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A Multidimensional Approach to Understanding the Development of Design Skills, Knowledge, and Self-Efficacy

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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

First-Year Programs: Metacognition, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation #1

Tagged Division

First-Year Programs

Page Count

18

DOI

10.18260/1-2--34019

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/34019

Download Count

434

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Paper Authors

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Vanessa Svihla University of New Mexico Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-4342-6178

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Dr. Vanessa Svihla is a learning scientist and associate professor at the University of New Mexico in the Organization, Information and Learning Sciences program and in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department. She served as Co-PI on an NSF RET Grant and a USDA NIFA grant, and is currently co-PI on three NSF-funded projects in engineering and computer science education, including a Revolutionizing Engineering Departments project. She was selected as a National Academy of Education / Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow and a 2018 NSF CAREER awardee in engineering education research. Dr. Svihla studies learning in authentic, real world conditions; this includes a two-strand research program focused on (1) authentic assessment, often aided by interactive technology, and (2) design learning, in which she studies engineers designing devices, scientists designing investigations, teachers designing learning experiences and students designing to learn.

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Pil Kang University of New Mexico

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Sung “Pil” Kang is an assistant professor at the University of New Mexico. His academic interests include change management, change model validation, and mindset evolution. He may be reached at pilkang@unm.edu

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Yan Chen University of New Mexico Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-9479-7377

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Yan Chen is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of New Mexico. Her research interests focus on computer-supported collaborative learning, learning sciences, online learning and teaching, and educational equity for multicultural/multiethnic education.

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Chen Qiu University of New Mexico

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Chen Qiu, M.Sc. has a Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering, and is currently pursuing a M.A. degree in Learning Sciences. Her past and current interests and accomplishments include organization development, instructional design, and neuro-engineering research. She is skilled in designing training and instructional materials for engineering students/professionals utilizing SAM, storyboard, and need analysis, as well as coding, hardware/software, and engineering skills. Chen is proficient in English and Mandarin and can provide real-time professional translations both verbally and in writing.

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Jordan Orion James University of New Mexico

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Jordan O. James is a Native American Ph.D./ABD in the Organization, Information, and Learning Sciences (OILS) program as well as a lecturer at the University of New Mexico’s School of Architecture and Planning in the Community and Regional Planning program. He has served as a graduate research assistant on an NSF-funded project, Revolutionizing Engineering Departments, and has been recognized as a Graduate Studies student spotlight recipient and teaching scholar. Jordan studies learning in authentic, real-world conditions utilizing Design-Based Research methodologies to investigate design learning and social engineering, in which he studies urban planners who design real-world interventions for communities and students who use design to learn. A member of the Grand Portage Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Jordan obtained both his Masters of Community & Regional Planning and Bachelor of Media Arts from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque where he lives with his wife and three daughters.

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Abstract

This complete research paper reports on how realistic design challenges might support first year students to develop knowledge, capacity, and self-efficacy in designing.

Theory suggests self-efficacy and learning are linked, and importantly, that implicit knowledge (i.e., knowing how) and explicit forms of knowledge (i.e., knowing that) develop differently. While many first year courses include design challenges, not all challenges support students to develop knowledge about, capacity to, and self-efficacy for designing. We sought to investigate how realistic design challenges might support growth in these areas, compared to a baseline group in a first-year chemical engineering course at a Hispanic-serving research university in the southwest United States. Students completed measures of design self-efficacy, explicit design knowledge, and implicit design framing knowledge as a pre/post course measure. Using exploratory factor analysis, we identified two explicit design knowledge factors ill-structuredness and framing. Using repeated measures ANOVA, we found that students in both baseline and implementation groups reported moderate design self-efficacy, with post-course scores slightly but significantly higher. No difference was found by group or timepoint on students’ explicit knowledge of design. Compared to the baseline, the implementation group showed more growth in implicit design knowledge. Taken together, this could suggest differences in the rates of change in implicit and explicit growth. The results suggest first-year students can learn to design before they acquire knowledge about design.

Svihla, V., & Kang, P., & Chen, Y., & Qiu, C., & James, J. O. (2020, June), A Multidimensional Approach to Understanding the Development of Design Skills, Knowledge, and Self-Efficacy Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--34019

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