Parameterizing Major Discernment for First- and Second-year Engineering Students

Brian J. Smith; Elizabeth Kerr

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access
Location: Virtual On line
Publication Date: June 22, 2020
Start Date: June 22, 2020
End Date: June 26, 2021
Conference Session: First-Year Programs: Major Choice
Tagged Division: First-Year Programs
Page Count: 14
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--35034
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/35034
Download Count: 362

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

Brian J. Smith University of Notre Dame

visit author page

Brian J. Smith, Ph.D., P.E., is an associate teaching professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences (CEEES) at the University of Notre Dame. He is also a concurrent associate teaching professor in the School of Architecture (SoA) at Notre Dame. Dr. Smith teaches structural design courses within CEEES and SoA, as well as introductory engineering courses through the common First-Year Engineering (FYE) program at Notre Dame. He was a recipient of the 2018 Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C., Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching which recognizes faculty members who have a profound influence on undergraduate students through sustained exemplary teaching. Dr. Smith's primary research interests are in the fields of engineering education, innovative structural systems, earthquake engineering, and large-scale experimental testing. He was the recipient of the 2015 Charles C. Zollman award from the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) Journal recognizing his contribution in advancing the state-of-the-art of precast and prestressed concrete.

visit author page

biography

Elizabeth Kerr University of Notre Dame orcid.org/0000-0001-5511-8848

visit author page

Elizabeth Kerr, PhD, P.E., is a structural engineer for the Hurricane Flood Risk Reduction Branch for the Galveston District of the Army Corps of Engineers. Prior to that, she served as an Associate Teaching Professor and was the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences (CEEES) at the University of Notre Dame for 11 years. Dr. Kerr was the recipient of the Cathy F. Pieronek Women in Engineer Impact Award in 2020, and in 2018, Dr. Kerr was the recipient of the Dockweiler Advising Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising which is awarded to faculty who demonstrate a sustained commitment to undergraduates through outstanding mentoring, academic advising, or career counseling. Her research interests include engineering education retention and recruitment in addition to topics in structural concrete and masonry.

visit author page

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

This Complete Research paper was motivated towards providing engineering students with a better opportunity to understand their major prior to declaration, thereby increasing the likelihood of informed major selections, decreasing the number of future major changes, and increasing the overall retention of engineering students within their majors. Numerous studies exist that focus on the major discernment process of engineering students, engineering identity formation of students, and motivation for enrolling in engineering programs. However, these studies lack sufficient investigation of specific parameters (e.g., course content, peer interactions, outside the classroom major exploration experiences) that are influential during the major discernment process. Further, these studies have typically included only students within their first-year of engineering study and do not continue to track major changes in future years despite noticeable attrition rates in second-year engineering students. Finally, prior research has typically focused on analyzing only quantitative data without supporting qualitative data (e.g., student interviews, open-ended surveys) that could provide better insight towards the thought process of students. Therefore, expanded research efforts are needed to address these knowledge gaps and provide a clearer understanding of the engineering major discernment process.

Expanding upon the current knowledge basis, the primary research objectives of this study were to (1) identify specific parameters that influence major discernment using both quantitative and open-ended qualitative data, (2) monitor major changes through the completion of the second-year of study, and (3) provide recommendations applicable to engineering programs that can help students make more informed major selections. The research approach and framework followed social cognitive career theory, where career development can be analyzed through relationships such as the development of academic and career interests, educational and career choices, as well as academic and career success. Major exploration opportunities were provided to students throughout their first-year of engineering study and included activities both associated with common First-Year Engineering (FYE) courses (e.g., departmental guest lectures, faculty mentored design projects, student panel discussions) and outside the classroom events unassociated with the FYE courses (e.g., major information sessions, academic and research laboratory tours, enrollment in technical elective courses). The major discernment process of students was monitored using a combination of participation data from major exploration opportunities, open-ended student surveys, and major discernment reflection papers (assigned through the FYE course). Students were classified according to their listed major at three different points in time: intended major at the start of the first-year of study, declared major at the end of the first-year of study, and declared major at the end of the second-year of study. Individual student experiences were classified as positive, neutral, or negative based on the qualitative data. This study was conducted over three academic years using two entering classes of engineering students and limited in scope to a single University with only students that expressed interest in majoring in civil or environmental engineering during their first or second-year of engineering study.

