About the series:

This is one of a series of peer reviewed booklets looking at

various aspects of teaching and learning aimed at all those
involved in engineering education. The complete series is also
available on our website.
About the centre:
The Engineering Subject Centre is one of the 24 subject
centres that form the subject network of the Higher Education
Academy. It provides subject based learning and teaching
support for all engineering academics in the UK.
The Centres Mission is:
to work in partnership with the UK engineering community to
provide the best possible higher education learning experience
for all students and to contribute to the long term health of the
engineering profession.
It achieves this through its strategic aims: sharing effective
practice in teaching and learning amongst engineering
academics; supporting curriculum change and innovation within
their departments and informing and influencing policy in
relation to engineering education.

The Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre

Loughborough University
Leicestershire
LE11 3TU
tel:
01509 227170
email: enquiries@engsc.ac.uk
web: www.engsc.ac.uk

an engineering subject centre guide

Approaches to the
Teaching of Design
an Engineering Subject Centre guide by
Andrew McLaren

Authors biography

Interaction

Andrew McLaren has a BEng and PhD in Materials from the University of
Sheffield. He is currently Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical
Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland and Director of
Undergraduate Studies. Alongside being an Associate of the Engineering
Subject Centre, Andrew is also involved in the CDIO initiative, with a
particular interest in the teaching of design.

We would like to hear your views and feedback on this publication to

help keep the guide up to date.
There is an interactive version of the Guide, where you can comment on
each paragraph individually, or on sections as a whole, this can be found at
www.engsc.ac.uk/teaching-guides
How does it work?

To view a section, click the section name in the Table of Contents on the
left. The paragraphs within the section are shown in one column, with
a box on the right showing the comments which have been submitted
by other readers. Next to each paragraph, theres a small grey speech
bubble. Click on this to bring up the comment form. Please abide by our
moderation policy or your comment will not be published.
What happens next?

The feedback and discussion received will be reviewed by the Centre and
author, and views and suggestions will be incorporated into new editions
of the guide.
If you have any queries about this document or the process behind it,
please contact us at enquiries@engsc.ac.uk

Copyright 2008 Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre.

All rights reserved.
ISBN 978-1-904804-802
Printed on stock sourced from a sustainable forest.

approaches to the teaching of design

Approaches to the
teaching of design
Overview
Design is an extremely wide subject, covering the whole
range of disciplines within engineering. It is at the heart
of what engineers do, and draws together all the skills
and knowledge that we seek to foster in our students
into an activity that has perhaps the greatest effect on
society.
There are many approaches to the teaching of design,
and each of them has a place in engineering education.
These approaches range from the traditional to the truly
innovative, encompassing tasks based on individual
study and scholarship, to those that require all the
skills of group work, management, logistics and
communication.
This booklet seeks to provide a resource for all those
with an interest in design, and the education and
training of engineering students to carry out the design
process. A brief description of the internal and external
requirements for design in the engineering curriculum is
followed by a review of different approaches to design
teaching currently employed in engineering schools and
universities worldwide. Suggestions for further reading
about each approach and a reference section are also
provided.

an engineering subject centre guide

approaches to the teaching of design

The requirement for teaching of design

There is a general recognition that design should be at
the heart of the engineering curriculum, based largely on
the recognition that design is one of the core activities
that professional engineers undertake. The requirement
for design at the core of the education of professional
engineers was enshrined in the Engineering Councils
Standards and Routes to Registration (Engineering
Council, 1997), which stated The course must be taught
in the context of design, which provides an integrating
theme.
The current UK-SPEC standards (Engineering Council,
2007), which superseded SARTOR in 2004, maintain
design as a major theme. This is described as follows:
Design is the creation and development of
an economically viable product, process or system to
meet a defined need. It involves significant technical and
intellectual challenges and can be used to integrate all
engineering understanding, knowledge and skills to the
solution of real problems.
These general requirements, when translated into
specific learning outcomes by individual professional
bodies, retain and expand on the importance of design.
For instance, the specific UK-SPEC learning outcomes
published by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
(IMechE, 2007) are as follows (Table 1):

an engineering subject centre guide

approaches to the teaching of design

Table 1. Specific learning outcomes from UK-SPEC, as published by

the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, with particular reference
to design
D1
D1m

Investigate and define a problem and identify constrains including environmental

and sustainability limitations, health and safety and risk assessment issues
Wide knowledge and comprehensive understanding of design processes and
methodologies and the ability to apply and adapt them in unfamiliar situations.

