P ac ice Pape
Recommended ci a ion: Figuei edo, S., Ki ja ainen, S., Kuikka, M., Ocampo, C.
C., De ia, G., Gá a e, F., Ma ín, S. M., Packalén, A., & Ri e os, D. (2025).
In e na ional Pe spec i es on Educa ional Tool Design: A Use Tes ing Toolki
Case.. In Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G., Jä inen, H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.), SEFI
53 d Annual Con e ence. Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI),
Tampe e, Finland. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17631585.
This Con e ence Pape is b ough o you o open access by he 53 d Annual Con e ence
o he Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI) a Tampe e Uni e si y in
Tampe e, Finland. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha e Alike 4.0 In e na ional License.
In e na ional pe spec i es on educa ional ool design: a use
es ing oolki case.
S Figuei edoa,1, S Ki ja ainen a, 2, M Kuikka a,3,
and C Comas Ocampo b, G De ia c.1, F Gá a e a, S Me ino Ma ín d, A Packalén
a, D Ri e os c.2
a Aal o Design Fac o y, Depa men o Ene gy and Mechanical Enginee ing, Aal o
Uni e si y, Espoo, Finland, a,1 0009-0003-9725-3900, a2 0000-0002-8049-6557,
a30009-0008-8940-850X
b Uni e sidad del Desa ollo, San iago, Chile
c Campus No a Cen e o Inno a ion and En ep eneu ship, Pon i icia Uni e sidad
Ja e iana, Cali, Colombia, c.1 0009-0007-2751-7818 , c.2 0009-0001-9716-6677
d Uni e sidad del Desa ollo, Concepción, Chile
Con e ence Key A eas: Enginee as a social deba e – new skills needed?, Building
he capaci y and s eng hening he educa ional compe encies o enginee ing
educa o s
Keywo ds: Use es ing, Design educa ion, Enginee ing pedagogy, P ac ice-based
lea ning, Teaching esou ces
ABSTRACT
Applying use -cen e ed design skills is a c i ical aspec o enginee ing p ac ice, ye
in eg a ing i in o enginee ing educa ion emains challenging. We ha e obse ed a
need o s aigh o wa d, s uc u ed ools ha acili a e ea ly-s age engagemen in
use es ing. In esponse o his need, he Use Tes ing Toolki was de eloped a
Aal o uni e si y as a pa o a collabo a ion o h ee uni e si ies loca ed in Chile,
Colombia and Finland. The pa ne ship was se up o p oduce eaching ools ha
balance global ele ance wi h local adap abili y. The oolki includes modula
empla es designed o guide s uden s h ough he p e- es ing, du ing- es ing, and
pos - es ing phases. Addi ionally, an expansion pack in oduces ic ional use s and
p oduc s, enabling p ac icing and e ining es ing me hodologies in di e se
scena ios. Pilo ed in mul idisciplina y se ings in Finland and Chile, he oolki
p o ided p ac ical insigh s no only in o s uden lea ning bu also in o how educa o s
adop and adap new pedagogical ools. This p ac ice pape p esen s he Use
1 Co esponding Au ho
S Figuei edo
[email p o ec ed]
Tes ing Toolki as a conc e e example o c oss-ins i u ional collabo a ion and
highligh s i s dual ole: enhancing s uden lea ning and s eng hening he educa ional
compe encies o enginee ing educa o s in use -cen e ed, p ac ice-based lea ning
con ex s.
1 INTRODUCTION
Use es ing is o en o e looked o poo ly implemen ed in ea ly-s age s uden design
p ojec s. No ices use p o o ypes ea ly o de ine use equi emen s and unde s and
hei needs less equen ly han expe s, and ins ead end o es wi h use s only la e
in he design p ocess o eedback and alida ion (Deininge e al, 2017). S uden s
end o ush o de elop design equi emen s while hey should ocus on ga he ing
di e se knowledge om a a ie y o in o man s, and his should be aken in o
accoun in cu iculum design (Mohedas e al., 2015) in o de o help s uden s
de elop hei abili y o apply use cen e ed design skills and knowledge. Especially in
he con ex o p ojec and p oblem based lea ning, s uden s need imely and
s uc u ed guidance and acili a ion om he eache (Doulouge i e al., 2024) and
di e en o ms o sca olding can o e he needed suppo (Ma in e al., 2019),
applying also o how and why o es hei ideas and concep s wi h use s ea ly on.
