scholarly journals A Longitudinal Study of Social and Ethical Responsibility Among Undergraduate Engineering Students: Comparing Baseline and Midpoint Survey Results

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiloh Howland ◽  
Gregg Warnick ◽  
Carla Zoltowski ◽  
Brent Jesiek ◽  
Randall Davies
Author(s):  
Richard R. Chromik ◽  
Diane Dechief ◽  
Denzel Guye ◽  
Faye Siluk ◽  
Cathryn Somrani

Survey results and student feedback from the initial year of McGill University’s E-IDEA (Engineering Inclusivity, Diversity and Equity Advancement) teamwork initiative demonstrate that undergraduate engineering students value this team-based, applied training in equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). The course-based training provides a critical foundation from which to build strong teamwork skills. Our findings demonstrate the benefit of initiating teamwork-integrated EDI training early in students’ programs and continuing until final capstone courses.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Zoltowski ◽  
Brent Jesiek ◽  
Stephanie Claussen ◽  
Shiloh Howland ◽  
Dayoung Kim ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia A Ralston ◽  
Cathy L Bays

Critical thinking is considered a necessary learning outcome for all college students and essential for academic and career success.  There are many challenges to developing a comprehensive approach to teaching and assessing critical thinking skills. Although the literature has many examples of the incorporation of critical thinking and assessment into courses, longitudinal studies following engineering students through their undergraduate career are lacking.  This study assessed the impact of using the Paul-Elder Critical Thinking Framework to enhance undergraduate students’ critical thinking skills with the hypothesis: There will be a significant increase in undergraduate students’ critical thinking abilities from the freshman to the senior year with the explicit and strategic incorporation of critical thinking assignments. The research question was, “How do the critical thinking skills of undergraduate engineering students change as they progress through the engineering program with the explicit and strategic incorporation of critical thinking assignments?” The study was a descriptive, longitudinal study of three engineering student cohorts as they progressed through the four year undergraduate program. The study was approved by the university’s Institutional Review Board. There was a statistically significant increase in critical thinking scores over the four years for each of the three cohorts. Integrating and evaluating critical thinking assignments into engineering curricula is possible, but a major challenge to critical thinking assessment using a holistic rubric is training engineering faculty in their use.  The results are encouraging, and participating faculty agree; but sustaining these efforts to imbed critical thinking assignments throughout the engineering college curriculum will require effort and administrative support.


Author(s):  
Max Ullrich ◽  
David S. Strong

How undergraduate engineering students define their success and plan for their future differs notably amongst students. With a push for greater diversity and inclusion in engineering schools, it is valuable to also better understand the differences in these areas among different students to allow institutions to better serve the needs of these diverse groups.  The purpose of this research study is to explore students’ definition of success both in the present and projecting forward 5 to 10 years, as well as to understand to what level students reflect on, and plan for, the future. The proposed survey instrument for the pilot stage of this research includes 56 closed-ended questions and 3 open-ended questions. Evidence for the validity of the research instrument is established through a mixed-method pilot study. This paper will discuss the survey instrument, the pilot study, and outline plans for the full study.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Leticia Salazar Preciado ◽  
Sally Haack ◽  
Luis Renee González Lucano ◽  
Ricardo Javier Díaz Domínguez ◽  
Inbal Mazar

BACKGROUND COVID-19 represents a major global health crisis and has resulted in drastic changes to daily life. While even prior to the start of the pandemic college students had a high prevalence of mental health conditions, this group is even more at risk during the pandemic. OBJECTIVE To investigate the emotional impact of quarantine and transition to remote learning on health science students from two countries, regarding anxiety prevalence, mental wellbeing and coping behaviors during the first month of the COVID-19 outbreak. METHODS A total of 28 students from Tecnologico de Monterrey (TEC) in Guadalajara, Mexico and 19 students from Drake University (Drake) in Iowa, United States participated in the study. All students were studying health sciences, including degree programs such as medicine, pharmacy, and nutrition and wellness. This longitudinal study assessed students’ immediate psychological response during the COVID-19 pandemic by using an anonymous online questionnaire administered in April and again in May 2020. The survey was created to assess anxiety levels, coping mechanisms, and changes in daily habits. Demographics such as gender, age, non-academic working, living arrangements, household size, and number of roommates/co-habitants were also collected. RESULTS The April survey sample included 47 students and the May survey sample included 41 students. At least 50% of respondents were females, 20 to 21 years of age. The April survey results showed that more TEC students rated their food intake as higher than before the pandemic when compared to Drake students (p=0.032). Alcohol consumption reportedly stayed the same for Drake students and was lower for TEC students (p=0.004). The May survey results showed a statistically significant difference only for the alcohol consumption (p<0.001). Sleep time between April and May in TEC students showed a significant statistical difference, with students reporting less sleep time in May (p=0.016). The analysis for the level of anxiety according to the Beck Anxiety Inventory showed no statistically significant differences, neither when comparing between intra (TEC p=0.189 and Drake p=0.879) and inter group survey times (TEC vs Drake in April p=0.919 and TEC vs Drake in May p=0.305). The most common physical symptoms reported by students during both study periods were: feeling hot, nervous, fear of losing control, inability to relax, and fear of the worst happening. CONCLUSIONS There is growing concern surrounding the mental health status and needs of health science students during the pandemic. It is important to monitor changes in students’ mental health in response to the pandemic and to create interventions that target students appropriately.


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