A Framework For Using Graphical Representations As Assessments Of Engineering Thinking

Engineers and engineering students often face the challenge of comprehending complex systems because they are unsuccessful at recognizing major components in the system and the relationships between the components. Diagrams and sketches can facilitate their comprehension and communication of the complexity of a system. Their ability to construct and reason with these diagrams demonstrates their understanding of how to use the tools and their current conceptual understanding of the factors governing the behavior of that system. We are conducting a series of studies to better understand how students come to understand these tools better and its link to comprehending new domain knowledge. This paper presents a theoretical framework for analyzing the interaction between knowledge associated with graphical representations (tools) to support thinking and the domain knowledge associated with using these tools to solve both routine problems and adapting ones knowledge to generate new knowledge (innovation). We used think aloud protocols and observation of dyads working on problem solving activities (designing, troubleshooting, analyzing or explaining) with these tools. We explored results from two pilot studies of students‟ generating a House of Quality and functional block diagrams, which are both useful tools in making sense of a problem context. Participants constructed the diagrams as individuals or as part of a team. Results from these studies inform the development of a framework we use to guide our interpretation of students‟ learning progression toward analyzing systems. In addition, the results of students‟ thinking will inform the design of timely and meaningful formative feedback in an automated formative assessment system called Graphical Representations to Assess System Performance (GRASP).