Case study: Effectiveness of a sketch learning model for engineering students

The sketch is one of the most important tools for industrial designers to solve problems and is actively utilized early in the process of developing ideas. In the engineering field, sketches are generally used as an important means of visualizing when designing structures and systems, but there is no systematic sketch education process for students of engineering, except during CAD classes. However, current engineering undergraduate students greatly need sketch education but lack confidence in their sketching abilities and lack opportunities for actual education as well. In this study, we conducted a four-week sketch education course after establishing a detailed sketch training curriculum for engineering students. The sketch training course consists of eight stages, in steps of 1 to 8, and includes the concepts of straight lines, curves, projection views, perspective, the adding and subtracting of three-dimensional objects, emphasis, and synthetic exercises. Four weeks of sketching classes were held for engineering undergraduate students. After these classes, the sketching abilities of the students were compared and various opinions about the sketch education were gathered. An expert evaluation shows that first- and second-year undergraduates who received the sketch education improved their sketching abilities more than those who did not receive the sketch education, with the former group showing increased confidence in sketching after the education. This study shows the process and the result of a field study of a sketch education course for these students of engineering. We expect that engineering students will be able to communicate with each other more effectively using their sketches. Furthermore, we hope they expand their thinking more freely with their sketches from the idea-development stage.