Real World Learning and Problem Solving

THINKING LIKE AN ENGINEER

Engineers make ‘things’ that work or make ‘things’ work better. But they do this in quite particular ways. The six Engineering Habits of Mind that seem to be essential, to the way engineers think and act when face with challenging real-world problems and solving them:

1. Problem-finding: It is, clarifying needs; checking existing solutions; investigating contexts; verifying.

2. Visualising: Its, being able to move from abstract to concrete; manipulating materials; mental rehearsal of physical space; mental rehearsal of practical design solutions; thinking in 3D.

3. Improving: It is, relentlessly trying to make things better by experimenting, tinkering, designing, sketching, guessing, conjecturing and prototyping.

4. Creative problem-solving: It is, applying techniques from di.erent traditions; generating ideas and solutions with others; generous but rigorous critiquing; seeing engineering as a ‘team sport’.

5. Systems thinking: It is, seeing whole systems and parts and how they connect; spotting patterns; recognising interdependencies; synthesising.

6. Adaptability: It is, testing; analysing; reflecting; rethinking; changing, both in a physical sense and mentally.

Keeping the close relationship between engineering habits of mind and wider employability skills, IARE uses the following innovative real-world learning and problem-solving approaches for its engineering students:

• Complex Engineering Problem Solving
• Using Case Studies
• Real-Life Examples in Classroom
• Video Production and Showcasing

Complex Engineering Problem Solving

Our world is no longer one of simple problems.

In times of increasing globalization and technological advances, many problems humans have to face in everyday life are quite complex, involving multiple goals as well as many possible actions that could be considered, each associated with several different and uncertain consequences, in environments that may change dynamically and independent of the problem solvers’ actions.

The complex problems of today, however, require knowledge and skills well beyond the typical domains of design, concerning the systems structure and dynamics.

Systems

A system is a regularly interacting collection of interdependent elements organized in a way that achieves a specific function or purpose. Systems involve inputs, processes, outputs, and feedback.

Inputs are anything that goes into the system to produce outputs, including information, resources, tools, work, and time. Processes are the workings of the system that actually transform inputs into outputs. Feedback is information the system needs to make adjustments during the transformation process.

The work of designers is often to use feedback and research to identify leverage points, places where changes in the inputs or processes of the system result in significant positive outcomes. Even when the design project is defined at the component level, it is important to understand its position or role in the work of larger systems. The elements that make up a system are usually easy to see, but the relationships among them are often informal or invisible and require research.

Complex problems have multiple interacting issues with conflicting goals. There is uncertainty and you must make judgements based on the information available. Solving complex problems is a skill. Learners need to be coached on how to make judgements and evaluate the benefits versus risks. A complex problem involves a system. A system comprises at least two parts that work together to form a whole. You cannot alter one part without influencing the other parts.

For a problem to be complex it must possess the following attributes:

• be a system
• have multiple possible solutions
• not have a linear solution
• have multiple, potentially conflicting, stakeholder requirements, priorities, and constraints.

Attributes of a complex problem A problem does not need to be large to be complex, but it must contain some or all the attributes below:

• The number of involved variables. A complex system will likely contain at least three variables, and their relationship is not linear.
• Connectivity of the system – how the parts are connected and work together, impacting each other when the engineer makes changes.
• The role of time and developments within a system. How will changes impact other parts of the system with time, and what is required to deal with those impacts.
• There is a lack of transparency (in part or full) about the involved variables and their current values. There will be unknown unknowns.
• Conflicting goals – there are likely to be goal conflicts, where altering one part of the system negatively impacts another. Additionally, a system may have unclear boundaries, whereby a change to one part has a knock-on effect in ways not not immediately apparent, such that each system is part of a wider, complex system.

What are the benefits?

• Provide guidance for engineers to produce robust designs
• Agreement between major stakeholders
• Document to have sufficient status for regulators to push back on less robust designs
• Increase design consistency and reduce Building Code non-compliant designs
• Publication within a twelve-month time frame

Examples

1. The number of involved variables. A complex system will likely contain at least three variables, and their relationship is usually not linear.

Arriving at a compatible value for each may involve experimentation, testing, iteration and/or deriving mathematical relationships.

Example: Design of a household wind turbine. Variables include wind direction, wind intensity, site space, planning restrictions on height, property boundaries and noise, plus aesthetics.

2. Connectivity of the system - how the parts are connected and work together, impacting each other when the engineer makes changes.

Connections in a complex system are typically not 1:1, which means changes to one component will affect the connection to multiple other components. A similar approach to point 1 is often required when one part is modified.

Example: A heating and air conditioning system. This consists of a heat exchanger, blower, combustion chamber/heater, condenser coil/compressor and thermostat. All components must be connected and sized so they work cohesively and efficiently.

