engaged in an engineering designchallenge that produced a physical and/or working model. Images of the resultingmodels, technical drawings, and poster presentation materials were displayed on awebsite which was accessed by a team of nine independent expert raters. Creativeoutcomes were evaluated using a web-based version of the CAT as measured by theexpert raters. Online survey software featuring a series of Likert-type scales was used forratings. The raters viewed project images on larger computer screens and used iPads toinput their assessments. Student participants also completed a self-reporting creative self-efficacy inventory scale. Using nonparametric bivariate correlation researchersinvestigated the relationship of creative outcomes and
Area developed theSTEM Institute, a three-week program for current high school freshmen and sophomoresinterested in exploring Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The programintroduces STEM through experiential learning using hands-on/real-world projects,classroom/lab instruction, speakers, on-campus field trips and workshops in five STEM fields ofstudy.This paper describes the evolution of the STEM Institute, including challenges encountered andstrategies employed to overcome those challenges. It also examines the effect that the programhad on student interest and self-efficacy in STEM, employing non-parametric statistical tests tocompare repeated measurements of student interest and self-efficacy. Program impact on thesubject
, respectively from Purdue University. Her work centers on P-16 engineering education research, as a psychometrician, program evaluator, and institutional data analyst. As a psy- chometrician, she revised the PSVT:R for secondary and undergraduate students, developed the TESS (Teaching Engineering Self-efficacy Scale) for K-12 teachers, and rescaled the SASI (Student Attitudi- nal Success Inventory) for engineering students. As a program evaluator, she has evaluated the effects of teacher professional development (TPD) programs on K-6 teachers’ and elementary students’ attitudes to- ward engineering and STEM knowledge. As an institutional data analyst, she is investigating engineering students’ pathways to their success
Figure 1. Team of students trying to complete one of the tasks (picking up an object formthe bottom of the water tank and bringing it to the surface) of the design competition.Metric developmentThere is a need for specific metrics to measure the impact of outreach activities on high schoolstudents’ attitudes toward STEM disciplines. Meta-analysis of the literature on students’transition from secondary to post-secondary education reveals the following measures as theprimary factors that impact students’ perspectives of STEM disciplines 8-9, 20-24. Self-efficacy: The belief that one can persist in STEM disciplines, overcome obstacles, stress and failures, and achieve competencies to fulfill the requirements of a STEM curriculum
STEM degrees. Past researchers argued thatincreased levels of exposure to pre-collegiate math and science will lead to higher self-efficacy,which may then lead to an increased likelihood for enrollment in and persistence through acollegiate STEM degree program4-7.Middle school age students self-selected to participate in an engineering afterschool activity thatwas hosted by a midwestern university, in addition to participating in the activity, students wereassessed to determine the impact the activity had on the students’ (1) self-efficacies as it relatesto STEM and overall (2) perceptions of STEM. The students’ self-efficacies were measured bythe administering of the Motivated Student Learning Questionnaire and the STEM SemanticsSurvey
ECD Self-efficacysurvey measures teachers’ engineering curriculum design self-efficacy. This new scale consistsof eight subscales that are rated on a 6-point Likert type agreement scale (Strongly Disagree,Disagree, Slightly Disagree, Slightly Agree, Agree, Strongly Agree). A three step process wasused to develop and validate the survey. First the constructs and associated items were defined.A literature review resulted in the selection of eight factors that are pertinent in engineeringcurriculum design: (1) K-12 Engineering Content, (2) Industry Engineering Content, (3)Engineering Design Process, (4) Project-based Learning, (5) Student Learning, (6) IntegratedLearning, (7) Teaching Coherence and (8) Curriculum Planning (see Appendix A for
).Table 6Comparison of Means for STEM Confidence by Gender and School Gender School M Participating 3.67 Girls Comparison 3.61 Participating 3.84 Boys Comparison 3.35Our last two attitude scales examined student STEM self-efficacy. Exploratory factor analysisindicated that our self-efficacy items measured two dimensions: math and science self-efficacy;and engineering and technology self-efficacy. Math and science efficacy were measured using a4-item scale (α = .77) with responses ranging from 1 (not at all) to 4 (almost all of
smallerteams ensure that each student will have more experience using each piece of hardware andhopefully promote self-efficacy and self-directed learning for high school students.The software involved in the course was revised to use open-source programs. Students will beusing the Arduino programming environment to interface with the SparkFun products. Thissoftware package has been, and will always be, an open source format with extensive librariesand example code provided. The computer aided design software used in the existing collegiatecourse was a proprietary software package called Solidworks (Dassault Systems, Inc.) but wasrevised for the new curricular implementations to an open source CAD software package calledSketchUp (Trimble Navigation
