Students’ Self-Reported Self-Regulated Learning Skills Across a First-Year Engineering Program (Full Paper)

Cassie Wallwey; David Gray

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Conference: 15th Annual First-Year Engineering Experience Conference (FYEE)
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Publication Date: July 28, 2024
Start Date: July 28, 2024
End Date: July 30, 2024
Page Count: 11
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--48633
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/48633
Download Count: 44

Paper Authors

biography

Cassie Wallwey Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University orcid.org/0000-0003-1318-1843

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Dr. Cassie Wallwey is a Collegiate Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. Her research interests include studying effective feedback in engineering and mathematics courses, improving engineering student motivation and success, and improving inclusion in engineering to fight its weed-out culture. Cassie has her Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Ohio State University a B.S. and M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Wright State University.

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biography

David Gray Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University orcid.org/0000-0003-0159-9150

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Dr. Gray receieved his B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2000. He then earned a M.S. and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2002 and 2010, respectively. Much of his graduate education focus

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Abstract

First-year engineering students are often in a highly developmental period of their life. Many times, it may be the first time a student has lived away from home, or been entirely responsible for their own meals, chores, or schedule, or had complete autonomy in navigating their academic experience. While these students are in our classrooms taking their first steps to develop themselves as aspiring engineers, they are also in other classrooms developing their identities as learners and functioning outside of classrooms developing skills at living more independently than they previously had. This multitude of changes paired with increased levels of responsibility and decision making can be overwhelming to students, causing stress, anxious feelings, and confusion One attribution assigned when someone has trouble adjusting to their new environment is a struggle with self-regulation, which is a person’s ability to manage their own thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in an appropriate way through monitoring, evaluation, and reinforcement. An education-specific extension psychology’s self-regulation is the concept of self-regulated learning (SRL), which a student plans, monitors, and evaluates their own learning process and progress as a learner.

A recent observation within a large, public, southern university’s first-year engineering program is that when students struggle academically in their first year, these struggles often stem from a lack the self-regulatory and self-regulated learning habits, skills, and behaviors. These observations came from a combination of instructors, teaching assistants, and advisors. To further understanding of this phenomenon, questions were added to a survey administered to students at the beginning and end of each semester related to students’ self-regulated learning skills, habits, and behaviors.

This full paper aligned with the “Transiting from High School to the First Year” strategic pillar of the FYEE conference will report the results of those surveys, mapping students’ self-reported SRL levels at the beginning of their first semester in an undergraduate engineering program, at the end of their first semester in an undergraduate engineering program, and at the end of their second semester in an undergraduate engineering program (this would also be at the end of their first complete academic year in an undergraduate engineering program). These results are discussed with an emphasis on the implications for practice as instructors of students in first-year engineering programs. Self-regulation and self-regulated learning habits, skills, and behaviors are essential foundations for becoming a well-rounded engineering student, but also for personal growth and life-long learning. Understanding the experiences of our students in this respect will open doors for how first-year engineering programs can enrich the student experience to encourage holistic learning and growth of these self-regulation skills.

Citation
Format

Wallwey, C., & Gray, D. (2024, July), Students’ Self-Reported Self-Regulated Learning Skills Across a First-Year Engineering Program (Full Paper) Paper presented at 15th Annual First-Year Engineering Experience Conference (FYEE), Boston, Massachusetts. 10.18260/1-2--48633

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - First-year engineering students are often in a highly developmental period of their life. Many times, it may be the first time a student has lived away from home, or been entirely responsible for their own meals, chores, or schedule, or had complete autonomy in navigating their academic experience. While these students are in our classrooms taking their first steps to develop themselves as aspiring engineers, they are also in other classrooms developing their identities as learners and functioning outside of classrooms developing skills at living more independently than they previously had. This multitude of changes paired with increased levels of responsibility and decision making can be overwhelming to students, causing stress, anxious feelings, and confusion One attribution assigned when someone has trouble adjusting to their new environment is a struggle with self-regulation, which is a person’s ability to manage their own thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in an appropriate way through monitoring, evaluation, and reinforcement. An education-specific extension psychology’s self-regulation is the concept of self-regulated learning (SRL), which a student plans, monitors, and evaluates their own learning process and progress as a learner. 

A recent observation within a large, public, southern university’s first-year engineering program is that when students struggle academically in their first year, these struggles often stem from a lack the self-regulatory and self-regulated learning habits, skills, and behaviors. These observations came from a combination of instructors, teaching assistants, and advisors. To further understanding of this phenomenon, questions were added to a survey administered to students at the beginning and end of each semester related to students’ self-regulated learning skills, habits, and behaviors.  

This full paper aligned with the “Transiting from High School to the First Year” strategic pillar of the FYEE conference will report the results of those surveys, mapping students’ self-reported SRL levels at the beginning of their first semester in an undergraduate engineering program, at the end of their first semester in an undergraduate engineering program, and at the end of their second semester in an undergraduate engineering program (this would also be at the end of their first complete academic year in an undergraduate engineering program). These results are discussed with an emphasis on the implications for practice as instructors of students in first-year engineering programs. Self-regulation and self-regulated learning habits, skills, and behaviors are essential foundations for becoming a well-rounded engineering student, but also for personal growth and life-long learning. Understanding the experiences of our students in this respect will open doors for how first-year engineering programs can enrich the student experience to encourage holistic learning and growth of these self-regulation skills. 
AU  - Cassie Wallwey
AU  - David Gray
CY  - Boston, Massachusetts
DA  - 2024/07/28
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Students’ Self-Reported Self-Regulated Learning Skills Across a First-Year Engineering Program (Full Paper) 
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/48633
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--48633
ER  -