First-year Engineering Research Articles

Predictores socio-académicos del Study Engagement en estudiantes de primer año de ingeniería

Although Study Engagement has been linked to different key variables for the teaching-learning process in higher education, there is a lack of clarity regarding the factors that affect it, especially in engineering education. The research objective was to evaluate the predictive capacity of academic goals, the sense of belonging and peer support on Study Engagement. A cross-sectional associative-predictive design is carried out that incorporates the measurement of these variables in 743 first-year engineering students. The strongest predictors were learning goals and career membership versus other goals and support. The weight of each variable was different for each dimension of the Engagement. With this, the results contribute to understanding differences in the predictors of Engagement, which encourages potential differentiated interventions depending on the dimension that needs to be stimulated.

Differential and Integral Calculus in First-Year Engineering Students: A Diagnosis to Understand the Failure

Difficulties in the curricular units (CU) of the mathematical science area, particularly those related to differential and integral calculus (DIC), are often found among students of engineering degrees, leading to high failure rates. A research work was developed with the objective of finding the reasons that lead the students to fail in the CU of DIC (CU-DIC) taught in the 1st year of the engineering undergraduate degrees at the Coimbra Engineering Institute (ISEC), in Portugal. Applying a case study methodology, this article will present a current diagnosis with the objective to establish relationships between teaching methods and students’ learning strategies, and besides, we propose to build learning environments that lead to higher success. The analysis of collected data allows us to conclude that the CU-DIC in the ISEC maintain an identical distribution in the hourly load in several engineering degrees, where contents are adjusted to each context taking into account the CUs of each degree. The data analysis found better results in the academic year that includes two examination moments without any relationship between class attendance, dropout and pass rates. We propose some different teaching/learning strategies in CU-DIC and new learning environments that enhance freshmen students’ engagement and participation in their own learning process.

Teaching stress-strain behaviour of ductile and brittle materials using concept-context maps to mechanical engineering freshmen

Stress-Strain relations are graphical measures to determine the mechanical properties and morphology of engineering materials. In engineering universities, stress-strain curves are introduced in the introductory course of materials science for the mechanical, metallurgical and civil engineers. Stress-strain diagrams can be easily plotted from experimental data obtained from the uniaxial tensile testing of specimens made as per standards of engineering material. However, understanding of the metal’s deformation, dislocation behaviour, as well as the microstructure, is considered challenging. Common teaching aids present stress-strain diagrams as a working tool but does not explain how to relate various attributes like microstructural characteristics and mechanical behaviour with its engineering properties. This accumulated difficulty leads to a decreased level of motivation among first-year engineering students. The article presents CC maps an instructional strategy to gain sustainable knowledge on how to read stress-strain characteristics, interpret engineering properties and promote cognitive transfer in learning. The results obtained indicated that intervention of CC maps has improved conceptual understanding, learning interest and performance of students in the class.

First-year engineering students’ mathematics task performance and its relation to their motivational values and views about mathematics

ABSTRACT This study investigates Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish first-year engineering students’ task performance in mathematics and examines how it relates to their motivational values and beliefs about the nature of mathematics. In a set of seven mathematical tasks, female students outperformed male students, for example, in the simplification of symbolic expressions. Our findings also show that female students set more demanding learning goals for themselves. Further, they expressed higher intrinsic motivational values, whereas male students emphasised utility values, which correlated negatively with task performance. Problem-solving and discovering structures and regularities dominate engineering students’ views of mathematics. The ‘toolbox’ view of mathematics is the best predictor of task performance; the stronger this view is, the poorer is the task performance. However, neither motivational values nor views about mathematics are especially strong predictors of task performance. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that, in engineering mathematics courses, greater emphasis is placed on learning fundamental reasoning strategies and discussing the theoretical foundations of the main results. This seems to lead to a better result even in applying mathematics than if one focuses only on learning how to use ready-made mathematical tools in concrete examples.