collectedduring the 2013-2014 school year are used to address the following research question: Does the‘You’re Hired!’ program lead to a change in student attitudes towards engineering? The impactof the ‘You’re Hired!’ program on students’ self-efficacy towards engineering skills/21st CenturySkills is also discussed as well as explaining the benefit to schools who choose to incorporatethis program. Additional details of the research project are available in Kristin Brevik’s M.S.thesis.[16]Research MethodologyTo research the effectiveness of the “You’re Hired!’ program at promoting positive attitudestowards engineering, pre- and post-surveys were used for summative evaluation of students’awareness and perceptions towards different aspects of
highschool teachers with the opportunity to enhance their research skills and their knowledge ofscience and engineering concepts that enables them to integrate cutting-edge science andengineering into their teaching practice through the development of standards-based classroomlessons and learning modules. The program also focused on helping the teachers refine theirinstructional planning skills and providing them with an effective protocol for developingstandards-based lesson plans.Evaluation tools have been developed and/or adapted to measure the impact of the program onteachers’ skills and knowledge, and self-efficacy, as well as classroom impacts on their students’attitudes, skills and knowledge, that have been reported previously2,3. While
Self-Efficacy Scale). Although the researchers believe the survey could beimproved, and will further work on the survey over the course of this next year to do so,because the initial implementation of the ROV competition did not have a research focusor agenda, the survey was not of primary concern. However, with the rapid growth andpopularity of the ROV effort within the state (in regards to competition participants, andeducational stake holder support) the researchers believe there is a need to aggregate andanalyze data pertinent to activity and curriculum. Consequently, that is why theresearchers decided to use the TESS that related studies have suggested as providingsome reliability and validity. Graph 1.1 documents the relative growth of
realistic Page 26.848.2problems. Engaging in PBL is challenging for both teachers and students, but when compared totraditional learning methods, has been shown to lead to improved attitudes, self-efficacy, andlearning gains on both traditional subject matter and problem-solving skills11. Underrepresentedminorities specifically have also been found to benefit in these ways from PBL curricula andtraining for their teachers12.Efficacy StudyThe intent of an efficacy study is to test whether an educational innovation, implemented underideal conditions, has a causal effect on student outcomes13. Resources should be ample andfidelity carefully monitored
implementation. In addition, exposingstudents to more challenging concepts, more productive brainstorming process and developingcooperative learning skills are also under investigation.Bibliography1. T. D. Fantz, T. J. Siller and M. A. DeMiranda, “Pre-collegiate factors influencing the self-efficacy of engineering students,” J. of Engineering Education, July 2011, vol. 100. No. 3, pp. 604-623.2. N. S. Salzman, G. D. Ricco, and M. W. Ohland, (2014), “Pre-college engineering participation among first-year engineering students”,Proc. of the 2014 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference, Indianapolis, IN, June 15-18.3. I. Jormanainen, Supporting Teachers Unpredictable Robotics Learning Environment, Dissertation in Forestry and
Education, 369-387.9) Molitor, S.C., Kaderavek, J.N., Dao, H., Liber, N.J., Rotshtein, R., Milewski, G., & Czerniak, C.M. (2014). Engineering Teaching Behaviors in PK-3 classrooms. Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, June 2014, Indianapolis, IN.10) Yoon Yoon, S., Evans, M.G., & Strobel, J. (2012). Development of the Teaching Engineering Self-Efficacy Scale (TESS) For K-12 Teachers. Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, June 2012, San Antonio, TX.11) Wang, H.-H., Moore, T. J., Roehrig, G. H., & Park, M. S. (2011). STEM integration: The impact of professional development on teacher perception and practice. Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research, 1(2), 1-13.12
in the PreK-12 setting was acceleratedwith the release of A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Conceptand Core Ideas and the subsequent standards document, The Next Generation ScienceStandards.1,7,8 Engineering is still, however, a recent and complex challenge for teachers, Page 26.592.3particularly those at the elementary level, who often lack self confidence and self efficacy withregard to teaching engineering.1,2 Teachers’ self confidence in a subject is linked to both howthey perceive it and their knowledge of the subject itself.19 Elementary teachers receive little tono training in engineering in either pre
modified from severalvalidated instruments related to the 21st Century Skills listed above 33, 34. In addition to 21stCentury Skills, student engagement and self- efficacy were also measured. This instrument,developed by researchers at Georgia Tech for this project, included forty-five items on a 5-pointLikert-type rating scale (e.g., ranging from “Strongly Agree” to Strongly Disagree”), with aCronbach’s α of 0.91, and internal consistency for each of the five scales ranging from 0.84 to0.95. Engineering design portfolio assessment. In addition to affective data, studentachievement data were collected using an engineering design portfolio assessment (EDPA). Foreach project, students used a digital log to document their progress through the
• University students’ perceptions • Students • TeachersPopulation • Parents and caregivers • Principals • Constructivism (Constructionism, Guided Inquiry, CommunitiesInforming Theory of Practice) • Self-efficacy • National and State Mathematics, Science and TechnologyStandards Addressed • Massachusetts Technology/Engineering Page 26.625.3Several examples measured how informal STEM educational