D2

Understand customer and user needs and the importance of considerations such
as aesthetics

D3

Identify and manage cost drivers

D4

Use creativity to establish innovative solutions

D4m

Ability to generate an innovative design for products, systems, components or

processes to fulfil new needs.

D5

Ensure fitness for purpose for all aspects of the problem including production,
operation, maintenance and disposal

D6

Manage the design process and evaluate outcomes

The QAA Benchmark statements for Engineering (2006)

include reference to design activities, stating that The
curriculum should include both design and researchled projects, which would be expected to develop in
graduates both independence of thought and the ability
to work effectively in a team.
The Royal Academy of Engineering has published two
booklets on the importance of design. Their booklet
Design principles: the engineers contribution to society
(Royal Academy of Engineering, 2002), provides these
guiding principles:
Need
Vision

All design begins with a clearly defined need

All designs arise from a creative response to a
need
Delivery All designs result in a system, product or
project that meets the need.

an engineering subject centre guide

approaches to the teaching of design

A series of four case studies is presented as examples

of these principles in action.
The second booklet, Educating Engineers in Design:
Lessons Learnt from the Visiting Professors Scheme
(Royal Academy of Engineering, 2002), is prefaced by
the following remarks:
And what do we need to teach? We dont.
We need to give the opportunity to gain experience and
awareness in multi-disciplined team environments and
let the confidence of youth loose on a prepared world.
What can we give students in a university department?
Experience of working in multidisciplinary teams working
on realistic projects. The Visiting Professors role in this
is to develop appreciation of the power of ideas and the
value that transferring knowledge can have.
Professor Chris Pearce FREng,
Visiting Professors 2002 Workshop.
The Royal Academy of Engineering recently
commissioned a report entitled Educating Engineers for
the 21st Century (2006a). This in-depth study, carried out
by Henley Management College, involved interviews with
experienced industrial practitioners, and a large-scale
survey of engineering companies. The report predicted
a worsening shortage of high calibre UK engineering
graduates over the next 10 years.
One of the working partys recommendations is of
particular relevance to the place of design in engineering
education (2006b):

an engineering subject centre guide

approaches to the teaching of design

Engineering courses must become better

aligned with the changing needs of business and
industry. In particular, more and better quality project
work is needed, based around real-life problems, ideally
delivered in collaboration with industry. Work is needed
to improve the approach to teaching to ensure students
remain motivated and engaged, and graduate keen to
pursue engineering careers. There are already important
developments in this area, such as the pedagogic
approach taken in CDIO, and team-based hands-on
engineering Developments of this sort will not only
improve graduate performance in companies, but can
also improve recruitment into engineering courses and
student motivation.

Characterisation of design teaching

activities
Sheri Sheppard (Stanford University) and R. Jenison
(1997a and 1997b) conducted an extensive review
of first year (Freshman) design education in US
engineering schools. While the study concentrated on
first year modules, the general characterisation is valid
for modules delivered at any level.

an engineering subject centre guide

approaches to the teaching of design

100% Team-Based Activities

HOW
B: Team-Content
100%
Domain
Specific
Knowledge
Content

D: Team-Process

WHAT

100%
Key Design
Qualities

WHAT

A:

C:

Individual-Content

Individual-Content
HOW

100% Individual-Based Activities

Figure 1. Schematic characterisation of design modules

according to the method described by Sheppard and
Jenison (1997a)

The authors characterised design activities according to

a two dimensional matrix, reproduced in Figure 1. The
horizontal dimension refers to WHAT is taught, with pure
knowledge at the left hand end, and pure design at the
right. The vertical dimension refers to the pedagogical
approach, i.e. HOW the what is taught, with individualbased activities at the bottom, and team-based activities
at the top.
They propose that design activities can be characterised
according to which quadrant of the diagram they lie in,
as follows:
A. Individual-content centric (e.g. most traditional
lecture-based courses fall in this category);
B. Team-content centric (e.g. mainly traditional labbased courses);