While s uden s need guidance and suppo , educa o s also ace challenges in
implemen ing p ojec based lea ning p ac ices, and suppo ing s uden s in engaging
in use cen e ed design p ac ices. These challenges include he lack o esou ces
and ma e ials suppo ing he ac i i ies (Chen e al., 2021), ha he cu en pape
esponds o.
In e na ional uni e si y collabo a ion helps in os e ing an in e connec ed, inno a i e,
and en i onmen ally and socially esponsible app oach o highe educa ion
bene i ing he ins i u ions bu also socie y a la ge (de Wi & Al bach, 2021).
The e o e, he cu en wo k in oduces an in e na ional collabo a ion whe e ma e ials
suppo ing eaching we e co-de eloped as pa o a b oade in e na ional p ojec .
The oolki in oduced he e, is designed o ease he educa o s wo k and suppo
s uden lea ning a ound use es ing. I is aimed o be used in enginee ing educa ion,
when in oducing use es ing o s uden s as a new opic, o when guiding c oss-
disciplina y eams in hei wo k.
2 CONTEXT AND PRACTICAL WORK
2.1 Global Collabo a ion
This p ojec was pa o an in e na ional collabo a ion be ween ins i u ions in
Colombia, Chile and Finland, ocused on de eloping eaching ools o suppo
enginee ing and design educa ion. Each pa ne c ea ed one ool, based on hei
local educa ional and indus ial con ex s while wo king wi hin a sha ed pedagogical
amewo k. The de elopmen p ocess was collabo a i e and i e a i e, wi h pa ne s
exchanging eedback and e ining each o he ’s wo k o ensu e alignmen ac oss he
di e en oolki s.
Al hough each oolki was de eloped independen ly, he collabo a ion ensu ed
pedagogical cohe ence and adap abili y o di e en lea ning en i onmen s,
inc easing he o e all use ulness o he ools and oolki s. Also, while he ools can
be used independen om each o he , hey can be used ac oss he lea ning jou ney,
o ming a con inuum o suppo . This model also e lec ed a sha ed objec i e o
p epa ing s uden s o wo k ac oss di e se, in e na ional, and in e disciplina y
se ings. The Use Tes ing Toolki , de eloped by he Finnish pa ne , is one example
o his collabo a ion. While i ocused speci ically on use es ing, i s s uc u e and
adap abili y we e in o med by insigh s and eedback ga he ed ac oss he
pa ne ship.
2.2 Use es ing oolki educa ional con ex
The Use Tes ing Toolki was de eloped by one o he pa ne ins i u ions o be used
in mul idisciplina y p ojec cou ses such as p oduc de elopmen and inno a ion
p ojec s. These cou ses b ing oge he s uden s om enginee ing, design, business,
and o he ields, o en wo king in eams wi h a ying le els o expe ience in use -
cen e ed design and use esea ch. In hese ypes o cou ses s uden s o en
pos pone use es ing un il la e in he p ocess. C ea ed in esponse o his common
challenge, he oolki encou ages o ma i e es ing and o e s p ac ical guidance on
how o conduc use es ing and wha o conside a di e en s ages o he p ocess. I
also se es as a p o essional de elopmen ool o educa o s, enabling hem o
con iden ly each use es ing me hods h ough a clea , e idence-in o med s uc u e.
By o e ing isual guides and session- eady ma e ials, he oolki lowe s he
h eshold o in eg a ing design educa ion and use esea ch in o enginee ing
cu icula. I p o ides educa o s wi h a conc e e means o suppo p ac ice-based
lea ning, ega dless o hei p io expe ience wi h design pedagogy o use es ing.
The oolki was pilo ed in he in ended use con ex , o collec eedback om
educa o s and s uden s o u he de elopmen . The esul s om his pilo ing will be
sha ed and discussed in Sec ion 3.2.
