Engineers of tomorrow must be able to lead responsible change in a complex technological world. This calls for engineering practitioners who thrive on new challenges, learn from experience, and produce innovative responsible solutions to complex problems. Because many engineering degree programs rely on capstone design courses to prepare graduates for professional practice, these courses are vital to the success of our nation. This presentation describes methods and tools for integrating assessments into capstone engineering design courses to elevate students’ learning and design performance. It describes four areas of performance targeted for development and assessment: Professional Development, Teamwork, Design Processes, and Solution Assets. A framework for assessments and tools for their implementation will be described. Assessment tools are integrated into capstone project activities to build reflective thinking into both learning and solution development. A web-based implementation facilitates feedback and data management to monitor learning, guide improvement, and support engineering design education research.

Dr. Denny Davis is professor of Bioengineering at Washington State University (WSU) and Co-director of the Engineering Education Research Center (EERC). Established in 2005, the Center facilitates research collaboration and faculty development across the College of Engineering and Architecture and the College of Education. For over 20 years, Dr. Davis has led engineering education research at WSU and led research projects with collaborators across the nation. He directs the Transferable Integrated Design Engineering Education (TIDEE) consortium at the present time. His principal research thrusts have been engineering design education, engineering student learning and retention, and engineering outreach to K-12 schools. He has served as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs in the College of Engineering and Architecture, Chair of the Biological Systems Engineering Department, and Interim Chair for Bioengineering at WSU. He is a Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education. For the period July 2008 – June 2009, he is visiting professor in Engineering Education at Purdue University.