Differences in Attitudes and Self-efficacy Toward Programming of Students in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Programs

Xinyi Ma; Janet Lam

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Student Division Technical Session 5: Self- Efficacy
Tagged Division: Student Division (STDT)
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/47188

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Paper Authors

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Xinyi Ma University of Toronto

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Xinyi Ma is a graduate student researcher at University of Toronto in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, supervised by Prof. Janet Lam. Her research interest is student experience in engineering education. Xinyi holds an Honours Bachelor of Science in Statistics with a minor in Computer Science from University of Toronto.

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Janet Lam University of Toronto

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Janet Lam is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream in operations research with the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.

She has been working in the field of maintenance optimization since 2008, with an emphasis on optimal scheduling of inspections for condition-based maintenance. Janet served as a research associate at the Centre for Maintenance Optimization and Reliability Engineering (C-MORE) applying academic research directly with industry partners, including those in mining, utilities, transportation, and the military. Janet has a track record of cultivating strong relationships with industry partners and developing maintenance engineering resources that are both useful and current.

She is also a respected engineering educator with more than 10 years of teaching undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. She was a Teaching Specialist for first year engineering students at Michigan State University from 2016 to 2017. She is a Fellow of the National Effective Teaching Institute and a Runner-Up Best Upper Year Instructor in the Skule Student Choice awards 2020-2021.

Janet received her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto.

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Abstract

Title: Differences in Attitudes and Self-efficacy toward Programming of Students in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Programs

This WIP research stems from the increasing significance of computer programming in engineering education for the skill is widely used in academic research as well as industrial practice. As students’ subjective feelings and confidence can often affect their learning outcomes, it is meaningful to investigate how engineering programs could better prepare students for programming mentally and emotionally.

This WIP research aims to differentiate mechanical and industrial engineering students’ perceived attitudes and efficacy toward programming through a third-year undergraduate quality control course with a computing lab component involving both groups of students. The research questions are: (1) How do differences in mechanical and industrial engineering curricula impact students’ attitudes and self-efficacy toward programming? (2) How do the computing lab activities affect the students’ attitudes and self-efficacy toward programming?

Three surveys are distributed to students registered in the course before the first lab, at midterm, and at the end of the semester, and the anticipated size of responses is N = 50. The pre-course survey collects information about students’ previous exposure to computer programming along with their attitudes and self-efficacy towards programming on a Likert scale. Besides questions about self-rated attitudes and efficacy, the mid-term and end-of-course surveys further ask about students’ engagement in lab activities, how the previous courses they have taken prepare them for the programming tasks, and their perceived performance for the course. Multi-methods are applied in the research, with quantitative data as the primary source. Welch's t-test is used to compare the levels of affection, motivation, and self-efficacy between mechanical and industrial students. Qualitative analysis of their taken courses serves as supportive information for the findings.

The data collection and analysis from the first survey were completed in January 2024, providing preliminary results about the influence of mechanical and industrial engineering curricula differences on students’ attitudes and self-efficacy toward programming. The findings can be useful for understanding what kind of preparation could lead to engineering students’ positive attitudes and higher self-efficacy towards programming, and help engineering educators improve the programming experience of students.

Keywords: programming, attitudes, self-efficacy, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering

Citation
Format

Ma, X., & Lam, J. (2024, June), Differences in Attitudes and Self-efficacy Toward Programming of Students in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Programs Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47188

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Title: Differences in Attitudes and Self-efficacy toward Programming of Students in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Programs

This WIP research stems from the increasing significance of computer programming in engineering education for the skill is widely used in academic research as well as industrial practice. As students’ subjective feelings and confidence can often affect their learning outcomes, it is meaningful to investigate how engineering programs could better prepare students for programming mentally and emotionally.

This WIP research aims to differentiate mechanical and industrial engineering students’ perceived attitudes and efficacy toward programming through a third-year undergraduate quality control course with a computing lab component involving both groups of students. The research questions are: (1) How do differences in mechanical and industrial engineering curricula impact students’ attitudes and self-efficacy toward programming? (2) How do the computing lab activities affect the students’ attitudes and self-efficacy toward programming? 

Three surveys are distributed to students registered in the course before the first lab, at midterm, and at the end of the semester, and the anticipated size of responses is N = 50. The pre-course survey collects information about students’ previous exposure to computer programming along with their attitudes and self-efficacy towards programming on a Likert scale. Besides questions about self-rated attitudes and efficacy, the mid-term and end-of-course surveys further ask about students’ engagement in lab activities, how the previous courses they have taken prepare them for the programming tasks, and their perceived performance for the course. Multi-methods are applied in the research, with quantitative data as the primary source. Welch&#39;s t-test is used to compare the levels of affection, motivation, and self-efficacy between mechanical and industrial students. Qualitative analysis of their taken courses serves as supportive information for the findings.

The data collection and analysis from the first survey were completed in January 2024, providing preliminary results about the influence of mechanical and industrial engineering curricula differences on students’ attitudes and self-efficacy toward programming. The findings can be useful for understanding what kind of preparation could lead to engineering students’ positive attitudes and higher self-efficacy towards programming, and help engineering educators improve the programming experience of students.

Keywords: programming, attitudes, self-efficacy, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering
AU  - Xinyi Ma
AU  - Janet Lam
CY  - Portland, Oregon
DA  - 2024/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Differences in Attitudes and Self-efficacy Toward Programming of Students in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Programs
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/47188
ER  -