Effects of High School Dual-Credit Introduction to Engineering Course on First-year Engineering Student Self-efficacy and the Freshman Experience

J. Jill Rogers; Amy Annette Rogers; James C. Baygents

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Conference: 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access
Location: Virtual On line
Publication Date: June 22, 2020
Start Date: June 22, 2020
End Date: June 26, 2021
Conference Session: Pre-college Engineering Education Division Technical Session 15
Tagged Division: Pre-College Engineering Education
Page Count: 13
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--34508
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/34508
Download Count: 521

Paper Authors

biography

J. Jill Rogers University of Arizona

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J. Jill Rogers is the assistant director for ENGR 102 HS at the University of Arizona. ENGR 102 HS is an AP-type, dual credit college level, introductory engineering course offered to high school students. In 2014, the ENGR 102 HS program won the ASEE best practices in K-12 and University partnerships award. Over the years Rogers has developed K-12 science summer camps, conducted K-12 educational research, developed engineering curricula for formal and informal education venues, and developed robotics outreach programs for children’s museums and K-12 schools. Rogers is a certified teacher and holds a Master’s of Science in Education. Her Master’s thesis topic examined middle school student attitudes towards robotics and focused on gender differences. She is a member of the National Science Teachers Association, Philanthropic Educational Organization (P.E.O) and American Society for Engineering Education. Her interest lies in the K-12 pathways to engineering and ways to bring young people, particularly under represented populations, into STEM careers.

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Amy Annette Rogers

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Dr. Amy Rogers has an earned Ph.D. in Social Psychology. Her current appointment is as Associate Professor and former Chairperson of the Department of Psychology at Delaware State University. She specializes in areas surrounding social justice. Her current application of social justice principals is in the area of the access/success of women/girls to science, technology, engineering, and math education and careers for which she recently served two years at the National Science Foundation as a grant administrator. Dr. Rogers provides statistical and methodological consulting on a variety of research, evaluation, and assessment projects.

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James C. Baygents University of Arizona

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James C. Baygents is the associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Engineering at the University of Arizona. His primary responsibilities include academic affairs, recruitment, admissions and retention programs, and introductory and interdisciplinary capstone engineering design courses. Baygents is a member of the Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering (ChEE) and the Program in Applied Mathematics at the UA. He joined the Engineering faculty as an assistant professor in 1991, the same year he received a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Princeton University. He also holds an M.A. (Princeton, 1981) and a B.S. (Rice, 1980) in chemical engineering. Baygents has received the Arizona Mortar Board Senior Honor Society award for outstanding faculty service and the College of Engineering Award for Excellence at the Student Interface. In 1997, he was awarded an International Research Fellowship by the National Science Foundation for study at the University of Melbourne. Baygents is head of the ENGR 102 HS team that was recognized in 2014 by ASEE for best practices in K-12 University partnerships.

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Abstract

Abstract High school engineering programs and curricula are becoming more widespread partly due to the acceptance of engineering as part of the national PreK-12 science curriculum. Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs often collaborate with community colleges to offer dual credit engineering courses. Additionally, some universities offer for-credit, engineering summer school courses to high school students. Two Advanced Placement (AP) computer science courses are currently taught in high schools and plans are underway for an AP engineering course. As these dual credit programs develop, it is important to understand how they prepare the pathway to an undergraduate engineering major, particularly if they are designed to replace the on campus introduction to engineering course. University engineering first-year programs are critical to the retention and success of engineering students in their freshman year and the wisdom of replacing this first-year experience with a high school course is under debate. Data was collected from 28 first year engineering students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in the American Southwest. All participants took a dual credit introduction to engineering course in high school. Participants were asked about their decision to take the course in high school as well as self-efficacy questions about “fitting in”, being prepared and about their decision to major in engineering. Sixty-four percent of respondents reported that their high school course made them more prepared than their peers who did not take the high school course. More than 43% reported that their high school engineering course helped them “fit in” and 53% reported that it made them feel more confident in their decision to major in engineering. Importantly, almost all respondents who did not report a positive effect from their dual credit introduction to engineering course felt neutral about the experience.

Citation
Format

Rogers, J. J., & Rogers, A. A., & Baygents, J. C. (2020, June), Effects of High School Dual-Credit Introduction to Engineering Course on First-year Engineering Student Self-efficacy and the Freshman Experience Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--34508