Is this project an undergraduate, graduate, or faculty project?
Graduate
Project Type
individual
Campus
Daytona Beach
Authors' Class Standing
Mikayla Dutkiewicz, Graduate Student
Lead Presenter's Name
Mikayla Dutkiewicz
Lead Presenter's College
DB College of Arts and Sciences
Faculty Mentor Name
Bryan Watson
Abstract
This study seeks to explore whether exposure to biologically inspired design can enhance the quality of undergraduate student engineering design solutions, with a specific focus on requirement fulfillment. Motivated by a gap in the literature regarding the direct impact of biologically inspired design on student outcomes, this research aims to address the lack of empirical evidence on the effectiveness of biologically inspired design as a pedagogical tool. While existing literature extensively explores the "how" of biologically inspired design implementation, such as frameworks and methodologies, there is limited understanding of its tangible effects on design quality for novice designers (students). This study fills this gap by investigating whether biologically inspired design principles lead to more innovative and effective solutions, enhancing creativity, sustainability, and problem-solving skills. Using a two-condition experimental design, participants were exposed to either a biologically inspired design intervention or a control video before completing a design challenge. The results revealed mixed findings: while early integration of biologically inspired design correlated with better alignment to design requirements, the presence of biologically inspired design elements in solutions was negatively associated with rubric scores and the use of biologically inspired design priming did not correlate with design performance. Ultimately, this research contributes to the growing body of knowledge on biologically inspired design in engineering education, emphasizing its potential to improve student design while identifying key areas for further study and improvement.
Did this research project receive funding support (Spark, SURF, Research Abroad, Student Internal Grants, Collaborative, Climbing, or Ignite Grants) from the Office of Undergraduate Research?
Yes, SURF
Enhancing the Quality of Biologically Inspired Solutions in a Classroom Design Task
This study seeks to explore whether exposure to biologically inspired design can enhance the quality of undergraduate student engineering design solutions, with a specific focus on requirement fulfillment. Motivated by a gap in the literature regarding the direct impact of biologically inspired design on student outcomes, this research aims to address the lack of empirical evidence on the effectiveness of biologically inspired design as a pedagogical tool. While existing literature extensively explores the "how" of biologically inspired design implementation, such as frameworks and methodologies, there is limited understanding of its tangible effects on design quality for novice designers (students). This study fills this gap by investigating whether biologically inspired design principles lead to more innovative and effective solutions, enhancing creativity, sustainability, and problem-solving skills. Using a two-condition experimental design, participants were exposed to either a biologically inspired design intervention or a control video before completing a design challenge. The results revealed mixed findings: while early integration of biologically inspired design correlated with better alignment to design requirements, the presence of biologically inspired design elements in solutions was negatively associated with rubric scores and the use of biologically inspired design priming did not correlate with design performance. Ultimately, this research contributes to the growing body of knowledge on biologically inspired design in engineering education, emphasizing its potential to improve student design while identifying key areas for further study and improvement.