Creating Analogies for Design Problem-Solving: Initial Evaluation of an Engineering Faculty Workshop

We conducted an initial evaluation of a professional development workshop for engineering faculty on the creation of analogies for addressing design problems, which are real-world problems with multiple potential solutions and a non-prescribed path to solution. The ability to create meaningful analogies is of central importance in engineering. A meaningful analogy connects the problem to be solved to a problem which has already been solved based on attributes such as function or purpose which are similar and key to both problems. In our in-person undergraduate engineering education workshop, we taught faculty a method and process for creating meaningful analogies for addressing design problems, a skill which they can then teach their own students. 16 engineering faculty engaged with activities to do with the creation and use of analogies for solving design problems. Initial evaluation of workshop was successful: participants created meaningfulness analogies and gave overall positive feedback on the workshop.