Assessing Engineering Design: A Comparison of the Effect of Exams and Design Practica on First-Year Students’ Design Self-Efficacy

Abstract In response to calls for engineering programs to better prepare students for future careers, many institutions offer courses with a design component to first-year engineering students. This work proposes that traditional exam-based assessments of design concepts are inadequate, and alternative forms of assessment are needed to assess student learning in design courses. This paper investigates the self-efficacy differences between a traditional exam and a two-part practicum as a mid-semester assessment for introductory engineering students enrolled in a first-year design course. Increased self-efficacy has been linked to various positive student outcomes and increased retention of underrepresented students. The practicum consisted of an in-class team design task and an out-of-class individual reflection, while the exam was a traditional, individual written exam. All students completed a pre-assessment survey and a post-assessment survey, both of which included measures of design self-efficacy. Analysis showed that the practicum increased the design self-efficacy of students more effectively than the exam. Students who identified as women had greater gains in design self-efficacy during the practicum as compared with men. Identifying as a minority subgroup student was also trending toward being a significant predictor of change in design self-efficacy for the practicum. Findings suggest that a mid-semester practicum is a successful assessment of design competencies that contributes to increased first-year engineering student self-efficacy.

The use of tense and aspect in isiZulu and English by isiZulu L1/English L2 speakers: An empirical investigation

ABSTRACT Past research indicates that the acquisition and subsequent usage of tense/aspect markings by second language (L2) speakers pose particular challenges. Such challenges may emanate, inter alia, from differences in the tense/aspect systems of a L2 speaker’s two languages. This article compares and contrasts the use of tense and aspect in isiZulu and English by isiZulu L1/ English L2 speakers. We conducted an empirical intra-individual study among first-year mechanical engineering students enrolled for a communication skills module at a university of technology. The participants produced two written reports on a hypothetical series of events which culminated in an imaginary laboratory accident. We investigate how similarities and differences between English and isiZulu manifest in the written reports of each student. The qualitative, intra-individual data analysis indicates that our participants carefully position the events on a linear timeline and that they encode the chronological succession of these events in detail in their L1. In contrast, these abilities are less apparent in the L2. Here, the chronological order of events is less clear because the students tend to ‘simplify’ the available L2 tense/aspect system; in particular, they seem to avoid the English inflectional morphology ‘-en’ (aux+ -en). Thus, English L2 students may be supported by (1) allowing space for the L1 to impact on the learning of the L2, and by (2) engaging students through custom-made, contextualised simulation activities that reinforce the use of English tense and aspect. Furthermore, our research supports transformative language policies and a promotion of African languages inside and outside academia.

Assessing first-year engineering students' pre-university mathematics knowledge: Preliminary validity results based on an item response theory model

The importance of students’ prior knowledge to their current learning outcomes cannot be overemphasised. Students with adequate prior knowledge are better prepared for the current learning materials than those without the knowledge. However, assessment of engineering students' prior mathematics knowledge has been beset with a lack of uniformity in measuring instruments and inadequate validity studies. This study attempts to provide evidence of validity and reliability of a Norwegian national test of prior mathematics knowledge using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach. This approach involves use of an item response theory model followed by cognitive interviews of some students among 201 first-year engineering students that constitute the sample of the study. The findings confirm an acceptable construct validity for the test with reliable items and a high-reliability coefficient of .92 on the whole test. Mixed results are found on discrimination and difficulty indices of questions on the test with some questions having unacceptable discriminations and require improvement, some are easy, and some appear too tricky questions for students. Results from the cognitive interviews reveal the likely reasons for students' difficulty on some questions to be lack of proper understanding of the questions, text misreading, improper grasping of word-problem tasks, and unavailability of calculators. The findings underscore the significance of validity and reliability checks of test instruments and their effect on scoring and computing aggregate scores. The methodological approaches to validity and reliability checks in the present study can be applied to other national contexts.