3. The role of time and developments within a system. How will changes impact other parts of the system with time, and what is required to deal with those impacts.

In a mechanical system, one time-variant aspect is wear. There may be a hierarchy of wear, where the engineer designs cheaper or more accessible components to wear out first, in preference to more expensive or difficult to access components. In that example, the design would need to provide ways to identify the magnitude of the wear and replace the worn components.

Example: A vehicle’s braking system. How do you ensure consistent and repeatable breaking despite wear on disks, pads and actuation systems? You will need to identify wear components and mechanisms (eg designing some components to wear out deliberately).

4. The lack of transparency (in part or full) about the involved variables and their current values. There will be unknown unknowns.

A complex system may require a preliminary design (prototype) to identify some of the unknown unknowns and reclassify them as known unknowns. The engineer may not initially know the significance of some of the variables.

Example: Designing a consumer product. An engineer will know how the product should be used but won’t know how it might be misused. Without full knowledge, how do you ensure the product is safe and reliable?

5. Conflicting goals. There are likely to be goal conflicts, where altering one part of the system negatively impacts another.

One example is performance trade-offs, which may require a compromise between cost, size, mass, and force parameters. In other words, you cannot meet all the original requirements simultaneously, so you must resolve the conflicts to a point where the resultant specification is mutually acceptable.

Example: Designing a flying drone. There is a constant trade-off between payload, performance, endurance, safety, and control.

Student Competencies:

• Students should frame design problems at various scales, nested at the level of components, products, systems, and communities.
  They should have opportunities to respond to open-ended briefs with ongoing responsibility for negotiating the boundaries of problems and for ranking priorities within a well-researched list of constraints and opportunities. Design solutions should be critiqued in terms of the fit with physical, social, cultural, technological, and economic contexts, and the definition of those contexts should be open to criticism as well.
• Students should identify and visually map the interdependent relationships among people, places, things, and activities in a complex system.
  They should develop concept mapping, diagramming, and systems modeling skills that assist in the analysis and articulation of complex problems. They should identify and justify “territories” for investigation within maps and models, acknowledging their position within a larger network of issues and forces.
• Students should locate leverage points where changes can produce differences in the state of the system and experiences of stakeholders.
  They should develop scenarios and personas that describe the varied experiences of stakeholders under these variables. They should visualize users’ journeys as a series of motivated actions that constitute discrete episodes of larger experiences, describing elements and forces within the system that affect decisions and outcomes. They should identify feedback loops for recognizing and responding to changes in the forces that affect the system.
• Students should evaluate design solutions for their short- and long-term physical, social, cultural, technological, and economic effects.
  They should anticipate evolving conditions and think in terms of lifespan relationships. Students should identify the nature of values and modes of inquiry in various disciplines that contribute to the successful solution of complex design problems. They should collaborate with students and experts from a variety of disciplines, facilitating agreement on terminology, concepts, principles, and processes that lead to a shared design solution. They should make effective use of content acquired through general education coursework. Students should engage in conversation and group decision-making processes that support building consensus around systems thinking.
• Students should identify the nature of values and modes of inquiry in various disciplines that contribute to the successful solution of complex design problems.
  They should collaborate with students and experts from a variety of disciplines, facilitating agreement on terminology, concepts, principles, and processes that lead to a shared design solution. They should make effective use of content acquired through general education coursework. Students should engage in conversation and group decision-making processes that support building consensus around systems thinking.

Complex Problem Solving Evaluation
 

Download

Complex Problem Solving Self Assessment Form

Download

Complex Problem Solving - Engineering Competence Profiles

Download

Using Case Studies

A kind of problem-based learning, case studies are normally stories of engineering problems and challenges that are taken from the real world. They are frequently open-ended with no right answer. They might, for example, give an account of a problem or design challenge with multiple ethical or technical issues. The case provides a close to real-world opportunity for students to apply the knowledge they are learning on their engineering course.

Real-Life Examples in Classroom

Faculty incorporate into lessons, the real-life examples and connections. Incorporated into lessons, students understand why they are learning is useful beyond the walls of their classroom. They can see how they can use learning in real life, and how it impacts their true world.

Connecting classroom learning with real-life examples builds engagement, fosters critical thinking, and encourages outside-of-the-box ideas. It connects lessons with other subjects to create a holistic way of thinking that deviates from the routine linear way that teaching is typically done.

This approach, motivates the students for better engagement, learning, and therefore success. Such environment increases students attention and promotes meaningful learning experiences.

Video Production and Showcasing

Introductory modules where student product design, produce and showcase a short video providing insight into a technical engineering subject area. Centre of Technology Innovation and Incubation Centre produced and showcased short videos on innovative product design and development, along with an associated business plan for taking the product to market.