2.3 Use es ing oolki s uc u e
The Use Tes ing Toolki 2 is s uc u ed a ound h ee key phases o he es ing
p ocess: P e- es ing, Du ing es ing, and A e es ing (see Figu e 1). Each phase
includes clea ly de ined sub-ac i i ies and isual empla es ha guide s uden s
h ough planning, execu ion, and e lec ion. The oolki is designed o be modula
and lexible, allowing using indi idual ools o sho sessions, o applying he ull se
ac oss longe cou ses and p ojec s. S uden s wi h ongoing cou se p ojec s can apply
he oolki o hei p ojec s. Fo use cases whe e he oolki is used wi hou a speci ic
p ojec in mind, an expansion pack is a ailable, including ic ional use p o iles,
company b ie s, and physical p oduc s (e.g. a ci us squeeze o po a o peele ).
These allow s uden s o ole-play bo h acili a o and use oles, enabling hem o
p ac ice key echniques in a p e-designed se ing.
O e all, he oolki helps suppo ea ly-s age, i e a i e es ing and makes he p ocess
mo e accessible o s uden s wi h limi ed expe ience in use esea ch o p o o yping.
I p o ides clea , p ac ical guidance on wha o do, how o do i , wha o conside a
each s age o use es ing, and how o lea n om hese ac i i ies.
2 Fo mo e de ails on he Use Tes ing Toolki , see h ps://design ac o y.aal o. i/ oolki s/
Fi s , he p e- es ing ac i i ies suppo s uden s in p epa ing o a es ing session.
This includes ools ha help de ine es ing goals, and in selec ing and p io i izing es
pa icipan s. Addi ional empla es guide s uden s in choosing a es ing me hod,
planning logis ics, and mapping ou he session low. In he ollowing du ing es ing
phase, he de eloped empla e o e s s uc u ed guidance on wha o obse e and
how o engage wi h use s. I includes p omp s o spoken and unspoken insigh s,
helping s uden s cap u e use beha iou , emo ions, and eedback. Finally, he a e
es ing phase ocuses on making sense o he ga he ed da a. S uden s a e guided
h ough iden i ying pa e ns, ansla ing insigh s in o ideas, and p io i ising
imp o emen s. Final empla es suppo he de ini ion o conc e e nex s eps.
Fig. 1. Use es ing oolki ma e ials
3 REFLECTION AND INSIGHTS FROM DEVELOPMENT AND PILOTING
3.1 Re lec ions on in e na ional collabo a ion and eaching ool de elopmen
This sec ion explo es he expe iences o he educa o s in ol ed in he co-c ea ion o
eaching ools ac oss Colombia, Chile and Finland. Re lec ions ocus on how
wo king collabo a i ely wi h in e na ional pa ne s shaped hei app oach o
educa ional design and p ac ice.
Cul u al ele ance and adap abili y we e emphasised by educa o s ac oss he h ee
coun ies. The Colombian eam emphasised ha using local examples is
undamen al o he e ec i eness o a ool because i ensu es ha con en esona es
wi h lea ne s, and b idges he gap be ween heo e ical concep s and eal-wo ld
applica ions. They also no ed ha while global amewo ks p o ide s uc u e, i is
impo an o c ea e lexible enough ools o allow eache s o inco po a e di e se
lea ning s yles, languages, and con ex ual needs. The Finnish educa o s simila ly
e lec ed on how he collabo a ion helped hem conside how ools can se e di e se
lea ning en i onmen s, pa icula ly h ough egionally g ounded examples ha
allowed s uden s o unde s and how use needs, indus y, and cul u e in e sec .
In e cul u al and in e disciplina y lea ning was a key bene i o he collabo a ion. The
Chilean eam desc ibed how wo king wi h o he coun ies helped hem gain
pe spec i e on di e en app oaches o educa ional design, no only om an
in e cul u al s andpoin , bu also om an in e disciplina y one. Th ough a se ies o
mee ing poin s among he ins i u ions, hey we e able o ans e knowledge and new
insigh s in o he de elopmen o each ool. The Colombian eam also e lec ed on
how he collabo a ion add essed challenges speci ic o hei con ex , such as
con lic ing in e es s among s akeholde s and he in e ac ion be ween he u al and
u ban wo ld. These challenges spa ked c ea i e solu ions ha en iched he
in e na ional co-c ea ion p ocess.
