The combined results of how students define reflection and why they believe reflection is part of
their engineering design courses is generally encouraging, but can be improved. The practice of
reflection in our students must be cultivated to help them better understand the power of
reflecting. It is one thing for students to respond positively to questions posed in this study; it is
another thing for students to actually act on these thoughts. A higher percentage of students need
to recognize reflection as a process and an important engineering tool that is contingent on past
experiences and future actions. This is especially relevant to design courses, since the
engineering design process is iterative in nature and requires thoughtful reflection on the results
and on the process as the design advances. Students also need to better understand how reflection
can be intended to impact various stakeholders ranging from self to an actual project. Such a skill
can be easily developed over the course of an engineering program if reflection is introduced
early and regularly practiced throughout the curriculum, within and beyond engineering design
courses. This is only possible if the faculty agree to provide students with regular opportunities
to reflect; the approach in each course being specific to the course structure. Our findings
provide a foundation for engineering educators in CPREE and beyond to provide their students
with appropriate discussions of what it means to reflect and how it can be used in their daily and
professional lives.