Asee peer logo

Insights Gathered from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) About Engineering/Computer Science Participation in High-impact Educational Practices at Two Western Land-grant Institutions

Download Paper |

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

Community Engagement Division Technical Session 2

Tagged Division

Community Engagement Division

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

12

DOI

10.18260/1-2--37345

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/37345

Download Count

356

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

Ebenezer Rotimi Ewumi Washington State University

visit author page

Ebenezer Ewumi is a Computer Engineering master student at Washington State University. His research is in engineering education and software engineering techniques. His recent research focuses on the effect of high impact practices on engineering and computer science undergraduate student outcomes around academic success and persistence.

visit author page

biography

Olusola Adesope Washington State University

visit author page

Dr. Olusola O. Adesope is a Professor of Educational Psychology and a Boeing Distinguished Professor of STEM Education at Washington State University, Pullman. His research is at the intersection of educational psychology, learning sciences, and instructional design and technology. His recent research focuses on the cognitive and pedagogical underpinnings of learning with computer-based multimedia resources; knowledge representation through interactive concept maps; meta-analysis of empirical research, and investigation of instructional principles and assessments in STEM. He is currently a Senior Associate Editor of the Journal of Engineering Education.

visit author page

biography

Candis S. Claiborn Washington State University

visit author page

Dr. Candis Claiborn has been at Washington State University since 1991. In 2016, she returned to faculty after serving for 10 years as Dean of the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture at WSU. Prior to that, she served as interim dean and as associate dean for research and graduate programs. Dr. Claiborn received her PhD in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University in 1991. Her research interests are in atmospheric aerosols, air pollution, and atmosphere-biosphere interactions.

visit author page

biography

Angela Minichiello P.E. Utah State University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-4545-9355

visit author page

Angela Minichiello is an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Utah State University (USU) and a registered professional mechanical engineer. Her research examines issues of access, diversity, and inclusivity in engineering education. In particular, she is interested in engineering professional formation, problem-solving, and the intersections of online learning and alternative pathways for adult, nontraditional, and veteran undergraduates in engineering.

visit author page

Download Paper |

Abstract

Student engagement, especially among Engineering and Computer science majors (E/CS), has been a priority for researchers. Although considerable efforts have been made to improve college students' engagement and interest, underrepresented minority groups and first-generation students are still at risk of dropping out of engineering majors due to lack of inclusiveness, motivation, and other related factors. According to Kuh (2008), student participation in High-Impact Educational Practices (HIEP) is correlated with student outcomes such as persistence, performance, achievement, and intent to complete their current major. The present study reviews the existing National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE, 2012, 2017) data from two western land-grant universities to fully capture participation through the survey of first-year students and seniors (N = 674). The HIEP considered include service-learning, learning communities, research with faculty, internship or field experience, study abroad, and culminating senior experience. These practices are designed to encourage meaningful interactions between faculty and students, foster collaboration with students within different demographics groups, and facilitate learning outside the classroom. Insights were gleaned from how the students interacted with HIEP based on special characteristics such as sex, race, age, enrollment status, and residence. The purpose of the present study is to examine the extent to which E/CS students participate in HIEP and its effects on student outcomes. This study also offers comparisons or possible relationships between student demographics, student success, and HIEP involvement. For example, the participation rates of HIEP on different engineering and computer science majors, including civil, chemical, electrical, mechanical, and materials engineering, etc., are analyzed to examine the practices that work for a particular E/CS major. The present study reports findings from NSSE 2012 and 2017 surveys. Results show that among the E/CS seniors, service-learning, learning community, and study abroad program are the HIEP with the lowest participation rate with 41% (service-learning), 59% (learning community), and 68% (study abroad program), indicating that they do not plan to engage in these practices in their senior year. Conversely, internships and culminating senior experiences had the most participation among E/CS seniors with 52% (internships) and 68% (culminating senior experiences. Interestingly, first-year students showed a significant interest to participate in the following HIEP: internships, study abroad programs, and culminating senior experiences – with 76% (internships), 47% (study abroad program), and 68% (culminating senior experiences) indicating plans to engage in these practices. Finally, findings show that participation or engagement in HIEP is a significant predictor of student learning outcomes. Findings of this review may serve as a guide for future research in E/CS student participation in HIEP. The paper concludes with theoretical and practical implications of the findings on student engagement and learning.

Key words: NSSE, high impact educational practices, Engagement

Ewumi, E. R., & Adesope, O., & Claiborn, C. S., & Minichiello, A. (2021, July), Insights Gathered from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) About Engineering/Computer Science Participation in High-impact Educational Practices at Two Western Land-grant Institutions Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. 10.18260/1-2--37345

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2021 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015