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Assessing Drawing Self-efficacy: A Validation Study Using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) for the Drawing Self-efficacy Instrument (DSEI)

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Conference

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Location

Virtual Conference

Publication Date

July 26, 2021

Start Date

July 26, 2021

End Date

July 19, 2022

Conference Session

Assessing Hard-to-Measure Constructs in Engineering Education: Assessment Design and Validation Studies

Tagged Division

Educational Research and Methods

Page Count

19

DOI

10.18260/1-2--36704

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/36704

Download Count

554

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Paper Authors

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Donna Jaison Texas A&M University

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Donna Jaison is a PhD student under Dr. Karan Watson and Dr. Tracy Hammond in the Multidisciplinary Engineering Department at Texas A&M University, College Station. She is a Graduate research assistant at the Institute of Engineering Education and Innovation (IEEI) at Texas A&M University under director Dr. Tracy Hammond. She completed her MEng. in Computer Engineering with specialization in VLSI from Texas A&M University, College Station. She completed her Bachelors in Electrical Engineering with a Minor in Mathematics from Mississippi State University.

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Hillary E. Merzdorf Purdue University, West Lafayette

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Hillary E. Merzdorf is a PhD student in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University. Her research interests are in assessment of design skills, educational technology evaluation, and the ethical use of student data in and for assessment.

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Blake Williford Sketch Recognition Lab

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Blake received a PhD in Computer Science at Texas A&M University. He previously received a M.S. in Human-Computer Interaction and a B.S. in Industrial Design from Georgia Tech, and has worked professionally as an interdisciplinary designer in a range of design firms and tech corporations. His PhD research is in the domain of improving sketching ability and creativity via intelligent educational software.

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Lance Leon Allen White Texas A&M University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-1172-0500

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Lance White is a Ph.D. student at Texas A&M University in Interdisciplinary Engineering with a thrust in Engineering Education. He is working as a graduate research assistant at the Institute of Engineering Education and Innovation at the Texas Engineering Experiment Station at Texas A&M University under director Dr. Tracy Hammond. Dr. Karan Watson and Dr. Pavel Tsvetkov are his co-chairs. He completed his M.S. in Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University under Dr. Yassin Hassan working on experimental thermal hydraulics, and completed his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at West Texas A&M University.

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Karan Watson P.E. Texas A&M University

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Karan L. Watson, Ph.D., P.E., is currently a Regents Senior Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, having joined the faculty at Texas A&M University in 1983 as an Assistant Professor. She is also serving as the C0-Director of the Institute for Engineering Education and Innovation. She has served in numerous roles at Texas A&M University, including: Provost and Executive Vice President(2009-2017), Vice Provost (2009), Dean of Faculties and Associate Provost (2002-2009), Interim VP for Diversity (2009 & 2005-2006), Associate Dean of Engineering (1996-2001), and Assistant Dean of Engineering (1991-2006).
Dr. Watson is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the American Society for Engineering Education, and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Her awards and recognitions include the U.S. President's Award for Mentoring Minorities and Women in Science and Technology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science mentoring award, the IEEE International Undergraduate Teaching Medal, the WEPAN Bevlee Watford Award, the College of Engineering Crawford Teaching Award, and two University-level Distinguished Achievement Awards from The Texas A&M University Association of Former Students—one in Student Relations in 1992 and in Administration in 2010, and the Texas Tech College of Engineering Distinguished Alumni. In 2003–2004, she served as a Senior Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering Center for the Advancement of Scholarship in Engineering Education. Since 1991, she has served as an accreditation evaluator, commissioner, Board of Director, then President of ABET, and is currently Secretary/Treasurer of the ABET Foundation Board of Directors. She has also served as a program evaluator for J.D. programs for the ABA, for universities’ regional accreditation for SACSCOC, and for Business Schools for AACSB. She also has served as the Chair of the ECE division of ASEE, the President of the Education Society of IEEE, and the chair of the Women in Engineering of IEEE. She served as the Treasurer and a Board of Directors member for WEPAN.

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Kerrie A. Douglas Purdue University, West Lafayette Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-2693-5272

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Dr. Douglas is an Assistant Professor in the Purdue School of Engineering Education. Her research is focused on improving methods of assessment in large learning environments to foster high-quality learning opportunities. Additionally, she studies techniques to validate findings from machine-generated educational data.