Using Course-Based Research to Evaluate Best Practices for Teaching Writing to First-Year Engineering Students

Using Course-Based Research to Evaluate Best Practices for Teaching Writing to First-Year Engineering Students

Cover Story: Matters of Perspective: Appreciating Diversity and Promoting Inclusion in Health Technology Professions.

Cover Story: Matters of Perspective: Appreciating Diversity and Promoting Inclusion in Health Technology Professions.

International Comparative Pilot Study of Spatial Skill Development in Engineering Students through Autonomous Augmented Reality-Based Training

Spatial ability is made up of several sub-components, such as the ability to perform mental rotation and object-based transformations. Together with each individual’s attitudes and general skill sets, this specific ability plays an important role in technical professions such as engineering. The components of spatial ability can be enhanced using targeted training or educational programs. This study analyses the levels of spatial skills in first-year engineering students at two universities, one in Spain and one in Peru. The purpose of the study is to establish the extent of symmetry between these study groups in terms of their spatial skills. Initial comparisons indicate that the Peruvian students have a lower level of spatial skill prior to training than their Spanish cohorts. AR-based training delivering representational system content was used with engineering students at both universities to boost spatial abilities. The results obtained indicate the training was effective, as both experimental groups made significant gains in their level of spatial ability. No difference was detected in either experimental group for the variable gender. The comparison of spatial ability gains between both countries is similar, although there is significant difference in the spatial ability component spatial visualization. In this instance, gains in this component were higher amongst the student population in Peru.

Limited Support for Use of a Social-Belonging Intervention with First-Year Engineering Students

First-year STEM students often interpret academic challenges as diagnostic of belonging. Studies demonstrate that a social-belonging intervention helps undergraduates reframe belonging uncertainty as temporary and universal. We implemented this intervention with first-year engineering majors. In Study 1 (N = 284), we analyzed data from engineering mathematics students. Underrepresented students in the belonging intervention reported increased belonging over the semester but did not report significantly higher belonging post-intervention than peers in a control condition. The intervention did not impact achievement. In Study 2 (N = 87), we analyzed data from pre-calculus mathematics students, not replicating the intervention findings of Study 1. In both studies, perceived belonging at beginning-of-semester was positively associated with engineering mathematics grades at semester’s end. In Study 2, use of campus supports mediated the relationship between belonging and achievement over students’ first semester. These findings demonstrate a relationship between perceived belonging and gateway engineering course outcomes but limited support for a social-belonging intervention.

Rocky Mountain Scholars Program: Impact on Female Undergraduate Engineering Students – Social and Academic Support, Retention, and Success

The Rocky Mountain Scholars Program (RMSP) was developed, in part, to improve student success and persistence in Engineering disciplines at Colorado State Universi-ty through a portfolio of engagement activities focused around undergraduate research experiences. Female RMSP participants exhibited substantially higher retention rates and grade point averages relative to other female engineering students at CSU. To better understand the impact of the RMSP, and its effectiveness among female engi-neering students, researchers focused on whether, and how, experiences and percep-tions differ between male and female students in engineering programs. That is, how do male and female students differ, if at all, in their subjective perception of life as an engineering major at CSU? A survey was developed measuring resilience, self-efficacy, motivation, social support, academic support, and perceived sexism. Data was obtained from 144 first-year engineering students at CSU. Results indicated that social support from extracurricular activities is particularly important among female students. This points to an increasing need for programs like the RMSP to create social networks among students and faculty, link students to the broader impacts of their work, and ultimately improve the undergraduate experience of under-represented groups in STEM programs.

Exploring the Perceptions of First-Year Engineering Students on Academic Dishonesty

Exploring the Perceptions of First-Year Engineering Students on Academic Dishonesty

How Do Different Reflection Prompts Affect Engineering Students’ Academic Performance and Engagement?

