Problem Framing Behavior in Statics and Thermodynamics

When engineering students struggle with problems, it usually occurs in the problem framing stage when they are trying to identify the relevant principles and concepts and how they are related to each other (e.g., a free body diagram, vapor dome graph, state diagram). We are interested in identifying when students are experiencing difficulty in this problem framing stage so that we can provide meaningful formative assessment in terms of hints that helps them develop better problem solving skills. To identify when students are experiencing difficulty in problem framing, we collected data on student behavior as they solved problems with different levels of complexity. We used Smart pens to record students’ writing/sketching and voice as they used a think-aloud protocol to describe their thought processes. The problem descriptions and information resources were provided within a web-based problem solving environment, ThinkSpace. Our protocol analysis of student cognitive activities during problem solving indicated that there are significant differences in activities between good and poor performing students. This characterization can serve as a basis for identifying students who have having difficulty with problem framing and providing meaningful feedback in order to improve student learning Introduction How can we help students improve their problem solving skills so that they are better prepared for their professional careers? We need to focus on developing their problem framing skills. Problem framing is the most critical stage in the problem solving process especially with illstructured problems that are typical in engineering. It is at this stage that we identify the relevant principles and concepts and how they are related to each other (e.g., a free body diagram, vapor dome graph, state diagram). Diefes-Dux and Salim (2009) as well as Redish and Smith (2008) have studied problem framing from the perspective of constructing a simplified representation of phenomena related to a problem using a model. Not surprisingly, it was found that first year students had difficulties with problem formulation and that more guidance and repetitive practice are warranted (Diefes-Dux and Salim 2009). Correct problem framing is critical at the onset of problem solving because the solution process follows directly from the formulation (Voss and Post 1988). Clement et al. (1981) found that undergraduate students had great difficulty formulating simple math problems (i.e., writing a mathematical expression) that were presented as text descriptions. The students were asked to formulate the problem, but did not have to solve it. In most cases, fewer than 50% of the students could formulate the problem correctly. Similarly in the intelligent tutoring systems literature, Heffernan (2001) identified articulating a mathematical expression as a substantial part of story problem difficulty. However, methods for measuring problem framing skills are not well-defined, making it difficult to assess student achievement in this area. We are interested in identifying when students are experiencing difficulty in this problem framing stage so that we can provide meaningful formative assessment in terms of hints that helps them develop better problem framing skills. The problem contexts for this study include statics, materials, and thermodynamics. As a first step towards this goal we have studied potential factors that lead to problem complexity which P ge 23984.2 causes difficulties in the problem framing stage. In addition, we have collected and analyzed data on the problem framing stage to develop a metric for differentiating student performance. Methods Problem Complexity As problem complexity increases, students’ ability to frame a problem decreases. Therefore, we need a method for assessing problem complexity so that we can create problems in a controlled fashion that achieve the appropriate level of difficulty. Students and instructors were surveyed on problem complexity for problem sets based on the following simple survey instrument based on a Likert scale. This provided a means of calibrating our results in terms of the level of difficulty that students will experience during problem framing. Please rate how complex (i.e., difficult) you think this problem is.