Compound Problem Solving: Insights from the Workplace for Engineering Education

Abstract

For engineering educators who incorporate real-world problems into their teaching, it is essential to understand real-world problem solving and the nature of problems for better design of the instruction. Prior research provided evidence that real-world problems involve many stakeholders, are complex, and have multiple solutions and solution paths. The purpose of this paper is to provide additional insights particularly into the structure/class of workplace problems and associated models of expertise. This paper describes the findings of a study that employed a two-step process: (1) a single-case study of a steel engineer generating a model of compound problem solving and (2) a multi-case comparison of 90 problem-solving narratives of other engineers to the single case. The study is located in a U.S. context. Results indicate that real-world problems are intertwined problems (compound problems) and that transitions from one problem type to another within a compound problem are a unique class of problems themselves. These transition problems have properties that are not represented in other problem types and provide insights into expertise and expertise development in problem solving.