Running Head: The Role of Reflective Thinking in Design Problems An Integrated model of Reflective Practice for Learning and Solving Design Problems

Design tasks are ubiquitous in our everyday life. Previous research shows that reflective thinking is important in solving design problems. Related research has attempted to capture designers’ reflective thinking process. Yet the explicit impacts of reflective thinking on design performance have been ignored. To empower the full capacity of reflective practice, we have developed a model of reflective practice which can guide educators in examining and facilitating reflective practices in solving real-world design problems. This model uses three dimensions to guide the understanding of designers’ reflective thinking: (1) the points of reflection, indicating the timing that reflective thinking occurs during a design process, (2) the objects of reflection, showing different types of objects that designers may reflect upon during a design process, and (3) the quality of reflection, referring to the depth of each reflection point. This framework provides important aspects of reflective thinking situated in the design process, which can be an important foundation for further research on reflective thinking in design task. Furthermore, this framework can guide educators to derive appropriate strategies for facilitating novice designers’ reflective thinking. Introduction Design tasks are ubiquitous in our everyday life, such as architectural design, software design, mechanical engineering design, industrial design, and instructional design. Moreover, most of artifacts that we are using for our daily life are the results of professional design activities such as buildings, computers, word processors, instructional materials. “Design is a disciplined inquiry engaged in for the purpose of creating some new things of practical utility” (Rowland, 1993, p. 80). It is the foundation for manufacturing, constructing, or developing objects. Not only that, design also has major impact on primary business outcomes: cost, timeliness, and the quality and capability of the products (Boehm, 1970; Fleischer & Liker, 1992; Goel & Pirolli, 1992). Design is clearly a very important element for the advancement of human life, but it is not a natural talent for everyone. Indeed, the very nature of design problems makes it difficult for many neophytes to produce an effective design. The Purpose of the Study In attempting to improve design problem solving ability, there has been extensive literature investigating the process of solving design problems (Cross, 2000; Jonassen, 2008; Lawson, 1997) and how novice and expert designers differ in a process (Atman et al., 2007; Newstetter & McCracken, 2001). It has been suggested that reflective thinking plays a critical role in this process (Adams, Turns, & Atman, 2003; Rowland, 1993; Schön, 1987). However, a paucity of empirical studies in relation to reflective thinking situated within design problem solving context has provided needs for understanding of what in essence designers reflect upon, how they reflect during their design processes, and in what ways their reflective thinking influences their ability in solving design problems. Without investigating these aspects, it might be unconvincing to propose strategies for facilitating designers’ reflective thinking ability so as