Collaboration as a dimension of design innovation

Abstract

This study of student teams learning to design in an engineering course highlights the role of collaborative interaction for understanding innovative design. A modelling approach was adopted to explore the arc of work and learning represented by the teams' final designs. The macro timescale process of design comprised mesoscale projects and microscale interactions and decisions. Social network analysis of student reflections on interactions and collaboration provided mesoscale summary statistics of team interactions at various time points along the design process. Teams viewed as having innovative initial design plans, who scored higher on microscale design skills of perspective-taking and who had higher team cohesion, tended to produce more innovative final designs. Implications for investigating and fostering collective and everyday creativity are discussed.

Keywords:

• Learning, Innovation
• Collaboration
• Design
• Engineering

Acknowledgements

This research was conducted as part of a dissertation study, and the author would like to acknowledge her committee and funders, including the University of Texas Continuing Fellowship, the University of Texas Graduate Fellowship, the Addison E. Lee Scholarship, and the NSF (grant # EEC-9876363). The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the various funding agencies. The author would also like to thank the reviewers whose comments strengthened this manuscript.