an engineering subject centre guide

approaches to the teaching of design

C. Individual-process centric (few undergraduate

engineering courses fall here, but many studio art
courses are here);
D. Team-process centric (e.g. most senior-level
capstone design courses).
The authors address each of the quadrants in turn. For
quadrant A, they review various innovative approaches
that have been used to shift the position of traditional
courses towards a more central position. Calculus,
statics, strength of materials, graphics and CAD have
all been addressed, usually by bringing elements of
teamwork and problem solving into the class.
For quadrant B, they review courses that have welldefined, domain-specific objectives, but that use team
and group work the majority of the time. This type of
class is commonly termed inquiry-based learning.
Quadrant C is diametrically opposite quadrant B, and
emphasises individual learning which utilises a process
centric approach. This type of course is rare, the main
example cited being a Visual Thinking course at
Stanford, addressing core problem solving strategies.
Quadrant D emphasised team based activities focused
on process. This type of course is relatively common,
and tends to fall into two main groups. The first is
where students study the artefacts and designs of
others. This may be broadly labelled as case-based
learning, and several examples are reviewed, including
a class utilising mechanical dissection. A more
detailed description of a class utilising this approach is
described below. The second type of quadrant D class
engages groups of students in designing, making and
testing objects of their own creation. Many examples of

an engineering subject centre guide

approaches to the teaching of design

this type of class are given, full details of which can be

found in the papers.

Innovation in the teaching of design

Traditional approaches
Within engineering courses, traditional approaches to
design teaching have centred on discipline-specific
modules. For instance, in Mechanical Engineering,
the subject of machine design is often taught
using textbooks that seek to treat the process in a
comprehensive manner. Examples of such texts are
Shigley and Norton:
Shigley, Joseph (2003) Mechanical Engineering
Design 7th edition. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
ISBN-13: 9780071232708
Norton, Robert L. (2006) Machine Design: An
Integrated Approach 3rd edition. Pearson Education.
ISBN-13: 9780132020121.
This approach emphasises the need for detailed
specification of machine components within the design
process, and the books reflect this by including detailed
methodologies for sizing of components.
A more product design approach, involving the
generation of a general product concept, and the steps
that are involved in producing and choosing between
competing design solutions is typified by the approach
of Stuart Pugh:
Pugh, Stuart (1990) Total Design: Integrated
Methods for Successful Product Engineering
Prentice Hall ISBN-13: 9780201416398.

an engineering subject centre guide

approaches to the teaching of design

This approach strongly addresses the learning

outcomes described under D1, D1m and D2 of UKSPEC (see Table 1.), i.e. identifying the problem and
understanding the customer and user needs and the
importance of considerations such as aesthetics.
There is a general consensus that while detailed design
considerations are vital in engineering practice, students
need concrete experience in which to root these
concepts.
Design as the core of engineering
programmes
Design is widely recognised as the core activity in
engineering education, which integrates the subject
specific technical content with the needs of customers
and business. As mentioned above, this concept was a
strong theme in the SARTOR curriculum requirements
for Engineering Council accreditation. Many approaches
to design teaching recognise this.
Most prominent among curriculum models that follow
this pattern is the CDIO initiative.
The CDIO Initiative
The CDIO website introduces the
initiative as follows:
The CDIO Initiative is
an innovative educational framework for producing the
next generation of engineers. It provides students with an
education stressing engineering fundamentals set in the
context of Conceiving Designing Implementing
Operating real-world systems and products.

an engineering subject centre guide

approaches to the teaching of design

The CDIO Initiative was developed with input from

academics, industry, engineers and students. It is
universally adaptable for all engineering schools. CDIO
Initiative collaborators throughout the world have
adopted CDIO as the framework of their curricular
planning and outcomebased assessment.
www.cdio.org
The initiative grew out of collaboration between MIT and
three engineering departments in Sweden, and has now
expanded to a network of approximately 30 partners
worldwide.
The approach emphasises the need to teach
engineering fundamentals (which will be disciplinespecific) integrated with:
Personal and professional skills
Engineering Reasoning and Problem Solving
Experimenting and Knowledge Discovery
System Thinking
Personal Skills and Attributes
Professional Skills and Attitudes
Interpersonal skills
Teamwork and Leadership
Communications
Product and system building
External and Societal Context
Enterprise and Business Context
Conceiving
Designing

10

an engineering subject centre guide

approaches to the teaching of design

Implementing
Operating
The CDIO Initiative (CDIO, 2004) has a set of 12
standards, described below:
The CDIO standards describe CDIO
programs and enable schools to certify themselves
if they are meeting the CDIO goals. These principles,
or rules, distinguish the specific qualities of CDIO
programs and their graduates. As a result, the CDIO
Standards define the distinguishing features of a CDIO
program, serve as guidelines for educational program
reform, create benchmarks and goals that can be
applied worldwide, provide a framework for continuous
improvement, form the basis of a programs selfcertification, and provide academics and employers
with attributes that distinguish graduates of CDIO
programs.
While it is recognised that these standards represent
an ideal program, schools and departments are
encouraged to adopt the standards in a progressive
manner, and in this way the CDIO initiative is less
prescriptive than might appear at first sight.

