Characterizing capstone design teaching: A functional taxonomy

• Published in: Journal of engineering education (Washington, D.C.) Vol. 108; no. 2; pp. 197 - 219
• Main Authors: Pembridge, James J., Paretti, Marie C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.04.2019; Wiley Periodicals, Inc; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Capstone Experiences; Career Development; Career preparation; Coaching (Performance); Coding; Course Content; Design; Design engineering; Education Work Relationship; Engineering Education; instructional methods; Learning; National Surveys; Pedagogy; Qualitative analysis; Role Models; senior (capstone) design; State Surveys; Student Development; Students; Taxonomy; Teaching Methods; Teaching Skills; University faculty; workplace preparation
• ISSN: 1069-4730; 2168-9830
• DOI: 10.1002/jee.20259

Background Capstone design courses represent a critical juncture in students' development at the transition from school to work. However, few studies have systematically explored teaching in this context, leaving a significant gap in our ability to concretely describe faculty practices in ways that support subsequent explorations of the relationships between teaching practices and learning outcomes. Purpose/Hypothesis The aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive description of the pedagogical practices used by capstone design faculty from a functional perspective and provide researchers with a framework for subsequent work. Design/Method This study used qualitative methods to analyze interviews with 42 capstone faculty; the participants represent a stratified purposeful sample of respondents to a national survey. Analysis focused on descriptive coding, beginning with a priori codes, to define broad functions, supplemented with emergent coding to identify concrete practices used in the capstone context. Results The study resulted in a model of capstone design teaching that includes nine functions (challenge, protect, coach, promote employability, provide exposure, provide role models, accept and confirm, counsel, and build rapport) and 28 associated practices. Conclusions Capstone faculty use a range of practices designed not only to coach students through the engineering design process but also to more broadly prepare students for workplace practice and build their identity as engineering professionals.