returnto later in the interview [1]. In short, there are several factors that lead to effective interviewing,but lacking clarity of how to evaluate doing so, which ultimately would greatly enhance thequality of research in every stage of development.Numerous studies in the EER discipline use interviewing as a form of data collection across abroad range of topics and diverse applications, demonstrating its prominence and utility in thefield. Further, many engineering faculty conduct EER or join the EER community with limitedexperience in conducting social or educational research, showcasing the need for training infundamental skills like interviewing. There are several combinations of modalities, structures,and methodological frameworks available
qualitative data analysis methods for newer engineering education research:Content Analysis, Thematic Analysis, and Grounded Theory, although common confusions andmisunderstandings can lead to misapplication of method for pivoting engineering educationresearchers [1], [2]. For the purposes of this paper, the goal is to provide an accurate but high-leveloverview so users can compare the basics of these traditions: Each of these methods has extensivedocumentation in the form of textbooks and literature that we also recommend, though these arelikely less approachable at the beginning for newer engineering education researchers.Epistemologies in Qualitative Research To begin our exploration of qualitative research, Epistemology: The theory ofwe
single story.They are a relatively modern qualitative research methodology used in the existing literature forseveral purposes: to do justice to complex accounts while maintaining participant anonymity[1]–[3], summarize data in a more engaging personal form and retain the human face of the data[2], represent specific aspects of the research findings [3], enhance the transferability of researchfindings by invoking empathy [4], illuminate collective experiences [5], and enhance researchimpact by providing findings in a manner that is more accessible to those outside of academia[1]. Composite narratives leverage the power of storytelling, which has shown to be effective instudies of neurology and psychology; i.e., since humans often think and
, we experienced the turmoil of conducting field research on engineering practice,including issues around gaining access to people and other sources of evidence, changing goalswithin partner organizations, and identifying primary informants, among others.Characterizing engineering practice is a difficult undertaking, especially given rapid rates ofchange and significant cross-sector differences in work roles and expectations [1]. Further,employers expect engineering graduates to be prepared to enter the workforce, but academiadoes not always have a clear picture of contemporary workplace realities. Indeed, debates persistabout the extent to which students should be trained for specific fields or job roles versusprepared more holistically for
participant experiences and understanding [1]. CI is most commonly used for thepretesting of surveys and can be used for educational research, but the method can also beused to understand cognition, such as by having participants think aloud while problemsolving [1]. For the purposes of this paper, we will consider CI as a means of pretesting asurvey for research, using CI for validation purposes while the survey is in drafting stages. CIcan be used as an independent method, such as during think aloud studies of educationalmaterials, however we are most concerned here with CI techniques which impact the design ofwritten surveys for research. As a technique, CI has seen widespread use in this way acrossmany fields including psychology, education
outlining the coursework requirements a student must completein order to earn a degree as a network. In the network, courses are represented as vertices (ornodes), and the prerequisite relationships among them are given by directed edges (arrows).This data type allows us to calculate a suite of metrics drawn from the pool of techniquesdeveloped in other fields, like social network analysis, that can help us capture “complexity”in some meaningful way. First appearing in its most recognizable form in work by Wigdahlas the idea of “curricular efficiency” [1], Heileman et al. [2] provide a thorough treatment ofthe possible quantities that form Curricular Analytics.Curricular complexity is divided into two components: instructional complexity
interventions to improve engineering students'experience.1. IntroductionEngineering equips students with the ability to use their mathematical and scientific principles tobuild models of real-world systems and to simulate their behavior which allows them tounderstand complex phenomena, innovate around them, and even make predictions. Modelingand simulation then becomes a fundamental skill set across engineering disciplines. Multiplecalls have been made for increased incorporation of modeling and simulation in science andengineering classrooms [1], [2]. Clark and Ernst [3] further emphasize that by having coursesthat link science and mathematics to technology through the development of both computationand physical models, STEM content integration can
