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   Problem solving is central to engineering education. Yet, there little agreement regarding what constitutes an exemplary design problem or case analysis problem for modeling undergraduate instruction after. There is even less agreement in engineering education literature regarding the best way to measure students ability or progress in learning to be better problem solvers in these discrete problem categories. We describe the development of a research method toward accessing how students think about design is described, what constitutes a measurable response, and how to compare through qualitative research methods pre and post student performance. The discussion draws from Jonassen’s (2000) framework for problem typology, as well as cognitive learning frameworks of design thinking, and metacognition as a theoretical basis that informs the problem formulation and planned approach for analysis. 

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   Abstract In the equatorial and subtropical east Pacific Ocean, strong ocean‐atmosphere coupling results in large‐amplitude interannual variability. Recent literature debates whether climate models reproduce observed short and long‐term surface temperature trends in this region. We reconcile the debate by reevaluating a large range of trends in initial condition ensembles of 15 climate models. We confirm that models fail to reproduce long‐term trends, but also find that many models do not reproduce the observed decadal‐scale swings in the East to West gradient of the equatorial Pacific. Models with high climate sensitivity are less likely to reproduce observed decadal‐scale swings than models with a modest climate sensitivity, possibly due to an incorrect balance of cloud feedbacks driven by changing inversion strength versus surface warming. Our findings suggest that two not well understood problems of the current generation of climate models are connected and we highlight the need to increase understanding of decadal‐scale variability. 

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5. The Actuation Problem

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   The actuation problem asks why a linguistic change occurs in a particular language at a particular time and space. Responses to this problem are multifaceted. This review approaches the problem of actuation through the lens of sound change, examining it from both individual and population perspectives. Linguistic changes ultimately actuate in the form of idiolectal differences. An understanding of language change actuation at the idiolectal level requires an understanding of ( a) how individual speaker-listeners’ different past linguistic experiences and physical, perceptual, cognitive, and social makeups affect the way they process and analyze the primary learning data and ( b) how these factors lead to divergent representations and grammars across speakers-listeners. Population-level incrementation and propagation of linguistic innovation depend not only on the nature of contact between speakers with unique idiolects but also on individuals who have the wherewithal to take advantage of the linguistic innovations they encountered to achieve particular ideological projects at any given moment. Because of the vast number of contingencies that need to be aligned properly, the incrementation and propagation of linguistic innovation are predicted to be rare. Agent-based modeling promises to provide a controlled way to investigate the stochastic nature of language change propagation, but a comprehensive model of linguistic change actuation at the individual level remains elusive. 

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