Build, Experiment, Learn: Promoting Curiosity and Creativity While Learning DOE

Design of Experiments (DOE) is a structured approach that uses statistical methods to optimize products, processes, and systems. It is a difficult topic to master in a single course, however, with a project that involves real and hands-on experimentation student learning can be guided to promote deep learning. Providing students flexibility in choosing their projects is desirable, though not all students are motivated or comfortable with developing a project topic. Integrating a makerspace activity into the course provides a way to support students having difficulty with identifying a DOE problem. Furthermore, it helps foster curiosity and creativity and exposes students to resources that are available to them which otherwise they may not utilize. This paper describes efforts to promote active learning in a DOE course through engaging students in a makerspace activity to build catapults for conducting experiments. In assessing the level of student engagement, the quality of the catapults made, and the modifications implemented were evaluated. To assess the impact of the activity on student learning of DOE concepts, the student performance in projects with and without catapults were compared. Furthermore, a survey was conducted to gather feedback on student experience with the makerspace integration effort. The assessment results and implementation guidelines are provided.