Development and Instructional Organization of Teaching Cases for Complex Engineering Problems in the Measurement and Control Technology and Instrumentation Program

Abstract

Solving complex engineering problems requires students to combine disciplinary knowledge when they analyze problems and compare possible solutions. They must also make engineering decisions. In the Measurement and Control Technology and Instrumentation program, some teaching cases still focus on isolated knowledge points. Technical pathways are often fixed in advance. Few engineering constraints are considered, and assessment often emphasizes final results. Measurement and control tasks usually involve knowledge-module interconnection, multiple constraints, solution openness, and iterative validation. This study uses these features to redesign conventional tasks as teaching cases for complex engineering problems. The redesign includes four stages: engineering context embedding, knowledge module coupling, incorporation of engineering constraints, and solution openness and evidence-based validation. Case development also addresses two issues. The first is which complexity factors from the original engineering task should be retained. The second is how these factors should be reorganized for classroom use. These two steps are termed the extraction of complexity factors and pedagogical restructuring. The teaching cases are organized into three levels: structured cases, semi-open cases, and open-ended complex cases. The three levels differ in four dimensions: knowledge-module interconnection, engineering constraints, solution openness, and validation requirements. For each level, the paper discusses task configuration, instructional organization, and process-based assessment. The approach links the development of complex engineering problem-solving ability to course-based teaching cases. It also keeps the instructional scope of each case clearly defined.