Characterizing Students' Micro-Iterations Strategies through Data-Logged Design Actions

There has been a drive to incorporate design into K-12 programs in the form of engineering design projects. This presents a unique opportunity to study design cognition from a population that likely has minimal exposure to design. In this study we employ a method of utilizing finegrained computer logs to capture students’ design actions to better understand their design cognition in regards to iteration, which is an understudied but critical component of design. Twenty-seven 9 grade students from an urban high school in New England participated in the Solarize Your Home design project where they used Energy3D, a computer aided design platform, to build their home and design several solar array systems for it. Students’ computer logs were analyzed for micro-iteration patterns and it was found that 41% of the students engaged in some micro-iterations. These patterns were condensed into four different types: solar panel system capacity testing, solar panel location analysis, solar simulations with panel placements and investigating the suns path across seasons. The paper presents a series of alternative hypotheses and discussion on what these micro-iterations may represent cognitively. Finally the paper concludes on what computer-logged data may be able to assist with on the topic of design learning in K-12.