Table 2 Informed design coding protocol
Informed design patterns | Data description |
|---|---|
Problem framing (understand the challenge) | Student spent time reviewing the criteria and constraints and specifically mentioned these elements in the student notes |
Doing background research (build knowledge) | Student tested design features early in the episode (i.e., designed a basic building to get a sense of its baseline performance) |
Idea fluency (generate ideas) | Student worked with a large variety of ideas (i.e., building height, width, roof characteristics, or location). Student was able to work with one idea element at a time (i.e., building height) or several elements at a time. |
Balance benefits and trade-offs through experimentation (weigh options and make decisions through conducting experiments) | Student made design moves (adjust building height, width, roof characteristics, location) and performed the solar path analysis to determine the performance associated with the move. Sometimes notes regarding the experimental nature of the move were explicit. Student ran the solar analysis in two different seasons, weighing design options based on performance in summer and winter and making a decision. Student might change these building characteristics based on the analysis or might explicitly mention the positives and negatives about their design within a particular season. |
Diagnostic troubleshooting (troubleshoot) | Student made a move to resolve a specific perceived issue in the design (e.g., ‘In the summer the building’s roof puts a shadow almost all the way to the bottom of the building making the sunlight on that area be very cold (dark blue color) while the other sides such as the back and etc. still received a substantial amount of heat…’) |
Managed and iterative designing (revise/iterate) | Student started with a good working solution but explored ways to make it better. This differs from fluency; in that, this is a micro-level improvement on a solution. Small revision or ‘tweak’ to one characteristic of a design that usually occurs later in an episode. Could be accompanied by reflection if other elements of the Informed Design Matrix are involved. |
Reflective design thinking (reflect on process) | Student made electronic notes in the system that are more than recordkeeping of values but show consideration for how their design efforts affect performance |