Students participating in more than one major exploration opportunity were found to have larger retention and addition rates within their major. While no individual major exploration event was consistently more effective in retaining or adding students, experiences where first-year engineering students interacted with older engineering students had the most value, followed by experiences which discussed career paths and/or post-graduation opportunities. Students retained or added within their major most commonly stated that their major selection was influenced by the broad variety of career paths within their field (thereby keeping more options available), ability to positively impact society through their career choices, positive interactions with faculty members during major exploration events, and/or interest in job opportunities within their field. Students added into a major most commonly reported changing majors after being inspired by one of their major exploration experiences. Students that left a major were found to have lower participation rates in the outside the classroom major exploration events and more frequently reported neutral or negative experiences. The paper provides a list of general recommendations when creating and implementing major exploration experiences for first-year engineering students that are applicable to any engineering major, such as offering a diverse array of opportunities throughout the academic year, focusing each event on different aspects of future academic and post-graduation experiences, and featuring events with smaller student-to-faculty ratios to minimize negative student experiences. Ultimately, this work provides the template for a larger and expanded future research study that would include all engineering majors.

Citation
Format

Smith, B. J., & Kerr, E. (2020, June), Parameterizing Major Discernment for First- and Second-year Engineering Students Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--35034

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This Complete Research paper was motivated towards providing engineering students with a better opportunity to understand their major prior to declaration, thereby increasing the likelihood of informed major selections, decreasing the number of future major changes, and increasing the overall retention of engineering students within their majors. Numerous studies exist that focus on the major discernment process of engineering students, engineering identity formation of students, and motivation for enrolling in engineering programs. However, these studies lack sufficient investigation of specific parameters (e.g., course content, peer interactions, outside the classroom major exploration experiences) that are influential during the major discernment process. Further, these studies have typically included only students within their first-year of engineering study and do not continue to track major changes in future years despite noticeable attrition rates in second-year engineering students. Finally, prior research has typically focused on analyzing only quantitative data without supporting qualitative data (e.g., student interviews, open-ended surveys) that could provide better insight towards the thought process of students. Therefore, expanded research efforts are needed to address these knowledge gaps and provide a clearer understanding of the engineering major discernment process. 

Expanding upon the current knowledge basis, the primary research objectives of this study were to (1) identify specific parameters that influence major discernment using both quantitative and open-ended qualitative data, (2) monitor major changes through the completion of the second-year of study, and (3) provide recommendations applicable to engineering programs that can help students make more informed major selections. The research approach and framework followed social cognitive career theory, where career development can be analyzed through relationships such as the development of academic and career interests, educational and career choices, as well as academic and career success. Major exploration opportunities were provided to students throughout their first-year of engineering study and included activities both associated with common First-Year Engineering (FYE) courses (e.g., departmental guest lectures, faculty mentored design projects, student panel discussions) and outside the classroom events unassociated with the FYE courses (e.g., major information sessions, academic and research laboratory tours, enrollment in technical elective courses). The major discernment process of students was monitored using a combination of participation data from major exploration opportunities, open-ended student surveys, and major discernment reflection papers (assigned through the FYE course). Students were classified according to their listed major at three different points in time: intended major at the start of the first-year of study, declared major at the end of the first-year of study, and declared major at the end of the second-year of study. Individual student experiences were classified as positive, neutral, or negative based on the qualitative data. This study was conducted over three academic years using two entering classes of engineering students and limited in scope to a single University with only students that expressed interest in majoring in civil or environmental engineering during their first or second-year of engineering study.

Students participating in more than one major exploration opportunity were found to have larger retention and addition rates within their major. While no individual major exploration event was consistently more effective in retaining or adding students, experiences where first-year engineering students interacted with older engineering students had the most value, followed by experiences which discussed career paths and/or post-graduation opportunities. Students retained or added within their major most commonly stated that their major selection was influenced by the broad variety of career paths within their field (thereby keeping more options available), ability to positively impact society through their career choices, positive interactions with faculty members during major exploration events, and/or interest in job opportunities within their field. Students added into a major most commonly reported changing majors after being inspired by one of their major exploration experiences. Students that left a major were found to have lower participation rates in the outside the classroom major exploration events and more frequently reported neutral or negative experiences. The paper provides a list of general recommendations when creating and implementing major exploration experiences for first-year engineering students that are applicable to any engineering major, such as offering a diverse array of opportunities throughout the academic year, focusing each event on different aspects of future academic and post-graduation experiences, and featuring events with smaller student-to-faculty ratios to minimize negative student experiences. Ultimately, this work provides the template for a larger and expanded future research study that would include all engineering majors.
AU  - Brian J. Smith
AU  - Elizabeth Kerr
CY  - Virtual On line 
DA  - 2020/06/22
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Parameterizing Major Discernment for First- and Second-year Engineering Students
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/35034
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--35034
ER  -