Understanding and Enhancing Student Engagement: Measuring Resources, Self-Assessment and Constructive Engagement In 1st-Year Engineering Courses

Navid Yaghoubisharif; Shane A. Brown; Natasha Mallette

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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: First-Year Programs Division Technical Session 7: Retention & Success
Tagged Division: First-Year Programs Division (FYP)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/48188

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Shane Brown is an associate professor and Associate School Head in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Oregon State University. His research interests include conceptual change and situated cognition. He received the NSF CAREER award in

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biography

Natasha Mallette P.E. Oregon State University

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Dr. Natasha Mallette is a licensed professional engineer with expertise in engineering education focusing on effective curricular design, inclusive teamwork, and social justice. She is the Director of Engineering+, the College of Engineering’s first year program at Oregon State University. Engineering+ [link webpage] combines three foundational engineering courses, co-curricular opportunities, career and industry development skills to enhance the success of our first year and transfer students. In addition to her 10 years in higher education, she has over 6 years of work experience as a design, process and research engineer in nuclear energy, renewable technologies, and various manufacturing facilities. In 2020, she received the OSU Breaking Barriers in Education Award, which recognizes high impact in teaching, mentoring, and advancing gender equity in higher education. She is fluent in the fields of energy, chemical processes, and engineering design.

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Abstract

As engineering education evolves to meet the demands of the 21st century, educators are increasingly focusing on creating more interactive and engaging environments for their students. The Engineering+ program at Oregon State University exemplifies this approach by combining traditional lectures with small-group studios and socially relevant projects. Previous research indicates that students' engagement correlates directly with academic progress. This is especially relevant in the Engineering+ setting, where students are in the process of choosing their majors and planning their futures. Students take three courses on varying topics to explore their interests and practice fundamental engineering skills during their first year. Therefore, enhancing student engagement in these courses not only aids in a deeper understanding of the offered materials but also facilitates social interactions that can inform better decision-making for their futures." This study aims to develop a reliable and valid scale for assessing Resources, Self-Assessment, and Constructive Engagement in Engineering+ courses. The decision to measure these particular constructs is based on an in-depth qualitative study to understand how and why students engage in their engineering courses. Established procedures were implemented for scale development, including construct definition, item pool generation, measurement format, a comprehensive overview of the item pools, and scale validation procedures. An item pool was created based on a comprehensive review of previous literature. The survey was administered, and 1634 responses were collected. This paper reports on the processes and findings of the scale development. Regarding the scale's validity, multiple iterations of the survey were implemented to gather supporting evidence. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the scale's factor structure, substantiating five key factors related to our three main ideas: Educator Availability, External Resources, and Student Connectivity are based on Resources, Course knowledge, which covers constructive engagement, and Self-Assessment. These factors align closely with the unique pedagogical approach of the Engineering+ program and our qualitative study, fostering engagement and development. This study contributes to the existing body of research by providing a validated tool for assessing important constructs related to engagement in Engineering courses, thereby enabling educators to gain valuable insights to inform effective instructional strategies.

Citation
Format

Yaghoubisharif, N., & Brown, S. A., & Mallette, N. (2024, June), Understanding and Enhancing Student Engagement: Measuring Resources, Self-Assessment and Constructive Engagement In 1st-Year Engineering Courses Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/48188

TY - CPAPER
AB - As engineering education evolves to meet the demands of the 21st century, educators are increasingly focusing on creating more interactive and engaging environments for their students. The Engineering+ program at Oregon State University exemplifies this approach by combining traditional lectures with small-group studios and socially relevant projects. Previous research indicates that students&#39; engagement correlates directly with academic progress. This is especially relevant in the Engineering+ setting, where students are in the process of choosing their majors and planning their futures. Students take three courses on varying topics to explore their interests and practice fundamental engineering skills during their first year. Therefore, enhancing student engagement in these courses not only aids in a deeper understanding of the offered materials but also facilitates social interactions that can inform better decision-making for their futures.&quot; This study aims to develop a reliable and valid scale for assessing Resources, Self-Assessment, and Constructive Engagement in Engineering+ courses. The decision to measure these particular constructs is based on an in-depth qualitative study to understand how and why students engage in their engineering courses. Established procedures were implemented for scale development, including construct definition, item pool generation, measurement format, a comprehensive overview of the item pools, and scale validation procedures. An item pool was created based on a comprehensive review of previous literature. The survey was administered, and 1634 responses were collected. This paper reports on the processes and findings of the scale development. Regarding the scale&#39;s validity, multiple iterations of the survey were implemented to gather supporting evidence. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the scale&#39;s factor structure, substantiating five key factors related to our three main ideas: Educator Availability, External Resources, and Student Connectivity are based on Resources, Course knowledge, which covers constructive engagement, and Self-Assessment. These factors align closely with the unique pedagogical approach of the Engineering+ program and our qualitative study, fostering engagement and development. This study contributes to the existing body of research by providing a validated tool for assessing important constructs related to engagement in Engineering courses, thereby enabling educators to gain valuable insights to inform effective instructional strategies.
AU - Navid Yaghoubisharif
AU - Shane A. Brown P.E.
AU - Natasha Mallette P.E.
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Understanding and Enhancing Student Engagement: Measuring Resources, Self-Assessment and Constructive Engagement In 1st-Year Engineering Courses
UR - https://peer.asee.org/48188
ER -