Some approaches to the teaching

of design
Mechanical dissection
Stanford
Probably the best known example of the mechanical
dissection approach to teaching design is the course
ME99 at Stanford. ME99 Mechanical Dissection: Course
Outline, Stanford University. Available online at:
www-adl.stanford.edu/images/me99sylb.pdf

an engineering subject centre guide

11

approaches to the teaching of design

Students participate in four dissections of different

artefacts: usually an HP printer, a fishing reel, a bicycle
and one other artefact of the students own choosing.
Students prepare individual presentations concerning
the function of their artefact and how it works. They
learn the vocabulary of mechanical systems through
the study of their dissected artefacts and mini lectures
on topics such as gears, fasteners, bearings and other
mechanisms.
The class fosters an awareness of the design process,
stimulates the students to communicate clearly and
concisely, and develops their resourcefulness and
problem solving skills. In addition, certain aspects
of the engineering curriculum are reinforced through
application to a concrete object. Topics addressed
include free body diagrams, dynamics and strength of
materials (Sheppard, 1992).
Strathclyde
The Department of Mechanical Engineering at the
University of Strathclyde utilises mechanical dissection
to teach design in the first year. In this case, a scrap
motor car is dissected by groups of four students. (For
much of the first year, students work in the same groups
of four, in lab-based activities, problem-based and
active learning classes.)
Each group selects a component and removes it from
the car. (These are components that fulfil a mechanical
function e.g. camshaft, valves, piston and connecting
rod, clutch, gearbox, alternator, cooling system etc.).
Once the component has been removed, disassembled
and cleaned, each group spends approximately one
hour in discussion with a member of staff. At this
time, the function, physics (forces, stresses, torques,

12

an engineering subject centre guide

approaches to the teaching of design

temperatures) materials and manufacturing methods

are discussed. Parts are selected for metallographic
examination with a member of staff the following week.
The students are set the task of producing a technical
poster covering the function, physics, materials and
manufacturing of their component. They base this on
the discussions with staff, but must do further research,
carry out calculations and analysis themselves.
The poster is reviewed by two members of staff to
correct mistakes and give formative feedback. The
students then prepare short presentations that describe
what they have learned to the rest of the class.
Further information on this class is contained in an
evaluation case study for the Engineering Subject
Centre Teaching Awards 2005 (Barker and McLaren,
2005).
Design-Build experiences
Many design modules require students to design and
build some sort of engineering artefact, often in teams.
This is a key element of the CDIO initiative, described
above. Of particular interest in this context is CDIO
Standard 5 (CDIO, 2004), namely:
Standard 5 Design-Build experiences:
A curriculum that includes two or more design-build
experiences, including one at a basic level and one at
an advanced level.
Description: The term design-build experience denotes
a range of engineering activities central to the process
of developing new products and systems. Included are
all of the activities described in Standard One at the
Design and Implement stages, plus appropriate aspects

an engineering subject centre guide

13

approaches to the teaching of design

of conceptual design from the Conceive stage. Students

develop product and system building skills, as well as
the ability to apply engineering science, in design-build
experiences integrated into the curriculum. Designbuild experiences are considered basic or advanced
in terms of their scope, complexity, and sequence
in the program. For example, simpler products and
systems are included earlier in the program, while
more complex design-build experiences appear in later
courses designed to help students integrate knowledge
and skills acquired in preceding courses and learning
activities. Opportunities to conceive, design, implement,
and operate products and systems may also be
included in required co-curricular activities, for example,
undergraduate research projects and internships.
Rationale: Design-build experiences are structured and
sequenced to promote early success in engineering
practice. Iteration of design-build experiences and
increasing levels of design complexity reinforce
students understanding of the product and system
development process. Design-build experiences also
provide a solid foundation upon which to build deeper
conceptual understanding of disciplinary skills. The
emphasis on building products and implementing
processes in real-world contexts gives students
opportunities to make connections between the
technical content they are learning and their professional
and career interests.
Evidence: Two or more required design-build
experiences in the curriculum (for example, as part of an
introductory course and an advanced course) - required
co-curricular opportunities for design-build experiences
(such as, research labs or internships) - concrete
learning experiences that provide the foundation for
subsequent learning of disciplinary skills.