This study explored the relative effectiveness of generic versus specific reflection prompts on engineering students’ academic performance and engagement with four scales (i.e., behavioral, emotional, social, cognitive). The sample consisted of 208 engineering students in two sections of a required first-year engineering course. By using a quasi-experimental research design in classroom settings, students in the specific and generic reflection prompt conditions were compared based on exams, project scores, and problem sets. Additionally, the role of reflection prompts in students’ behavioral, emotional, social, and cognitive engagements was investigated across conditions by using pre- and post-surveys administered at the beginning and end of the semester. Students in both conditions were asked to submit a total of 52 reflections during an academic semester. Results showed that students in the specific prompts condition performed significantly better on exams, total project score, and two problem sets than students in the generic prompts condition. In terms of engagement, results showed there was a significant decrease in behavioral, emotional, and cognitive scales for both conditions. On the other hand, for the social scale, while there was a decrease for students in generic prompts condition, there was an increase for the ones in specific prompts condition.

Explaining the importance of Euler’s method in rigid-body dynamics

The purpose of this study is essentially pedagogical and aims to provide an additional argument in clarification of a question often raised by first-year undergraduate mechanical engineering students concerning the reason for using two frames of reference—one fixed in space and one fixed in the rigid-body—to describe its motion. The reasoning employed to illustrate the inappropriateness of using a single reference frame entails showing that the equations of motion, thus obtained, are far more complex than the equations resulting from application of the traditional Euler Method. This point is illustrated through the well-known frictionless symmetrical spinning top problem.

INVESTIGATING DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INSTRUCTOR EXPECTATION AND STUDENT WORKLOAD IN UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING

For the past two years at the University of X, first-year engineering undergraduate students have been asked to fill out workload questionnaires. These questionnaires were sent to random samples of the first-year class weekly, where they were prompted to answer questions regarding how much time they devoted outside of the classroom to each particular class. Workload data for 2018 and 2019 showed upward of 30 hours of work outside of the classroom, after the first few weeks of classes once major assignments and examinations began. Evidence in the literature [1,2] suggests that university students face a shortage of time, specifically with first-year students lacking the essential time management skills to be efficient. In the present study, we aim to find a correlation between how long the first-year engineering students spend on a class each week versus how long instructors anticipate the average student would spend on their respective class. In order to do so, we examined the data gathered for 2018 and 2019 fall terms from each student for a specific class and week. Furthermore, additional relevant information will be gathered from the instructors and course coordinators to obtain an estimate on how many anticipated hours a student would have to spend on a class each week versus how long instructors anticipate the average student would spend on their respective class. In order to do so, we examined the data gathered for 2018 and 2019 fall terms from each student for a specific class and week. Furthermore, additional relevant information will be gathered from the instructors and course coordinators to obtain an estimate on how many anticipated hours a student would have to spend on their course that week, given what assessments are in that week. Through analyzing multiple courses, we expect to find a relationship that would suggest whether the hours students spend on assignments is less than, equal to, or greater than what instructors expect for first-year engineering students at University of X to spend. The outcome of this analysis would be beneficial to understand the workloads as perceived by professors and experienced by first-year engineering students. Furthermore, it can highlight potential misjudging of difficulty of each course and assignment, helping instructors to update their expectations and propose fair deadlines and grades for assessments. It can also assist program coordinators to distribute major assessments better towards a steadier and more manageable workload for the students. The students can also benefit from the findings to understand their time commitments.

