Project-based engineering learning in college: associations with self-efficacy, effort regulation, interest, skills, and performance

Liang Li Wu,Fernando Rodriguez,Mark Warschauer,Christian Fischer,Gregory N. Washington

doi:10.1007/s43545-021-00286-4

Abstract

This quantitative study examined student participation in an introductory project-based engineering course offered in fully face-to-face and hybrid course modes (N = 160). This course attempted to counteract trends of decreased student motivation and high attrition rates among engineering majors. Mixed-design analysis of variance examined differences in motivational constructs including student self-efficacy, effort regulation, and interest in engineering, as well as engineering skills throughout the course and across instructional modes. None of the motivational constructs were associated with significant decreases throughout the course nor with differences across instructional modes. However, students’ engineering skills increased throughout the course with no significant differences across course modalities. Furthermore, interest in engineering and effort regulation were positively associated with course performance. The instructional modality was not significantly associated with course performance. Overall, this study provides an example of a project-based introductory engineering course which may help maintain student motivation and foster student success in engineering.

Highlights

IntroductionHigher education institutions have had difficulty retaining students in engineeringrelated disciplines
Developing a strong science and engineering workforce is important for maintaining a strategic advantage in the global economy (National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, & Institute of Medicine 2007)
The first and second research questions used 3 × 2 mixed-design analysis of variance (ANOVA) in order to assess how students’ self-rated motivation, interest in engineering, and engineering-related skills changed over time, and whether these scores differed between students in face-to-face and hybrid sections (Maxwell and Delaney 2004)

Summary

Introduction

Higher education institutions have had difficulty retaining students in engineeringrelated disciplines. Several studies have documented high attrition among engineering students (Geisinger and Raman 2013; Kokkelenberg and Sinha 2010; Rask 2010; Chen 2013). One estimate shows that only 57% of engineering students stay in the major (Ohland et al 2008). High attrition may stem in part from the type of curriculum students are exposed to early in their major. Research studies indicated that students choose to leave the engineering-related disciplines as they lose interest in engineering and become less motivated to pursue engineering careers, sometimes despite being in good academic standing (Besterfield-Sacre et al 1997; Geisinger and Raman 2013)

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Conclusion