14

an engineering subject centre guide

approaches to the teaching of design

The early stage design-build experiences are often

in the form of a set kit, with limited parts and options,
from which the students have to construct a machine or
object that meets certain design objectives. Within the
CDIO scheme, this tends to address the ImplementOperate aspects, and the Conceive-Design parts are
pre-defined within the module.
Senior design-build experiences, occurring later in the
course, tend to address at least the Design-ImplementOperate aspects, and possibly also the Conceive part.
There are a wide variety of outcomes from this type of
module.
A recent review by Johan Malmqvist from Chalmers
University of Technology (Malmqvist et al., 2004) details
various design-build-test courses, and the lessons
learned from their implementation.

Design competitions
Competition modules
Many design courses and initiatives have adopted the
form of student competitions. Perhaps the most highly
developed example of this approach is the course 2.007
Design and Manufacturing I at Massachusetts Institute
of Technology (MIT). The course website describes it as
follows:

an engineering subject centre guide

15

approaches to the teaching of design

The 2.007 course @MIT began in the

1960s and has been taught by Robert Mann, Woodie
Flowers, Harry West and now Alexander Slocum. During
the course of 2.007 you will learn design theory and
methodologies and then demonstrate them in the
construction of your robot. Good luck, but of course a
good engineer never relies upon luck.
2.007 Design and Manufacturing 1, MIT.
Available online at: pergatory.mit.edu/2.007/
The competition generally takes the form of some sort
of obstacle course, which robots have to negotiate and
perform tasks which interact with the structure of the
race course. However, this description in no way does
justice to the competition, and the reader is strongly
urged to view the videos on the MIT website for a true
appreciation of what the students achieve.
A further example of this type of competition, also at
MIT, is the Autonomous Robot Design Competition. This
utilises a kit approach where student teams build Lego
robots to complete a task. 6.270 Autonomous Robot
Design Competition, MIT. Available online at:
web.mit.edu/6.270/www/
Pre-University competitions
Design competitions are a popular activity for engaging
school students with engineering. These usually take the
form of a collaboration between schools and university
engineering departments. There are a large number
of these programs and a comprehensive review of
schemes run in the USA is available at the website of
the Engineering Education Service Centre, based in
Springfield, OR, USA. Pre-Engineering Competitions.
Engineering Education Service Centre. Available online
at: www.engineeringedu.com/competitions.html

16

an engineering subject centre guide

approaches to the teaching of design

Closing remarks
It is hoped that this booklet will provide a useful
resource for teachers of engineering design, and
stimulate further reading and research into different
teaching methods and approaches. Design classes are
very effective vehicles for integrating the different parts
of the curriculum and providing real life experiences for
engineering students. They can be challenging to teach,
exposing staff to a whole variety of questions outside
their own research experience, but can be extremely
rewarding in the quality of interaction with students.
The Engineering Subject Centre has run a number of
events supporting design teaching and group working.
The following list is not exhaustive:
Design Teaching in Engineering: Exploring
Differing Approaches
Engineering Subject Centre Workshop
23rd March 2007, University of Strathclyde
www.engsc.ac.uk/nef/events/designteaching.asp
Teaching Sustainable Design
Engineering Subject Centre Workshop 26th January 2005, Loughborough University
www.engsc.ac.uk/nef/events/sustainability.asp
Project and Group Work in Engineering
3rd 4th September 2003, Loughborough University
www.engsc.ac.uk/nef/events/project_groupwork2.asp

an engineering subject centre guide

17

approaches to the teaching of design

References
All online references in the text and below were
accessed on 25 June 2008.
Barker, P. and McLaren, A. (2005) Teaching First Year
Design by Mechanical Dissection. Engineering
Subject Centre. Available online at: www.engsc.
ac.uk/downloads/mechdissesction.pdf
CDIO (2004) Standards. Available online at:
www.cdio.org/tools/cdio_standards.html
The Engineering Council UK (1997) SARTOR 1997.
Available online at:
www.engc.org.uk/Documents/Sartorprt1.pdf
The Engineering Council UK (reprinted 2005) UK
Standard for professional Engineering Competence
(UK-SPEC). Available online at www.engc.org.uk/
documents/CEng_IEng_Standard.pdf
The Engineering Council UK (reprinted 2007) The
Accreditation of Higher Education Programmes.
Available online at:
www.engc.org.uk/documents/Accreditation_HE_
Programmes_RP.pdf
Institution of Mechanical Engineers (2007) Appendix B:
Specific Learning Outcomes. Issue 2, June 2007.
Available online at www.imeche.org/ under University
Submission Forms Stage 1 and Stage 2.
Malmqvist, J. et al. (2004) Lessons learned from designbuild-test-based project courses International
Design Conference - Design 2004, Dubrovnik, May
18 - 21, 2004. Available online at:
www.cdio.org/papers/lessonslrnd_db.pdf
Quality Assurance Agency (2006) Subject Benchmark
Statement, Engineering. Available online at: www.
qaahe.org.uk/academicinfrastructure/benchmark/
statements/engineering06.pdf

