Poster R3 - Teaching Structured Engineering Problem Statements to Promote Equity and Empathy

Introduction: Engineering problem statements are integral components of design processes, but they can vary greatly in style and function. Structurally, they range from a single sentence that states a problem in general terms, to paragraphs or pages in length. Their intent can range from being purely descriptive or promotional to placing broad constraints on prospective solutions. Further, addressing questions of equity and empathy often occurs as a distinct activity after creation of the problem statement rather than during problem definition. Consequently, the assessment of equity issues like healthcare disparities might not be seen by students as a driving force behind design.

Materials and

Methods: We introduce here a structured approach to the development and writing of engineering problem statements that incorporates considerations of equity, inclusiveness, and justice throughout the process. Specifically, the eight- to ten-sentence structure includes five parts: (1) the broad background of the problem, including research on its scope and scale, that provides context for a general technical audience; (2) more specific background that typically includes additional research to demonstrate the scale of the problem, and the current approaches to addressing this class of problem; (3) a one to two-sentence statement of the specific problem to be solved, typically including research that demonstrates its impact and opportunity for value creation; (4) the current state of affairs, also called the “cost of doing nothing”; and (5) the ideal, and yet realistic, state of the problem being solved. The structured problem statement approach has been applied in a summer clinical immersion program (5 students per year), a second year BME design course (120 students per year), and most recently with all first-time first-year students in a school of engineering (nearly 700 students per year).

Results, Conclusions, and Discussions: The process is iterative and includes reflection on who is impacted by the problem, where the problem is impactful, when the problem occurs, and why the problem impacts certain patient groups. Reflecting on each of these necessarily involves discussion of equity, and we hypothesize that it promotes empathy towards members of marginalized groups. We expect that the impact will be larger on novice learners than on senior Capstone students who have experienced other coursework in sociotechnical aspects of engineering design. We report here on the structured problem statement instructional method, rubrics for in-class assessment, informal observations to date, and plans for future assessment.

Acknowledgements (Optional): Funded by NIH Grant R25 EB023841.