Collabo a ion p ac ices and alues we e consis en ly highligh ed by all h ee
pa ne s. The Colombian educa o s emphasised he alue o open communica ion,
mu ual espec , and i e a i e eedback when wo king ac oss coun ies and
ins i u ions. Chilean e lec ions also highligh ed his sen imen , no ing ha an open
a i ude and emb acing di e en pe spec i es wi h cu iosi y g ea ly en iched he
collabo a i e p ocess. The Finnish eam also emphasised he ele ance o c ea ing
space o open exchange ea ly in he p ocess no only abou con en , bu also abou
pedagogical alues.
B oade educa ional goals also eme ged as a sha ed poin o e lec ion. The Chilean
eam poin ed ou ha educa ion mus be based on he needs o socie y, which
in e ela e in a dynamic p ocess. Re iewing in e na ional examples helped b oaden
hei ision o educa ional inno a ion, enabling he exchange o p ac ices and es ing
in di e en en i onmen s. The Finnish eam connec ed hese e lec ions o s uden
lea ning, no ing ha as g adua es a e expec ed o wo k ac oss bo de s, cul u es, and
disciplines, exposing hem o di e en ways o hinking du ing hei s udies is
essen ial.
Toge he , hese e lec ions show ha in e na ional collabo a ion no only con ibu ed
o he de elopmen o he eaching ools, bu also unc ioned as a pla o m o sha ed
educa o lea ning, whe e pa icipan s exchanged ins uc ional s a egies, co-
de eloped esou ces, and e ined hei unde s anding o enginee ing pedagogy.
3.2 Re lec ions on local implemen a ion o he use es ing oolki
Fig. 2. Implemen a ion one in Finland
Fig. 3. Implemen a ion wo in Chile
The Use Tes ing Toolki was pilo ed in wo dis inc educa ional se ings: a
mul idisciplina y p oduc de elopmen cou se in Finland and an in e na ional
c ea i i y and inno a ion managemen cou se in Chile. Bo h implemen a ions we e
ime-limi ed and used ic ional p oduc s om he Expansion Pack o simula e a p e-
designed es ing en i onmen .
Insigh s om i s implemen a ion: The Use Tes ing Toolki was implemen ed in a
2.5-hou session in Finland. S uden s wo ked wi h ools om all h ee phases, p e,
du ing, and pos - es ing, including he Look Feel Usabili y model, use es ing guide,
and Impac s. E o ma ix. S uden s es ed ic ional p oduc s like a ga lic p ess o
po a o peele , along wi h p ede ined use p o iles and b ie s. This c ea ed a sha ed,
low-p essu e en i onmen ha suppo ed pa icipa ion ac oss disciplines and
expe ience le els. Educa o s obse ed ha s uden s quickly g asped he oolki ’s
s uc u e and app ecia ed he isual amewo ks. Howe e , some no ed he example
p oduc s we e oo simple o explo e use insigh s in dep h. While a mo e complex
p oduc could o e iche es ing oppo uni ies, i would also equi e mo e ime and
eadiness o unpack meaning ully. This highligh ed a key ade-o , simpli ied
scena ios p omo e accessibili y and i sho sessions, while mo e nuanced cases
demand deepe engagemen and ime.
Insigh s om second implemen a ion: In Chile, he Use Tes ing Toolki was
implemen ed in an hou and 10-minu e session, using only ou empla es: wo om
he p e- es , one du ing, and one pos - es ing. Simila o insigh om Finland, he
s uden s es ed ic ional p oduc s, such as he head and acial massage s. To keep
he exe cise s aigh o wa d, he p ede ined use p o iles we e no implemen ed, as
he educa o s obse ed ha he dynamics we e al eady es ablished among he
s uden s and hey o ganically s a ed c ea ing hei own p o iles. The es ing was
o ganised in o wo cycles, so e e y s uden could expe ience being a es e / use
and an in e iewe / obse e . Educa o s no ed ha he oolki 's isual amewo k
made i easie o he s uden s o unde s and he con en , he goal o he session and
he asks, ega dless o he language ba ie s. The p oduc s used o he es ing
we e un amilia o mos s uden s, which was in en ional. The in ended goal was o
s uden s no o be biased by p e ious expe iences hey had wi h he p oduc , and he
es ing could be pu ely ocused on he in e ac ion be ween he es e - objec -
obse e du ing he session.
