First-Year Engineering Student Perceptions of Calculus Exams and Future-Oriented Motivation

Catherine Kenyon; Lisa Benson; William Bridges

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: ERM: Let's Continue the Conversation about Tests! Part 2
Page Count: 15
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--41021
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/41021
Download Count: 246

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Paper Authors

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Catherine Kenyon

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Catherine Kenyon (she/her) is a PhD Candidate in the department of Engineering and Science Education at Clemson University under the guidance of Dr. Lisa Benson as well as a faculty member for the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences serving as a lecturer and course coordinator for Calculus I. She received her B.S. (2017) and M.S. (2019) in Mathematical and Statistical Sciences from Clemson University. Her research interests are future time perspective, student motivation, and assessments in Calculus classrooms.

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Lisa Benson Clemson University

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Lisa Benson is a Professor of Engineering and Science Education at Clemson University, and the Editor of the Journal of Engineering Education. Her research focuses on the interactions between student motivation and their learning experiences. Her projects include studies of student attitudes towards becoming engineers and scientists, and their development of problem solving skills, self-regulated learning practices, and beliefs about knowledge in their field. Dr. Benson is an American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Fellow, a member of the European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI), American Educational Research Association (AERA) and Tau Beta Pi, and the 2018 recipient of the Clemson University Class of ’39 Award for Faculty Excellence. She earned a B.S. in Bioengineering (1978) from the University of Vermont, and M.S. (1986) and Ph.D. (2002) in Bioengineering from Clemson University.

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William Bridges Clemson University

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Abstract

This research paper describes an exploratory pilot study focused on uncovering first-year engineering (FYE) students’ perceptions of the purpose of taking Calculus exams and how these perceptions of Calculus exams may be interacting with their perceptions of their future as an engineer. Calculus is considered an essential tool for engineers and engineering majors are required to take a sequence of Calculus courses. In these Calculus courses, students are typically assessed via exams that constitute a majority of their course grade. Therefore, it is imperative to consider what messages Calculus exams are communicating to these students about what is valued. It is also important to consider how those messages may be interacting with students’ perceptions of their future as practicing engineers. Future Time Perspective (FTP) theory can help us understand how students make connections between present tasks (i.e. Calculus exams) and their perceived futures. FTP can help interpret students’ perceptions of how their experiences might affect or even mediate their academic plans for the future and their future career paths.

An initial survey was given to all FYE students currently enrolled in Calculus I at a southern, land grant, R1 institution with the open-ended question, “What do you believe is the purpose of taking Calculus exams?” The data were analyzed through two coding cycles and several themes emerged depicting how students perceive the purpose of taking Calculus exams. These themes were translated into items that then appeared on a second survey that gave the same students the opportunity to indicate their level of agreement with these perceptions on a 5-point Likert-type scale. Additionally, this second survey included items from the Math Anxiety Ratings Scale (MARS-30) to measure levels of student math test anxiety. Students were also given a survey about their future-oriented motivation in their FYE course that uses a 7-point Likert scale to assess factors including students' perceptions, connectedness, value, clarity, and alignment of their future(s). These two survey data sets were combined to allow the simultaneous exploration of both their perceptions of Calculus exams and perceptions of the future.

After collecting and cleaning the data on students' perception of Calculus exams, we performed an Exploratory Factor Analysis. We found that students see the purpose of Calculus exams in four ways: with a future oriented purpose, with a performance driven purpose, with an external purpose, or with a negative connotation. We then performed a multiple linear regression analysis using Least Absolute Shrinkage Selection Operator (LASSO) variable selection and found ways that some perception of Calculus exams factors and math test anxiety are interacting with FYE students' future-oriented motivation.

Keywords: future-oriented motivation, math test anxiety, Calculus assessment, first-year engineering students

Citation
Format

Kenyon, C., & Benson, L., & Bridges, W. (2022, August), First-Year Engineering Student Perceptions of Calculus Exams and Future-Oriented Motivation Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41021

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This research paper describes an exploratory pilot study focused on uncovering first-year engineering (FYE) students’ perceptions of the purpose of taking Calculus exams and how these perceptions of Calculus exams may be interacting with their perceptions of their future as an engineer. Calculus is considered an essential tool for engineers and engineering majors are required to take a sequence of Calculus courses. In these Calculus courses, students are typically assessed via exams that constitute a majority of their course grade. Therefore, it is imperative to consider what messages Calculus exams are communicating to these students about what is valued. It is also important to consider how those messages may be interacting with students’ perceptions of their future as practicing engineers. Future Time Perspective (FTP) theory can help us understand how students make connections between present tasks (i.e. Calculus exams) and their perceived futures. FTP can help interpret students’ perceptions of how their experiences might affect or even mediate their academic plans for the future and their future career paths.

An initial survey was given to all FYE students currently enrolled in Calculus I at a southern, land grant, R1 institution with the open-ended question, “What do you believe is the purpose of taking Calculus exams?” The data were analyzed through two coding cycles and several themes emerged depicting how students perceive the purpose of taking Calculus exams. These themes were translated into items that then appeared on a second survey that gave the same students the opportunity to indicate their level of agreement with these perceptions on a 5-point Likert-type scale. 
Additionally, this second survey included items from the Math Anxiety Ratings Scale (MARS-30) to measure levels of student math test anxiety. Students were also given a survey about their future-oriented motivation in their FYE course that uses a 7-point Likert scale to assess factors including students' perceptions, connectedness, value, clarity,  and alignment of their future(s). These two survey data sets were combined to allow the simultaneous exploration of both their perceptions of Calculus exams and perceptions of the future. 

After collecting and cleaning the data on students' perception of Calculus exams, we performed an Exploratory Factor Analysis. We found that students see the purpose of Calculus exams in four ways: with a future oriented purpose, with a performance driven purpose, with an external purpose, or with a negative connotation. We then performed a multiple linear regression analysis using Least Absolute Shrinkage Selection Operator (LASSO) variable selection and found ways that some perception of Calculus exams factors and math test anxiety are interacting with FYE students' future-oriented motivation. 

Keywords: future-oriented motivation, math test anxiety, Calculus assessment, first-year engineering students
AU  - Catherine Kenyon
AU  - Lisa Benson
AU  - William Bridges
CY  - Minneapolis, MN
DA  - 2022/08/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - First-Year Engineering Student Perceptions of Calculus Exams and Future-Oriented Motivation
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/41021
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--41021
ER  -