Defining open-ended problem solving through problem typology framework

Problem solving is central to engineering education. Yet, there is little agreement regarding what constitutes an exemplary design problem or case analysis problem for modeling undergraduate instruction after. There is even less agreement in engineering education literature regarding the best way to measure students' ability or progress in learning to be better problem solvers in these discrete problem categories, especially with "open" problems. We describe the development of a research method toward accessing how students think about solving different types of engineering problems, like design and case analysis, what constitutes a measurable response, and how to compare through qualitative research methods pre and post student performance. The contribution of this paper is a discussion of our effort to develop an appropriate open problem statement, based on problem typology research of David Jonassen. The discussion draws from Jonassen's framework, as well as cognitive learning frameworks, and metacognition as a theoretical basis that informs the problem formulation and planned approach for analysis.