4 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
This p ac ice pape p esen s he Use Tes ing Toolki and e lec s on i s de elopmen
and es ing h ough in e na ional collabo a ion.The esea ch gap add essed by his
pape is he lack o ools and esou ces o help educa o s in eg a e p ojec -based
lea ning and use -cen e ed design p ac ices in o hei eaching. Knowing ha
ma e ial sca olds complemen ed by educa o s’ ac i e engagemen suppo lea ning
ac i i ies (Ma in e al., 2019), he oolki was designed o enable s uden s o engage
wi h ea ly-s age use eedback, h ough s uc u ed, modula empla es ha guide
s uden s h ough h ee es ing phases. The pape also highligh s he alue o
in e na ional collabo a ion in de eloping he ool, wi h ins i u ions om Colombia,
Chile and Finland con ibu ing hei pe spec i es. Feedback om educa o s and
s uden s in di e se cul u al and educa ional se ings p o ided aluable insigh s in o
he oolki 's e ec i eness and highligh ed a eas o imp o emen , ensu ing ha he
oolki is globally ele an and adap able o di e en cul u al and educa ional
con ex s.
Fo educa o s, he oolki o e s a p ac ical and adap able esou ce o in eg a e use
es ing in o hei cou ses. I p o ides a s ep-by-s ep guide o s uden s o conduc
use es ing, making he p ocess mo e accessible, especially o hose wi h limi ed
p e ious expe ience o en leading o insu icien es ing in ea ly phases (Deininge e
al, 2017). This is pa icula ly aluable in p ojec -based and in e disciplina y se ings,
whe e s uden s o en come om di e se backg ounds and may lack a sha ed
unde s anding o use -cen e ed design p ac ices. The oolki ’s s uc u e also allows
educa o s o adap i o di e en cou se du a ions and p ojec ypes, inc easing i s
use ulness in a ied eaching con ex s. Addi ionally, i enhances educa o s’
ins uc ional compe encies in use -cen e ed design, especially o hose om
enginee ing backg ounds less amilia wi h pa icipa o y and quali a i e esea ch
me hods.The oolki can hus be seen no only as a s uden - acing lea ning esou ce,
bu also as a ool ha suppo s he p o essional de elopmen o eaching s a in
enginee ing and design educa ion.
In en ional i e a ions in ea ly phases o de elopmen p ojec s c ea e alue h ough,
o example, building knowledge and cla i ying needs and goals (Wynn & Ecke ,
2017). Fo s uden s, he p esen ed oolki o e s a hands-on app oach o lea ning
use -cen e ed design, and encou ages ea ly engagemen wi h use s, hus helping
s uden s ga he aluable eedback and e ine hei designs h ough i e a ions. The
oolki also suppo s in e disciplina y collabo a ion, enabling s uden s om di e se
ields o wo k oge he e ec i ely. The oppo uni y o apply hese concep s o bo h
eal and ic ional p oduc s also allows s uden s o build con idence in hei use
esea ch skills, making hem mo e p epa ed o hei u u e ca ee s.
F om an indus y pe spec i e, he oolki b idges he gap be ween academic lea ning
and p o essional p ac ice by p o iding s uden s wi h he skills o conduc meaning ul
use es ing and design p oduc s ha be e mee use needs. As indus y
inc easingly demands enginee s who can in eg a e use eedback h oughou
de elopmen , he oolki p o ides s uden s wi h a s ong ounda ion o mee hese
expec a ions.
Mo ing o wa d, he oolki holds he po en ial o u he e inemen and adap a ion
in a wide ange o educa ional se ings. Con inued es ing in di e se en i onmen s
will s eng hen i s e ec i eness and ensu e i s b oade applicabili y. Ul ima ely, he
oolki con ibu es o p epa ing s uden s o he collabo a i e, in e disciplina y, and
use - ocused wo k equi ed in he global enginee ing landscape.
5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We hank he Aal o Design Fac o y esea ch eam, ou pa ne ins i u ions in Chile
and Colombia, and he s uden s who pa icipa ed in he pilo sessions. This wo k was
de eloped as pa o a TFK unded ini ia i e, suppo ing in e na ional collabo a ion in
enginee ing educa ion.
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