A PROCESS ANALYSIS of ENGINEERING PROBLEM SOLVING and ASSESSMENT of PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS Sarah Grigg Clemson University, [email protected]
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Clemson University TigerPrints All Dissertations Dissertations 12-2012 A PROCESS ANALYSIS OF ENGINEERING PROBLEM SOLVING AND ASSESSMENT OF PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS Sarah Grigg Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations Part of the Industrial Engineering Commons Recommended Citation Grigg, Sarah, "A PROCESS ANALYSIS OF ENGINEERING PROBLEM SOLVING AND ASSESSMENT OF PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS" (2012). All Dissertations. 1012. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1012 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A PROCESS ANALYSIS OF ENGINEERING PROBLEM SOLVING AND ASSESSMENT OF PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctorate of Philosophy Industrial Engineering by Sarah J. Grigg December 2012 Accepted by: Dr. Anand Gramopadhye, Committee Chair Dr. Lisa Benson Dr. Joel Greenstein Dr. Sandra Garrett ABSTRACT In the engineering profession, one of the most critical skills to possess is accurate and efficient problem solving. Thus, engineering educators should strive to help students develop skills needed to become competent problem solvers. In order to measure the development of skills, it is necessary to assess student performance, identify any deficiencies present in problem solving attempts, and identify trends in performance over time. Through iterative assessment using standard assessment metrics, researchers/instructors are able to track trends in problem solving performance across time, which can serve as a gauge of students’ learning gains. This research endeavor studies the problem solving process of first year engineering students in order to assess how person and process factors influence problem-solving success. This research makes a contribution to the literature in engineering education by 1) providing a coding scheme that can be used to analyze problem solving attempts in terms of the process rather than just outcomes, 2) providing an assessment tool which can be used to measure performance along the seven stage problem solving cycle, and 3) describing the effects of person and process factors on problem solving performance. i DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this manuscript to all my family and friends who have supported me throughout my academic career. Special thanks go out to my parents Thomas and Jane Grigg who were constantly there to encourage me and to push me to finish. I could not have done it without your love and support. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge the support of the National Science Foundation who made this research effort possible. I would also like to thank all of my professors that have molded my educational experience. Special thanks go out to my advisors and committee members that mentored me through this process. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE .................................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ xi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH ............................................................. 1 Significance of the study .......................................................................... 3 Overview .................................................................................................. 4 II. LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................. 6 Information Processing Models ............................................................... 6 Problem Solving Theories........................................................................ 9 Factors Influencing Problem Solving Performance ............................... 13 Performance Outcome Measures ........................................................... 18 III. RESEARCH METHODS ............................................................................ 21 Research Design..................................................................................... 21 Experimental Design .............................................................................. 21 Data Collection Instruments .................................................................. 23 Data Analysis Methods .......................................................................... 26 IV. DESIGN AND VALIDATION OF A CODING SCHEME FOR ANALYZING ENGINEERING PROBLEM SOLVING ..................... 30 Introduction ............................................................................................ 31 iv Table of Contents (Continued) Page Literature Review................................................................................... 32 Methods.................................................................................................. 37 Coding Scheme Development................................................................ 41 Conclusions ............................................................................................ 59 V. ESTABLISHING MEASURES OF PROBLEM SOLVING PERFORMANCE .................................................................................. 62 Introduction ............................................................................................ 62 Establishing Measures of Problem Solving Performance ...................... 64 Measures of Problem Solving Processes ............................................... 65 Measures of Performance Outcomes ..................................................... 79 VI. WHAT PROBLEM SOLVING FEATURES ARE MORE PREVALENT IN SUCCESSFUL SOLUTIONS? ............................................................. 84 Introduction ............................................................................................ 85 Methods.................................................................................................. 88 Results .................................................................................................... 92 Discussion ............................................................................................ 101 Conclusion ........................................................................................... 104 VII. WHAT ARE THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PROBLEM SOLVING PERFORMANCE AND MENTAL WORKLOAD? ......................... 106 Introduction .......................................................................................... 107 Methods................................................................................................ 111 Results .................................................................................................. 118 Discussion ............................................................................................ 125 Conclusion ........................................................................................... 127 VIII. HOW DOES ACADEMIC PREPARATION INFLUNCE HOW STUDENTS SOLVE PROBLEMS? ........................................................................ 130 Introduction .......................................................................................... 131 Methods................................................................................................ 134 Results .................................................................................................. 138 Discussion ............................................................................................ 145 v Table of Contents (Continued) Page Conclusion ........................................................................................... 147 IX. ENHANCING PROBLEM SOLVING ASSESSMENT WITH PROCESS CENTERED ANALYSIS ................................................................... 149 Introduction .......................................................................................... 150 Measures of internal processes of the problem solving stages ............ 152 Measures of performance outcomes .................................................... 153 Comparing performance measures ...................................................... 154 Creation of a problem solving process rubric ...................................... 156 Implications for Practice ...................................................................... 160 Implications for Future Research ......................................................... 161 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................. 163 A: Solar Efficiency Problem ........................................................................... 164 B: Equivalent Circuits Problem ...................................................................... 165 C: Hydrostatic