Abstract:
The focus of this study was a case-based approach used in the first year course
Introduction to Process and Materials Engineering, PRME1002, at the University of the
Witwatersrand in 2005. This approach attempted to promote epistemic access to Process
and Materials Engineering by moving away from the more traditional decontextualised
and contrived engineering problems and introducing context-rich cases entailing more
authentic engineering problems. The study investigated the extent to which the context
rich problem-solving environment afforded the students epistemic access to Process and
Materials Engineering. This was done through an analysis of the form and content of
students’ knowledge and problem-solving skills as evidenced in their written responses to
case-based problems. A modified form of the Structure of Learning Outcomes (SOLO)
taxonomy was used as the instrument of analysis. The research showed that students
tended to work in fragmented ways despite the context. They tended not to fully explore
the context and as such could not successfully identify the salient aspects. They
frequently ignored evidence in the context and invented their own in order to be able to
use strategies that they were most familiar with. These findings suggest that that while the
case-based approach introduced in the course, theoretically has the hallmarks of an ideal
approach with which to create a favourable environment for learning, if students treat
knowledge as fragmented and aren’t persuaded by the context to change their ways of
working, the case-based approach does not afford students optimal epistemological
access.
