Capstone experiences: Effects of adapted physical activity design projects on attitudes and learning

Eight innovative senior level capstone engineering projects were completed at California Polytechnic State University (2008-present) involving (n=28) students (23 male/5 female). All projects involved the design of equipment to facilitate physical activity for people with disabilities. The effects on: (i) learning design, (ii) attitude towards people with disabilities, and (iii) motivation to complete team design projects were analyzed through eight one-hour focus groups. This paper presents focus group findings using a constructivist approach and grounded theory to explore the overall student “learn by doing” experience. Results: (1) Approximately 19 (70%) of the students claimed the adapted physical activity project was their “first choice” given 60+ projects to rank; (2) Prior to the project only ten (35%) had experience working with people with disabilities and of those students the majority were women; (3) Twenty-six (92.8%) of the students were able to define `inclusion´ when asked and viewed the field of engineering as a `natural fit´ with project design for adapted physical activity. Students reported high levels of motivation for learning design as evidenced by the majority of engineers getting their “top” choice of projects; (4) Twenty-three (82%) of the engineers would `definitely´ consider a future engineering job in this sector and (5) Project challenges included: budget constraints, group communication, fabrication delays, detachment from client, and a desire for increased product testing time. Although students reported high levels of learning and motivation to complete their project; attitudes toward people with disabilities did not change significantly.