2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

With the increasing technological and tool-oriented focus of computer science education, cultivating human-centered thinking and empathy during system design has become a central challenge in engineering and design education. Recent studies have shown a notable decline in empathy among contemporary university students, particularly in technology-intensive disciplines such as medicine and engineering. Empathy is not only a key capability for understanding user needs and experiences but also a foundation for fostering innovation and social responsibility.

This study adopts the PCAR (Plan–Collect–Analyze–Reflect) diary study educational framework, integrating diary study with focus group discussion (FGD) to create a new pedagogical approach that supports the development of design empathy and reflective thinking among computer science students. The research was conducted at two universities in the United States and China, involving 63 undergraduate participants (50 from the U.S. and 13 from China). Using the latest revision of the Empathy in Design Scale (EMPA-D), we measured students’ empathy levels across three phases (before diary learning, after diary completion, and after focus group reflection). Results indicate that students in both countries demonstrated a consistent and sustained improvement in design empathy, suggesting the framework’s effectiveness across different educational and cultural contexts.

This research provides empirical and cross-cultural evidence for methodological innovation and design mindset cultivation in design education. It demonstrates the potential of the PCAR framework, combined with focus group reflection, to help students transition from technology-driven to human-centered design thinking. The findings offer meaningful implications for building design education models that balance technical proficiency, systems thinking, and human sensitivity in a globalized educational context.