Enhancing the First Year Engineering Student Motivation through an Introductory Engineering Course

The study and analysis of the self-efficacy beliefs of students has become an important line of educational research. The purpose of this study, conducted at the University of Mondragon (Spain), is to explore the different perceptions concerning the creative and entrepreneurial self-efficacy of students on their entrance to university. Results revealed clear patterns with regards to discipline and gender. Students commencing their degrees in social sciences show lower creative and entrepreneurial self-efficacy perceptions than their peers in other disciplines. Women show lower scores than men across different disciplines with the exception of women commencing engineering studies. Self-efficacy has been related to student motivation and learning and has been found influential in the choice of the professional career. The high significance of this construct in education makes the results of this study have clear implications for the development of learning environments that address the differences found between gender and disciplines. Directions for future research are also indicated.

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A Pilot Validation Study Of The Epistemological Beliefs Assessment For Engineering (Ebae): First Year Engineering Student Beliefs

10.18260/1-2--15693 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Adam Carberry ◽

Matthew Ohland ◽

Chris Swan

Keyword(s):

Validation Study ◽

Epistemological Beliefs ◽

First Year ◽

Engineering Student ◽

Student Beliefs

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Initiatives to foster engineering student motivation: A case study

Journal of Technology and Science Education ◽

10.3926/jotse.265 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 291

Author(s):

Encarnación Reyes ◽

Alejandro Enfedaque ◽

Jaime C. Gálvez

Keyword(s):

Teaching Methods ◽

Student Motivation ◽

Learning Experience ◽

Assessment Methods ◽

The Internet ◽

Engineering Student ◽

Alternative Teaching ◽

Dynamic Methods ◽

University Lecturers

There is little doubt that student motivation is essential in providing a beneficial learning experience. One way to provide such motivation is to stimulate it through the most suitable methods of assessment. This paper shares the experience acquired by the authors - university lecturers in Civil Engineering at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid – both through their assessment methods and the feedback received via the Moodle platform. Over the last eight years the authors have introduced increasingly dynamic methods in their teaching and assessment, with highly satisfactory results being obtained. Over the last three academic years a test through co-assessment has been added and during the two an assessment exercise implemented through the Moodle platform. Each test has a weight of 5% of the final mark for the module. After sitting the respective Moodle test, the students filled in a questionnaire that sought their views not only on the teaching methods but also on how motivational they found such methods. As expected, the results showed that the students considered the internet-based Moodle platform to be useful. However, the most notable finding was that the majority felt that alternative teaching and assessment methods such as, among others, cooperative learning, were those that were most beneficial to their learning experience.

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Self-Efficacy Development among Students Enrolled in an Engineering Service-Learning Section

International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship ◽

10.24908/ijsle.v13i2.11483 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 25-44 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lauren Dent ◽

Patricia Maloney ◽

Tanja Karp

Keyword(s):

Service Learning ◽

Student Performance ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Interpersonal Skills ◽

Skills Assessment ◽

First Year ◽

Quantified Self ◽

Engineering Student ◽

Student Responses ◽

Psychometric Tool

Service-learning presents exciting new ways for students to enhance their learning. Educators and scholars agree that service-learning is connected to self-efficacy, which affects student performance. This research tests the development of self-efficacy in students enrolled in service-learning and traditional sections of a first-year engineering course. Using a previously developed metric, the Engineering Skills Assessment (ESA), students enrolled in service-learning (SL) and “traditional” (non-SL) sections quantified self-efficacy on 11 skills previously deemed important for engineering. Student responses were compared between SL and non-SL students at the beginning and end of the semester. Analysis of the collected data using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) grouped self-efficacy ratings for the 11 skills into three meaningful constructs: (1) Job-related skills (2) Interpersonal skills and (3) Life skills. Mean self-efficacy scores were significantly better at the end of the course for non-SL students in all areas and for SL students in four of the 11 skills and two of the three constructs. Self-efficacy growth was significantly higher for non-SL students, which may be due to the Dunning-Kruger effect. However, similar percentages of both populations self-reported that their skills were improved at the end of the semester due to the class. This research also supports the use of the ESA as a reliable psychometric tool to evaluate student self-efficacy and its relationship to service-learning.

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