An investigation of the adoption of an assessment instrument for capstone design courses

This paper presents some preliminary findings of an examination of the adoption of an assessment instrument designed for use in capstone design courses. These courses have been garnering increased attention due to their central position in helping students develop design skills, and some of ABET´s ¿softer¿ skills. These assessment instruments have been designed to aid in developing and assessing those skills. Interviews were conducted with participants from three different populations: (1) the developers of the instruments who are also users; (2) users of the instruments who are not involved in their development; and (3) faculty, administrators and researchers who have attended workshops about the instruments. Analysis of these interviews was conducted using Rogers´ diffusion of innovations (DI) theory to describe trends and patterns. Preliminary findings from the interviews highlight the central importance of (1) previous beliefs about assessment as they relate to the compatibility and relative advantage of the assessment instrument; and (2) faculty beliefs about their role in the capstone course as they affect their perception of the assessment instrument´s complexity.