INTERNATIONAL FIELD SCHOOL FOR FIRST-YEAR ENGINEERING STUDENTS

Engineering graduates increasingly find that they are part of teams that draw a multi-disciplinary membership across a broad range of cultural, socio-economic, and linguistic backgrounds. Although engineering students often have the opportunity to participate in international projects (e.g. co-operative education programs, study abroad), formal international field schools are not typical within engineering curricula, particularly at the first- and second-year level. To provide an early introduction to intercultural perspectives, first-year engineering students at Vancouver Island University (VIU) participated in a field school at Tra Vinh University (TVU) in Tra Vinh Province, Vietnam over a period of three weeks. This field school consisted of a number of cultural and engineering activities, and involved pairing of students at both TVU and VIU for the duration of the experience. To measure student response during the field school, participating VIU students completed the on-line Intercultural Effectiveness Scale questionnaire pre- and post-experience. Students at both institutions also completed reflection exercises throughout the three-week period. This feedback suggested each student pairing continuously developed skills necessary to overcome linguistic, cultural, and technical barriers to learning and growing over their time together. Students described an enhanced understanding of self, and an increased likelihood to further participate in intercultural experiences.

An Exploration of First Year Pre-service Engineering Graphics and Design Teachers’ Spatial Visualisation Ability at a University of Technology

The critical shortage of engineers in South Africa is linked directly to the schooling systems’ inability to develop fundamental skills required in engineering courses, such as spatial visualization ability. Not much is known on the factors that enable or constrain the development of students’ spatial visualization skills. This study aimed to explore first-year Engineering Graphics and Design (EGD) Pre-Service Teachers’ (PSTs) spatial visualization skills and the factors that enables or constrains their spatial visualization skills. A mixed-method approached was used to generate data. Data were from twenty-one first year EGD PSTs at a University of Technology, in Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa. The participants were purposively selected to participate in the study. The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Visualization of Rotations (PSVT: R) was used as a benchmark to establish participants level of spatial visualization skills. Collages and focus group interviews were used to explore the factors that enabled or constrained PSTs spatial visualization skills. The PSVT test results was analysed and categorized as per rotation. Qualitative data were subjected to content analysis. The findings of this study differ from that of other studies on student’s spatial visualization skills. Other studies provide consistent evidence that male students have better developed spatial visualization skills than females. First-year female participants in this study have higher scores than male participants in the PSVT:R. The factors that enhanced female students’ spatial visualization ability were playing with Legos, enjoying mathematics, working with indigenous patterns while teachers and violence at schools constrained the development of spatial visualization skills.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICAL REFLECTION SKILLS IN FIRST-YEAR ENGINEERING INFORMED THROUGH STUDENT PERSPECTIVES

Reimagined curriculum models offer new possibilities for embedding durable competencies into the curriculum, including critical reflection, which promotes the development of self-directed learning skills. However, students often perceive these skills as unimportant with pre-existing biases focusing on technical content as the core of engineering. The primary goal of this work was to identify key considerations when integrating critical reflection into engineering curricula, specifically in the context of first-year engineering, to promote the development of student self-directed learning skills. This work was framed within the Students-as-Partners (SaP) approach, where two undergraduate students worked in collaboration with the instructor. To gather information regarding student perceptions of critical reflection, focus groups were conducted for first-year engineering students and students familiar with reflection. Qualitative thematic analysis was performed on the focus group data and key insights were identified and categorized into five themes: approaches, supporting students, evaluation and framing, development pathway and value, and reflection for engineers. Suggested learning outcomes, student activities, and evaluation methods are proposed. These findings are applicable to implementing reflection across a variety of academic settings, as they highlight main considerations and challenges faced with reflection from the perspective of students in multiple programs.

INCLUSIVE TEAMWORK DESIGN WITHIN A FIRST YEAR ENGINEERING COURSE

Unless we intentionally design teamwork practices within engineering courses, there will be inequity in learning outcomes linked to students’ identity (e.g. specific cultures and gender). In this study we aim to address the inequity of learning outcomes for woman engineering students in a first-year project-based course. We provide evidence that supports this goal and describe four literature-driven best practices for improving teamwork practices:
 1. Technical and non-technical roles will rotate.2. Groups will be assigned and will be constrained to not have a gender-solo student.3. Low-stakes, technically oriented icebreakers will accelerate trust-building.4. Teams of students will receive formative feedback on team effectiveness, function and inclusivity.
 
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