Developing Knowledge in Engineering Science Courses: Sense-Making and Epistemologies in Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Homework Session

Constructing and applying conceptual knowledge about physical systems is a core activity of practicing mechanical engineers. Yet, studies have shown a surprising proportion of graduating engineering students respond to conceptual questions by recalling fragmented facts and equations; they struggle to reason systematically about the causal mechanisms that drive a phenomenon. One activity where students are expected to develop conceptual engineering knowledge in engineering science courses is during the completion of assigned homework problems. This dissertation examined six undergraduate engineering science homework sessions to identify sense-making conversations that may have lead to conceptual knowledge construction. These episodes of sense-making -- or in some cases, only bids for sense-making -- were analyzed to understand student shifts from task production to knowledge construction. Participants were also interviewed about homework sessions and other assigned tasks in engineering courses to explore their epistemologies. The interviews showed specifically what students believe counts as knowledge in engineering, how they believe they best develop engineering knowledge, and what pedagogical choices by the instructor students notice as productive for their development of knowledge. Findings have implications for the design of engineering science tasks and future research initiatives about conceptual knowledge building during homework sessions.