educational environments forDr. Dhinesh Balaji Radhakrishnan, Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE) Dhinesh Radhakrishnan is a research scientist in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue Univer- sity. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2023How do engineering attitudes of learners who are displaced change after exposure to a relevant and localized engineering curriculum?IntroductionEngineering education, and STEM education more broadly, has long been recognized as acritical field for addressing global challenges and promoting economic development [1].However, access to relevant engineering education remains a major barrier for many learners,particularly those who have been
vehicles, structural elements in building designs, bone scaffold designs in biomechanics, and ahost of other applications. However, conceptualizing torque can often be difficult resulting innumerous misconceptions when solving engineering problems.In engineering education, knowledge acquisition traditionally stems from a formalisms first (FF)pedagogy that mastery of mathematical and scientific formalisms (i.e., symbolic notations ofequations, diagrammatic representations, technical jargon, etc.) is required before successfulapplication of that knowledge. In essence, the procession of learning and conceptualdevelopment requires knowledge and mastery of these formalisms before exhibiting competencyin application and practice. Nathan [1] showed
theory tounderstand how they construct and develop their engineering and professional identities. Thedata used for this study was secondary and gathered by a large state research university in 2020.A positioning analysis of undergraduate engineering students’ PDS reflections on co-curricularexperiences (i.e., technical work and research) indicates that the students build their engineeringidentities primarily in the process of positioning themselves as: 1) an engineering intern; 2) aresearch assistant; and 3) taking up agentic positions related to successfully completing the tasksand future career goals. Storylines show how individual students take up their responsibilitieswithin a particular context in co-curricular activities. The results also
effort proceeded in 3 distinct phases.Phase 1. Survey of Industry Professionals In the first phase, a panel of engineering educators with expertise in both electrical andmechanical engineering compiled a list of 32 possible mechatronics-relevant skills (e.g., electriccircuits, microcontrollers). A group of industry professionals (N = 11) was then surveyed andasked to confirm the relevancy of these skills to normal job-duties within the mechatronics field.All industry participants were initially identified via nominations from the advisory board for theNSF project, and were then sent an email soliciting their participation in this survey. Of the 11surveyed professionals, six respondents were from companies employing more than 200 people
, Calgary AB T2N 1N4 May 1, 2023AbstractRecently, there has been increased pressure from industry, the local government, and theUniversity of Calgary to include industry-relevant learning opportunities in undergraduatecurricula to improve the transition of students from the university to the workforce. Inengineering education, laboratories are often viewed as a bridge between course content andindustry skills by grounding theoretical knowledge in practical experiments and developingfamiliarity with testing techniques and analyses used in industry. Yet nearly half of undergraduatemechanical and manufacturing engineering students enrolled in a mandatory third-year materialsscience course at the University of
education, 21st century skills, and design and evaluation of learning environments informed by the How People Learn framework. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2023 Switching research labs: A phenomenological study of international graduate students. AbstractInternational graduate students in engineering and science deal with cultural shock as theynavigate and try to adapt to a new educational system in the United States of America (US) [1].Many international graduate students deal with multiple challenges which some of their USnational peers may not deal with [2]. For different reasons, graduate students may request tochange from one research group to
. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2023 Student Persistence in Engineering Majors: A Description of Engineering Students at Two Universities Before and During COVID-19 Karen E. Rambo-Hernandez, Olukayode Apata, Syahrul Amin, Blaine Pedersen, Camille S. Burnett, Bimal Nepal, Noemi V Mendoza Diaz Texas A&M UniversityIntroduction This work-in-progress study describes persistence rates using institutional data todetermine which student demographic groups were more impacted by COVID-19 interruptions.Several have indicated the need for more engineers to address the urgent needs of industry andpublic safety [1]. Unfortunately, when compared to other majors
. IntroductionEngineering curriculum frequently focuses on technical, analytical, and decision makingknowledge and skills, evident by the common focus of courses on math and physics principles[1]–[3]. Course problem sets and projects routinely focus on determining variables and solvingequations where there is one “right” answer [4]. However, engineering work is inherently bothtechnical and social [5], [6]. To address major problems of today’s world, engineering studentsneed to develop contextual and cultural competencies, ethical responsibility, and socialengagement knowledge and skills, as well as the ability to work across disciplinary boundaries[7]–[10]. Engagement in these skills, which we collectively call “comprehensive engineeringknowledge and skills”, are
