DOI

10.5703/1288284317715

Document Type

Brief

Abstract

Design fixation is a distinct and established research topic at a post-secondary level which has shown that practitioners of engineering in any capacity (e.g., K-12 students, engineering students, college professors, or professional engineers) can experience fixation. Some research has shown that elementary and secondary students exhibit signs of design fixation while working on engineering design challenges (Luo, 2017; Mentzer et al., 2015). This research brief provides a definition of design fixation, describe fixation in the K-12 classroom, and suggest additional needed research.

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Jan 1st, 12:00 AM

Understanding Engineering Design Fixation for K-12 Education

Design fixation is a distinct and established research topic at a post-secondary level which has shown that practitioners of engineering in any capacity (e.g., K-12 students, engineering students, college professors, or professional engineers) can experience fixation. Some research has shown that elementary and secondary students exhibit signs of design fixation while working on engineering design challenges (Luo, 2017; Mentzer et al., 2015). This research brief provides a definition of design fixation, describe fixation in the K-12 classroom, and suggest additional needed research.