students think important because designing experiments is a valuable skill to industry. In this work, freshman, junior and senior mechanical engineering and the IAB were surveyed to document their cognitive understanding of experimental design process steps. The results show that mechanical engineering students use less design process steps than the IAB members. This indicates a need to improve the understanding of experimental design for the students to be better prepared to enter industry. In addition, the students were given an open-ended engineering problem in their laboratory course. This problem required them to design, construct, and conduct an experiment to determine the relationships between factors that affect the forces on a wooden beam that supports the weight of a person. The student attitudes towards this experience were surveyed through Likert scale questions. The seniors were the only student group who were not frustrated with the open-ended engineering design problem. This indicates a need to introduce experimental design projects earlier in the engineering curriculum. |
