Developing a Troubleshooting Learning Environment

This BCSER Individual Investigator Development (IID) project will build the PIs expertise in STEM education research study design, research methods, and data analysis techniques to complement their Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering expertise. In addition, to planned professional development the project will support a pilot STEM education research project that investigates key competencies in troubleshooting. The pilot is designed to result in new knowledge about key aspects of trouble shooting skill as well as develop a practical, low cost, space-efficient learning environment which could be used to teach trouble shooting skills. Despite the practical importance of troubleshooting skills in STEM research and workplaces, we do not know the best practices to teach structured troubleshooting to engineering students. Troubleshooting involves the identification and resolution of problems within a system or process, various psychological constructs and theoretical frameworks are deeply connected to the knowledge and skills required for effective troubleshooting. These include Novice to Expert Transition, Structured Troubleshooting, and Diagrammatic Troubleshooting. These frameworks are not isolated and often interplay, with structured and diagrammatic troubleshooting being more effective as one progresses from novice to expert. As expertise develops, individuals integrate structured methods with intuitive insights gained from experience, allowing for more efficient problem-solving. This work involves obtaining qualitative data on essential troubleshooting competencies required in the mechanical engineering industry. A troubleshooting learning environment is designed investigating skills involved in expert troubleshooting, using techniques in collaborating problem solving and diagrammatic representation/reasoning. Project findings will be shared through workshops and presentations at conferences. The success of this project will be assessed through regular meetings with the advisory board. The project is supported by NSF's EDU Core Research Building Capacity in STEM Education Research (ECR: BCSER) program, which is designed to build investigators' capacity to carry out high-quality STEM education research. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.