Women Students Learning a STEM Subject: An Analysis of Note-Taking Practices in a Civil Engineering Course and the Association with Self-Efficacy, Cognitive Engagement, Test Anxiety, and Course Achievement

Monica Palomo; Pauline Muljana

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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: Civil Engineering Division - Integration of Engineering and/or Technical Rigor with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ)
Page Count: 25
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--40442
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/40442
Download Count: 496

Paper Authors

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Monica Palomo California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

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Dr. Mónica Palomo is a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where she teaches senior projects, and environmental and water resources engineering undergraduate and graduate courses. She is the CWEA-AWWA student chapter advisor. Dr. Palomo holds a Civil Engineering degree from the University de Guanajuato, México, and her MS and PhD degrees (both in Civil Engineering with Environmental emphasis) from Kansas State University. Her research interests are in water and wastewater treatment, natural treatment systems for water remediation, sanitation in developing countries, engineering outreach, service learning, and engineering education. Dr. Palomo has served as chair of the student council, ASCE Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI), she served as division chair and is current member of the Board of Directors of the Environmental Engineering Division of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). Dr. Palomo also serves as an ABET Program Evaluator. She is a 2009 fellow and mentor for the ASCE Excellence in Civil Engineering Education (ExCEEd) teaching workshop. Dr. Palomo believes that fostering curiosity and life-long learning skills we can make the world a better place. She believes that an inclusive and equitable learning environment is critical for students to be motivated and enjoy their learning journey.

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Pauline Muljana

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Pauline Salim Muljana is a PhD candidate in the Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) program at Old Dominion University. Her research interests center on the investigations of how a data-informed analytics approach informs instructional design to foster learning behaviors and strategies associated with successful learning. Before joining the IDT program, she held instructional design responsibilities for 12 years at California State Polytechnic University Pomona, which included designing and developing courses with various delivery modes and multimedia learning objects, as well as facilitating faculty workshops on instructional strategies and effective use of technology. She now works at Lumen Learning as Director of Continuous Improvement, integrating data-driven improvements and community-contributed improvements into courseware with an emphasis on equity-centered design.

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Abstract

Women students are underrepresented in STEM education. The completion rate of women students in an engineering program are known to be low. Alongside this, the COVID-19 pandemic still occurs, threatening people’s health, leading to anxiety and depression, and influencing students’ learning. Numerous studies have displayed a negative association between self-efficacy and test anxiety, especially in quantitative subjects. All together may distract students from focusing on their cognitive goals. In turn, students may not be able to concentrate, disrupting their cognitive engagement to grasp knowledge. The present case study is aimed to investigate the note-taking strategies used in a fully-synchronous Civil Engineering senior-level course to support women students’ learning. The association between their note-taking practices, self-efficacy, cognitive engagement, and test anxiety was evaluated. Data were collected from online surveys (pre- and post-surveys) and students’ submitted class notes. Five women students with increased self-efficacy and cognitive engagement, and decreased test anxiety were selected, and their submitted class notes were analyzed. Results indicated that the three highest note-taking scores resulted in the highest improvement in the class throughout the term (32.25%, 26.7%, and 17.17% of grade improvement). A participant who did not improve the grade during the term faced significant personal challenges. However, the note-taking scores were comparable to their peers, and she showed improvement in cognitive engagement and test anxiety, Mdifference = 0.186, and Mdifference = 0.200, respectively. Each student faced different situations at various magnitudes, and each responded in different ways depending on their resources and support. The challenges encountered in the students’ lives might have influenced academic achievement and engagement. However, the present findings suggested that note-taking practices have supported the improvement of academic performance for four women students throughout the term. Addressing the present research questions allowed us to reveal the successful note-taking strategies and develop guidelines for educators interested in providing note-taking instructions to their students. Overall, the note-taking practices assisted the women students to increase their self-efficacy and cognitive engagement, and decrease test anxiety, supporting their persistence in STEM learning.

Citation
Format

Palomo, M., & Muljana, P. (2022, August), Women Students Learning a STEM Subject: An Analysis of Note-Taking Practices in a Civil Engineering Course and the Association with Self-Efficacy, Cognitive Engagement, Test Anxiety, and Course Achievement Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40442

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -      
Women students are underrepresented in STEM education. The completion rate of women students in an engineering program are known to be low. Alongside this, the COVID-19 pandemic still occurs, threatening people’s health, leading to anxiety and depression, and influencing students’ learning. Numerous studies have displayed a negative association between self-efficacy and test anxiety, especially in quantitative subjects. All together may distract students from focusing on their cognitive goals. In turn, students may not be able to concentrate, disrupting their cognitive engagement to grasp knowledge. The present case study is aimed to investigate the note-taking strategies used in a fully-synchronous Civil Engineering senior-level course to support women students’ learning. The association between their note-taking practices, self-efficacy, cognitive engagement, and test anxiety was evaluated. Data were collected from online surveys (pre- and post-surveys) and students’ submitted class notes. Five women students with increased self-efficacy and cognitive engagement, and decreased test anxiety were selected, and their submitted class notes were analyzed. Results indicated that the three highest note-taking scores resulted in the highest improvement in the class throughout the term (32.25%, 26.7%, and 17.17% of grade improvement). A participant who did not improve the grade during the term faced significant personal challenges. However, the note-taking scores were comparable to their peers, and she showed improvement in cognitive engagement and test anxiety, Mdifference = 0.186, and Mdifference = 0.200, respectively. Each student faced different situations at various magnitudes, and each responded in different ways depending on their resources and support. The challenges encountered in the students’ lives might have influenced academic achievement and engagement. However, the present findings suggested that note-taking practices have supported the improvement of academic performance for four women students throughout the term. Addressing the present research questions allowed us to reveal the successful note-taking strategies and develop guidelines for educators interested in providing note-taking instructions to their students. Overall, the note-taking practices assisted the women students to increase their self-efficacy and cognitive engagement, and decrease test anxiety, supporting their persistence in STEM learning.

AU  - Monica Palomo
AU  - Pauline Muljana
CY  - Minneapolis, MN
DA  - 2022/08/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Women Students Learning a STEM Subject: An Analysis of Note-Taking Practices in a Civil Engineering Course and the Association with Self-Efficacy, Cognitive Engagement, Test Anxiety, and Course Achievement
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/40442
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--40442
ER  -