religiosity and serviceutilization among college students, with a particular focus on international undergraduateengineering students in the US. It seeks to answer several research questions: 1) What is theprevalence of mental health conditions and help-seeking among international engineeringundergraduates? 2) Are there gender differences in help-seeking among international engineeringundergraduates? 3) How do help-seeking (formal and informal) tendencies vary amongengineering undergraduates with different levels of religiosity?Design/Method: The study uses a logistic regression model to analyze data from engineeringundergraduate students participating in the Healthy Minds Study (HMS) for 2021-2022 toaddress research questions. The study considers
into smaller parts, andable to explain or determine what the root cause of a problem is.Keywords: affective domain, attitudes, undergraduate engineeringIntroductionLearning is an integral part of our lives. Each one of us learns the same things differently based onour preferred way of learning. We can learn by building mental models; through feelings,emotions, attitudes; and by physical movements. Based on this, the domains of learning are broadlycategorized as cognitive (knowledge), affective (attitudes), and psychomotor (skills) [1]. Eachdomain of learning focuses on one of three ways the brain can be engaged in learning. Thecognitive domain is focused on mental processes or thinking, the affective domain focuses onfeelings, attitudes, and
† Angel Flores-Abad5*† 1 Post-Doctoral Research Fellow 2 Undergraduate Researcher 3 Associate Professor 4 Professor 5 Assistant Professor afloresabad@utep.edu * Aerospace Center ** Engineering Education and Leadership Department † Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas 79968, USAAbstractAcademic intervention in underrepresented students during the early years of their engineeringprogram plays a
of social media is becoming widely recognizeddue to its ability to enhance student participation, engagement, and the overall learning experience[1]. The rapid evolution of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, initiallycreated primarily as social networking sites, has made them viable platforms for educationalpurposes, reshaping how information is disseminated and consumed in academic settings. Pleasenote, in this study, we are not referring to Twitter as “X” intentionally, as when we first startedworking on this article, Twitter had not been renamed and all sited sources predate Twitter’s namechange to “X”.Recent studies in engineering education suggest a shift. Traditional teaching methodologies arebeing
instruction in first-year engineeringprograms. IntroductionGenerative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is increasingly used in both academic and professionalsettings, including engineering and engineering school. With GenAI, users can prompt largelanguage models (LLMs) that have been trained on existing data to generate text, images, andother media with similar characteristics. Used appropriately and ethically, GenAI could supportengineering students in their problem-solving, ideation, design, and learning [1]. But studentsmay use GenAI software inappropriately, possibly leading to intentional or unintentionalacademic dishonesty, inaccurate source citations, or reduced competence in essential skillsneeded
about a newconcept. In creating a mental model through the application hierarchical level, participants wouldassess similarities and differences between concepts, test ideas, and conduct further research asneeded. Within the analysis hierarchical level, participants would use mental models by breakingdown information into (1) what was given or what was known (2) additional information wasneeded and (3) steps needed to solve the problem. If participants used the synthesis hierarchicallevel to build a mental model, information would be connected to old mental models to create alarger mental model or wider understanding of a topic. Finally, when asked about use of mentalmodels within the evaluation hierarchical level, four participants had a clear
compared to traditional quizzes.Keywords: Gamification, Online Student Engagement, Evaluation, Online Learning, EngineeringEducationIntroductionOnline learning has become a prevalent mode of delivering education, especially in highereducation. However, the lack of physical interaction and engagement in online learning canresult in decreased student motivation and performance [1]. Gamification could be a solution tothis issue, by incorporating elements of game design to online learning environments, such asrewards, challenges, points, badges, leaderboards, and feedback [2, 3]. Gamification has becomea popular trend in recent years, and its popularity has spread across various fields such aseducation [3, 4], health [5], employment [6], commerce [7
, 2023 Engineering CAReS: Measuring Basic Psychological Needs in the Engineering WorkplaceAbstractEngineering CAReS (Competence, Autonomy, Relatedness Study) is an engineering workplaceclimate survey that is based on basic psychological needs theory (BPNT) -- a mini-theoryassociated with self-determination theory (SDT). The CAReS survey uses a combination ofexisting items and scales from the BPNT and belonging literature as well as items adapted to theworkplace setting to measure the degree to which basic psychological needs of autonomy,competence, and relatedness are satisfied or frustrated at work. The CAReS study was initiated atthe start of 2022 and Phase 1 of the study, which focused on tool
