Students’ Grit Level as a Predictor of Their Academic Achievement in Engineering Design Courses

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between engineering students’ year of study, gender and grit level. This study also aims to assess whether there is any relationship between students’ peer assessment scores in a collaborative project-based learning course and their goal orientation — either towards performance goals or learning goals — and their grit level. The study design is a quasi-experimental design, and the methods used in this study are quantitative. Student grit level was measured using a 12-item scale. The questionnaire was administered in three engineering design courses at different levels of study. The first course is an introduction to engineering design course for firstyear engineering and computer sciences students; the second is an introduction to engineering design course for second-year engineering and computer science students; and the third is a computer-aided design/computer-aidedmanufacturing (CAD/CAM) engineering design capstone course for fourth-year mechanical engineering students. Data collection occurred during the fall semester of 2018- 2019 academic year. Students’ grit level was not found to be a predictor of students’ peer assessment scores, although their goal orientation predicted their level of contribution to their team project.