Exploring the Relationships Between Resilience and Student Performance in an Engineering Statics Class: A Work in Progress
- Conference
- Location
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Salt Lake City, Utah
- Publication Date
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June 23, 2018
- Start Date
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June 23, 2018
- End Date
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July 27, 2018
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Mechanics
- Tagged Topic
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Diversity
- Page Count
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15
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--30501
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/30501
- Download Count
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650
Paper Authors
Peter H. Carnell P.E. University of Georgia
Peter Carnell is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Georgia. He has been a licensed professional engineer for over 20 years and seeks ways to bring his work experience into the classroom. He has taught at UGA for 4 years and prior to that taught at Georgia Tech for 8 years. His areas of interest include mechanics, design and engineering education.
Nathaniel J. Hunsu University of Georgia
Nathaniel Hunsu is currently an assistant professor of engineering education at the University of Georgia. He is affiliated with the Engineering Education Transformational Institute and the school electrical and computer engineering at the university. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in electronic and computer engineering from the Lagos State University in Nigeria, a Masters in Project management from the University of Sunderland, and a PhD in Educational Psychology from Washington State University. His research interests include learning and cognition, students’ engagement, and the assessment of learning and students engagements, in engineering classrooms. His expertise also include the development and validation of measurement inventories, systematic reviews and meta-analysis, and quantitative research designs.
Davis F. Ray University of Georgia
Passionate about bringing lasting change to the built environment, I desire to learn more about sustainable systems through an economic lens that will enable clean solutions for the future. I am currently studying for my BS in mechanical engineering, and in the coming years, I will be pursuing my MS in environmental economics to build on my understanding of economic theory and its application to sustainable business models, specifically in the renewables sector. Moving towards this, I serve as an Undergraduate Researcher within the Engineering Education Transformations Institute, a funded educational development program that seeks to promote diversity and improve transdisciplinary collaboration within the college. Specifically, I serve on the Resilience in Engineering Education Project team aimed to investigate the effects that students' resilience and professional skills have on exam performance in technical courses.
Nicola W. Sochacka University of Georgia
Nicola W. Sochacka is the Associate Director of the Engineering Education Transformations Institute (EETI) in the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia. Dr. Sochacka’s research interests span interpretive research methods, STEAM (STEM + Art) education, empathy, diversity, and reflection. She holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Epistemologies and a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering from the University of Queensland.
Abstract
Prior studies have identified the importance of resilience to success both in life and in the workplace. Resilience is also a valued professional skill for academic achievement and student retention in cognitively demanding disciplines such as engineering. However, only limited efforts have been made to characterize how resilience impacts the academic engagement, performance, and retention of engineering students. This study is the first in a program of studies that will map academic resilience, through the measurement of “protective factors” such as optimism and adaptability, with academic performance, as well as identify students at risk of dropping out of their engineering major. In this exploratory study, we examined differences in a group of engineering students on four resilience measures. Participants included 111 engineering students enrolled in six sections of statics taught by one instructor. Participants completed the Psychometric Project Resilience Scale (PPRS) survey online as well as the academic performance requirements for the course. The 50-item instrument surveyed students on five constructs indicative of resilience: adaptability; self-sufficiency; self-control; optimism; and persistence. Learning performance was based on three mid-examinations intended to assess students’ knowledge of the course. The psychometric properties of the instrument used to assess resilience factors were examined and student groups were compared on resilience and performance measures. Results of the study showed that transfer students seemed to struggle more with resilience and academic performance. Differences between gender and race groups in terms of resilience and academic performance were insignificant. Implications of study findings and direction for future studies of resilience among engineering students are discussed.
Carnell P.E., P. H., & Hunsu, N. J., & Ray, D. F., & Sochacka, N. W. (2018, June), Exploring the Relationships Between Resilience and Student Performance in an Engineering Statics Class: A Work in Progress Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--30501
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