A Tool for Gaining Insight into Students’ Self-Directed Learning Skills
- Conference
- Location
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Portland, Oregon
- Publication Date
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June 23, 2024
- Start Date
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June 23, 2024
- End Date
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July 12, 2024
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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New Engineering Educators Division (NEE)
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/46502
Paper Authors
Toluwalase Opanuga University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Toluwalase Opanuga is a second-year Ph.D. student specializing in Engineering Education Research and a research assistant at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She holds a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from Eastern Mediterranean University, Turkey, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Her research areas include self-reflection, self-directed learning, faculty development, global competence, and engineering ethics.
Heidi A. Diefes-Dux
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
orcid.org/0000-0003-3635-1825
Heidi A. Diefes-Dux is a Professor in Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. She received her B.S. and M.S. in Food Science from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in Food Process Engineering from the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Purdue University. She was an inaugural faculty member of the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University. She is currently a Professor in Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Her role in the College of Engineering at UNL is to lead the disciplinary-based education research initiative, establishing a cadre of engineering education research faculty in the engineering departments and creating a graduate program. Her research focuses on the development, implementation, and assessment of modeling and design activities with authentic engineering contexts; the design and implementation of learning objective-based grading for transparent and fair assessment; and the integration of reflection to develop self-directed learners.
Logan Andrew Perry
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
orcid.org/0000-0003-1558-2579
Dr. Perry is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Education in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His work contains a unique blend of engineering education and civil engineering projects. Dr. Perry's current work centers on understandin
Grace Panther University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Dr. Grace Panther is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln where she conducts discipline-based education research. Her research interests include faculty change, 3D spatial visualization, gender inclusive teamwork, and studying authentic engineering practice. Dr. Panther was awarded an NSF CAREER award in 2024. Dr. Panther has experience conducting workshops at engineering education conferences both nationally and internationally, has been a guest editor for a special issue of European Journal of Engineering Education on inclusive learning environments, and serves on the Australasian Journal of Engineering Education advisory committee. Dr. Panther received both her Ph.D. and M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Oregon State University.
Abstract
New engineering educators need to be equipped with instruments that can provide easy and meaningful insight into students’ self-directed learning (SDL) status so they can better foster students’ success. Students who are self-directed learners can independently initiate and take full responsibility for learning, effectively utilize available resources in the pursuit of their goals, develop awareness of their learning, and demonstrate the appropriate attitude essential for individual and collaborative learning. Despite these benefits, developing SDL skills in engineering students is often overlooked. To address this, educators have a facilitating role to play in the development of engineering students’ SDL skills, however, this role can be challenging for them due to the (a) high cost of using SDL instruments, especially in a large classroom and (b) uncertainty about the validity of SDL instruments. Moreover, these challenges may be more pronounced for new engineering educators. This study addresses these challenges by reporting the validity evidence for an SDL assessment instrument called the Self-Rating Scale of Self-Directed Learning (SRSSDL). The SRSSDL instrument has been widely utilized in medical education, but in this study, it was modified for the engineering education context. The utility of this 8-constructs, 46-item scale was demonstrated in engineering education with 111 undergraduate students across all academic levels, and the validity test was conducted in line with the contemporary validity framework. The result of the validity test of the SRSSDL revealed inconsistencies or instability of its constructs in the engineering education context.
Opanuga, T., & Diefes-Dux, H. A., & Perry, L. A., & Panther, G. (2024, June), A Tool for Gaining Insight into Students’ Self-Directed Learning Skills Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/46502
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