An Evaluation of the EWB Challenge - Implications for Future Curriculum Change

We have been evaluating the EWB Challenge in a large research-led university over the last two years. The guiding question has been “what works for whom under what circumstances?” and the aim has been to understand not just what works and what doesn’t, but also the mechanisms that produce success. Data has been collected from interviews, focus groups, observations, journal analysis and cultural mapping exercises derived from Bourdieu’s social theories. Changes in personnel, problem setting, and technical support over the course of the evaluation allowed for examination of the interplay between such contextual factors and the mechanisms through which students learn. This paper provides discussion of just a few of the parameters of context and mechanisms affecting outcomes from the Challenge, including the effect of the problem setting and the problem of perceptions of the real nature of engineering. We discuss what these findings mean for extending the benefits of the Challenge to other areas of the curriculum.