Understanding the Development of a Design Thinking Mindset During a Biomedical Engineering Third-Year Course

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Design Education
• Cognitive Psychology
• Innovation Studies

Background:

• Design thinking (DT) is a crucial skillset for innovation.
• Student progression from novice to expert design thinkers requires understanding growth constructs.
• Short-term and long-term design challenges offer distinct learning opportunities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and measure the growth constructs of design thinking (DT).
• To compare DT skill development over short-term (one weekend) and long-term (10 weeks) design challenges.
• To determine which DT constructs are sustained and which are influenced by situational factors.

Main Methods:

• A DT mindset questionnaire administered to undergraduate biomedical design students.
• Data collected at three time points: baseline, after a short design challenge, and after a long-term design challenge.
• Analysis of changes in 19 DT constructs across different learning durations.

Main Results:

• An initial improvement in 15 of 19 DT constructs was observed after a short design challenge.
• Six key constructs (mindfulness, risk-embracing, abductive thinking, envisioning, creative confidence, optimism) were sustained long-term.
• Three constructs (holistic views, diversity, curiosity) improved short-term but declined later, indicating situational influence.

Conclusions:

• Prolonged experiential learning sustains short-term gains in design thinking (DT).
• Situational factors such as team dynamics, instructor input, and time significantly influence specific DT constructs.
• Effective DT development requires both dedicated practice and consideration of contextual elements.