Understanding Learners’ Negotiation Processes During Ill-Structured Engineering Estimation Problem-Solving

Abstract

Estimation of physical quantities is an important practice in engineering. However, estimation problems are ill-structured and complex, and learners require support to solve them successfully. Modelling Based Estimation Learning Environment (MEttLE) is an open-ended learning environment (OELE) designed to support undergraduate engineering students in estimation problem-solving based on disciplinary model-based reasoning tasks and metacognitive scaffolds. When learners collaboratively solve estimation problems in MEttLE, its open-ended pedagogical design implies that different learners may have different approaches to reach a required common ground and learners’ negotiation becomes crucial. This study aims to understand where, why, and how learners negotiate and how it influences estimation problem-solving. We analyze learners’ problem-solving approach through their collaborative discourse and actions as they work on MEttLE to build and evaluate models to estimate a physical quantity. Our findings indicate that learners’ negotiation strengthens the processes that underlie good estimation problem-solving.