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Tracy Anne Hammond Texas A&M University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-7272-0507

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Dr. Hammond is Director of the Institute for Engineering Education & Innovation and also the chair of the Engineering Education Faculty. She is also Director of the Sketch Recognition Lab and Professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering, is passionate about the university. She is a member of the Center for Population and Aging, the Center for Remote Health Technologies & Systems as well as the Institute for Data Science. Hammond is a PI for over 13 million in funded research, from NSF, DARPA, Google, Microsoft, and others. Hammond holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and FTO (Finance Technology Option) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and four degrees from Columbia University: an M.S in Anthropology, an M.S. in Computer Science, a B.A. in Mathematics, and a B.S. in Applied Mathematics. Hammond mentored 17 UG theses (and many more non-thesis UG through 351 undergraduate research semesters taught), 29 MS theses, and 9 Ph.D. dissertations. Hammond is the 2020 recipient of the TEES Faculty Fellows Award and the 2011-2012 recipient of the Charles H. Barclay, Jr. '45 Faculty Fellow Award. Hammond has been featured on the Discovery Channel and other news sources. Hammond is dedicated to diversity and equity, reflected in her publications, research, teaching, service, and mentoring. More at http://srl.tamu.edu.

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Abstract

Drawing, as a skill, is closely tied to many creative fields and it is a unique practice for every individual. Drawing has been shown to improve cognitive and communicative abilities, such as visual communication, problem-solving skills, students’ academic achievement, awareness of and attention to surrounding details, and sharpened analytical skills. Drawing also stimulates both sides of the brain and improves peripheral skills of writing, 3-D spatial recognition, critical thinking, and brainstorming. People are often exposed to drawing as children, drawing their families, their houses, animals, and, most notably, their imaginative ideas. These skills develop over time naturally to some extent, however, while the base concept of drawing is a basic skill, the mastery of this skill requires extensive practice and it can often be significantly impacted by the self-efficacy of an individual. Sketchtivity is an AI tool developed by Texas A&M University to facilitate the growth of drawing skills and track their performance. Sketching skill development depends in part on students’ self-efficacy associated with their drawing abilities.

Gauging the drawing self-efficacy of individuals is critical in understanding the impact that this drawing practice has had with this new novel instrument, especially in contrast to traditional practicing methods. It may also be very useful for other researchers, educators, and technologists.

This study reports the development and initial validation of a new 13-item measure that assesses perceived drawing self efficacy. The13 items to measure drawing self efficacy were developed based on Bandura’s guide for constructing Self-Efficacy Scales. The participants in the study consisted of 222 high school students from engineering, art, and pre-calculus classes. Internal consistency of the 13 observed items were found to be very high (Cronbach alpha: 0.943), indicating a high reliability of the scale. Exploratory Factor Analysis was performed to further investigate the variance among the 13 observed items, to find the underlying latent factors that influenced the observed items, and to see if the items needed revision.

We found that a three model was the best fit for our data, given fit statistics and model interpretability. The factors are: Factor 1: Self-efficacy with respect to drawing specific objects; Factor 2: Self-efficacy with respect to drawing practically to solve problems, communicating with others, and brainstorming ideas; Factor 3: Self-efficacy with respect to drawing to create, express ideas, and use one’s imagination. An alternative four-factor model is also discussed.

The purpose of our study is to inform interventions that increase self-efficacy. We believe that this assessment will be valuable especially for education researchers who implement AI-based tools to measure drawing skills.This initial validity study shows promising results for a new measure of drawing self-efficacy. Further validation with new populations and drawing classes is needed to support its use, and further psychometric testing of item-level performance. In the future, this self-efficacy assessment could be used by teachers and researchers to guide instructional interventions meant to increase drawing self-efficacy.

Jaison, D., & Merzdorf, H. E., & Williford, B., & White, L. L. A., & Watson, K., & Douglas, K. A., & Hammond, T. A. (2021, July), Assessing Drawing Self-efficacy: A Validation Study Using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) for the Drawing Self-efficacy Instrument (DSEI) Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. 10.18260/1-2--36704

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