constitutes one of the fivepillars of a quality framework [1], along with cost effectiveness and institutional commitment,student satisfaction, faculty satisfaction, and access.This paper was grounded in the existing literature on learning effectiveness in postsecondaryeducation. We drew upon five student focus groups and some of the qualitative survey data aboutlearning experiences that we collected from undergraduate engineering students at acomprehensive Canadian university during the Winter Term of 2022 (i.e., January to April). Ouranalysis aimed to address the following research questions: • How did engineering students interpret learning effectiveness? • What factors influenced engineering students’ perceptions of learning effectiveness
the student’s application for matriculation. Complicating ourdata, though, is that not all students applied for matriculation multiple times. Most students areadmitted the first time they apply (time 1) and would thus have missing data for any subsequentapplication cycles. To deal with the proceeding issue, we used hierarchical linear modeling(HLM).HLM (or multilevel modeling) is an advanced regression type technique where data areconceived as having a nested structure. In some instances, researchers may conceive of data asbeing nested in schools or classrooms, and in others, as in the case of the current study,researchers conceive of data as being nested in individuals (i.e., repeated measures) 6.The use of HLM with repeated measures has
decision-making. Overall, the literature review has uncovered several research gaps that the engineeringeducation should begin addressing.Conceptual Framework The conceptual framework for the larger study is based on Eccles’ Situated Expectancy-Value Theory (SEVT), a motivation theory that focuses on understanding student achievement-related choices through expectancy and subjective task values (Eccles, 1983; Eccles & Wigfield,2020; M. Te Wang & Eccles, 2013; Wigfield & Eccles, 2000). We employed the socializerperspective with which Eccles and colleagues argued that student expectancy and subjective taskvalues are influenced by their surroundings, including the instructors and learning environments(Eccles, 2007). Figure 1 shows
be leveraged inengineering education research and provide a step-by-step method for social media analytics.People around the world use social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Reddit, SnapChat, TikTok,and Twitter) to share content that express their personal and professional identities and connectwith others like them [1]–[4]. Social media is a public space full of rich information andconversations that can show how and who people interact with and what people publicly shareabout themselves. Particularly, social media has served as a platform for marginalizedcommunities to connect, organize and collaborate, disseminate information, and negotiate theiridentities [5]–[11]. Social media is a rich and vast source of information that
-influenced, and factors considered to be influenced by bothstudent and institution. Smith and Van Aken’s conceptual model was based on a review ofprevious research on engineering transfer student persistence which included a few studieslimited to ET majors. In our study, persistence is designated as baccalaureate ET degreecompletion. The variables included in the study were informed by a review of the literature onengineering transfer student persistence- see Figure 1.Methods In this study, we examined the influence of student characteristics, academic factors, andinstitutional factors on the academic performance and persistence of ET transfer students whotransferred from two-year institutions to four-year institutions in North Carolina from
fine-grained,as overall sentiment scores may not capture teaching-related qualities and do not differentiatebetween fine-grained teaching qualities such as helpfulness and clarity.LEEQ can be used by the research community to allow for full analyses of teaching evaluations,rather than focusing solely on quantitative metrics; in this paper, we perform a case study thathighlights one such analysis. Prior work has found that course evaluations can easily be biasedagainst certain identity groups; for example, female instructors and instructors of color tend to berated lower or more harshly compared to white male instructors [1, 2]. The switch fromtraditional in-person learning to hybrid or remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic alsolikely
Mindsets Over the Course of a Semester: A Longitudinal Study AbstractStudents, like all people, have elements of both growth and fixed mindsets. We studied shifts inboth types of student mindsets over three one-semester courses. We found no significant changein students’ growth mindset at the beginning of the semester compared to the end of the semester.However, students’ fixed mindsets showed a statistically significant increase of 0.37-points fromthe beginning of the semester to the end of the semester, with an effect size of 0.43. Two multilevelmodels were used to understand why students’ fixed mindsets may have increased 1) personalsources¾mastery goal, performance