2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Research in the Formation of Engineers: Prompting Socially Engaged Divergent Thinking in Engineering Design by Leveraging Generative AI

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session II

With appropriate scaffolding and prompt engineering, Generative AI has the potential to support engineering students to think comprehensively about stakeholders and society. In this paper, we present an initial toolkit and pedagogical suggestions for leveraging AI in engineering design across four design activities: (1) identifying stakeholders; (2) generating interview questions; (3) discovering solutions; and (4) assessing impacts. We first recommend that students generate ideas, such as potential stakeholders or solutions, without using Generative AI. Once students exhaust their immediate knowledge, instructors then introduce Generative AI and prompt queries for students to generate a diverse range of additional ideas. Lastly, instructors prompt students to filter unapplicable suggestions by using their engineering judgment. Building upon these suggestions, our funded project will leverage data gathered from students and design instructors to assess the strengths, limitations, and negative consequences of employing Generative AI in design pedagogy.

Authors

Dr. Justin L Hess http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1210-9535 Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE) [biography]

Dr. Justin L Hess is an associate professor in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University. Dr. Hess received his PhD in engineering education and his BS/MS in Civil Engineering, all from Purdue University. Dr. Hess's research interests include understanding how empathy manifests in engineering and engineering education; advancing the state of the art of engineering ethics education; and promoting engineers' empathic and ethical formation.
Dr. Robert P. Loweth http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6337-2889 The University of North Carolina at Charlotte [biography]

Robert P. Loweth (he/him) is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Office of Student Development and Success at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His research explores how engineering students and practitioners approach early-stage engineering design activities such as problem definition, idea generation, and impact assessment. He also examines how engineering educational systems, ranging from classroom-level pedagogical practices to societal-level cultural norms, impact engineering students’ academic success and professional development. The goals of his research are 1) to develop tools and pedagogies that support engineers in achieving the positive societal changes that they envision and 2) to advance curricular and institutional structures that support the success of diverse engineering students. He earned his B.S. in Engineering Sciences from Yale University, with a double major in East Asian Studies, and earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan. He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Chinese and American Studies, jointly awarded by Johns Hopkins University and Nanjing University in China.
Udeme Idem http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2339-050X Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE) [biography]

Udeme Idem is a PhD student and graduate research assistant at the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University, West Lafayette. She received her B. Eng from Federal University Oye-Ekiti in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. She has 13 years of industry experience as a Reliability Engineer (Electrical) in the manufacturing Industry. Her research interests involve advancing ethics, empathy, and policies in engineering education, specifically related to women in engineering, minoritized and underrepresented groups, and strategies to enhance their interest in engineering.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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