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approaches to the teaching of design

The Royal Academy of Engineering (2002) Design

principles: the engineers contribution to society.
Available online at:
www.raeng.org.uk/education/vps/pdf/design_
principles.pdf
The Royal Academy of Engineering (2002) Educating
engineers in design: lessons learnt from the visiting
professors scheme. Available online at:
www.raeng.org.uk/education/vps/pdf/design_
engineering.pdf
The Royal Academy of Engineering (2006a) Educating
Engineers for the 21st Century: the industry view.
Available online at: www.raeng.org.uk/news/releases/
henley/pdf/henley_report.pdf
The Royal Academy of Engineering (2006b) Educating
Engineers for the 21st Century: the industry view. A
commentary. Available online at: www.raeng.org.uk/
news/releases/henley/pdf/commentary.pdf
Sheppard, S. (1992) Mechanical dissection: an
experience in how things work Proceedings of the
Engineering Education: Curriculum Innovation &
Integration, Santa Barbara, CA, Jan. 6-10, 1992.
www-adl.stanford.edu/images/dissphil.pdf
Sheppard, S. and Jenison, R. (1997a) Freshmen
engineering design experiences: an organizational
framework, International Journal of Engineering
Education, 13 (3), 190-197.
Sheppard, S. and Jenison, R. (1997b) Examples of
Freshman Design Education, International Journal of
Engineering Education, 13 (4), 248-261.

an engineering subject centre guide

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approaches to the teaching of design

20

an engineering subject centre guide

Authors biography

Interaction

Andrew McLaren has a BEng and PhD in Materials from the University of
Sheffield. He is currently Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical
Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland and Director of
Undergraduate Studies. Alongside being an Associate of the Engineering
Subject Centre, Andrew is also involved in the CDIO initiative, with a
particular interest in the teaching of design.

We would like to hear your views and feedback on this publication to

help keep the guide up to date.
There is an interactive version of the Guide, where you can comment on
each paragraph individually, or on sections as a whole, this can be found at
www.engsc.ac.uk/teaching-guides
How does it work?

To view a section, click the section name in the Table of Contents on the
left. The paragraphs within the section are shown in one column, with
a box on the right showing the comments which have been submitted
by other readers. Next to each paragraph, theres a small grey speech
bubble. Click on this to bring up the comment form. Please abide by our
moderation policy or your comment will not be published.
What happens next?

The feedback and discussion received will be reviewed by the Centre and
author, and views and suggestions will be incorporated into new editions
of the guide.
If you have any queries about this document or the process behind it,
please contact us at enquiries@engsc.ac.uk

Copyright 2008 Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre.

All rights reserved.
ISBN 978-1-904804-802
Printed on stock sourced from a sustainable forest.

About the series:

This is one of a series of peer reviewed booklets looking at
various aspects of teaching and learning aimed at all those
involved in engineering education. The complete series is also
available on our website.
About the centre:
The Engineering Subject Centre is one of the 24 subject
centres that form the subject network of the Higher Education
Academy. It provides subject based learning and teaching
support for all engineering academics in the UK.
The Centres Mission is:
to work in partnership with the UK engineering community to
provide the best possible higher education learning experience
for all students and to contribute to the long term health of the
engineering profession.
It achieves this through its strategic aims: sharing effective
practice in teaching and learning amongst engineering
academics; supporting curriculum change and innovation within
their departments and informing and influencing policy in
relation to engineering education.

The Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre

Loughborough University
Leicestershire
LE11 3TU
tel:
01509 227170
email: enquiries@engsc.ac.uk
web: www.engsc.ac.uk

an engineering subject centre guide

Approaches to the
Teaching of Design
an Engineering Subject Centre guide by
Andrew McLaren