CAREER: Student Motivation and Learning in Engineering

This project seeks to help educators understand factors contributing to engineering students’ motivation to learn and perform academically, and to examine correlations between these factors and students’ cognitive processes. Specifically, we are examining differences between student motivation factors in different engineering majors, and correlations between these factors and evidence of knowledge transfer when students are working on problems in contexts that are new to them. Understanding these relationships will address the challenges facing engineering educators: increasing interest in engineering, creating a more diverse engineering workforce, and preparing students for a future of rapid technological change and globalization. The first phase of this project involved identifying and understanding factors that contribute to engineering students' motivation to learn and succeed, and compare these for different student types (by demographics and choice of major). A quantitative study was conducted in which the Motivation and Attitudes in Engineering (MAE) survey was developed using achievement value as the theoretical framework. Three constructs were identified through factor analysis: Expectancy, Present Perceptions (students' perceptions of their present tasks in engineering studies), and Future Perceptions (students' perceptions of their future tasks as engineers). Survey responses over the course of the first year in engineering for a single cohort of students (n=959) were collected and tested for internal reliability and validity, and to analyze relationships between constructs and student retention and choice of major data two years later (n=424). Comparison of constructs over the course of the first year in engineering showed a significant decrease in expectancy, and significant increases in student perceptions about present and future. Binomial regression analysis revealed that students' perceptions about the future were significantly positive predictors of persistence in engineering. The interaction between perceptions about the present and future was a negative predictor of persistence. No significant differences were observed in motivation construct values by gender. The MAE survey and an informal Beginning of Semester (BOS) survey (used to assess how students choose their majors) were examined for differences in engineering student motivation based on major. While no differences in any of the MAE survey constructs were observed by major, differences in individual survey items were examined between majors grouped by overall features (traditional versus interdisciplinary). Students in interdisciplinary majors placed greater importance on making a difference and the availability of scholarship money, while students in traditional majors valued engineering work and designing and building things. This data is being used to identify appropriate frameworks for future research, such as extrinsic value (scholarship money), identity formation and possible selves (I know an engineer who I admire, or goal theory (benefiting society). These findings will help direct more in-depth qualitative research into student motivation, which will be followed by studies of how students with different motivational attributes transfer knowledge when working problems in contexts they have not seen before. Introduction and Research Questions Examining students’ academic performance is perhaps the most common way to gauge student success, and to evaluate the effectiveness of instructional and programmatic reform and innovation. However, grades are not an all-encompassing representation of students’ learning experiences. Student motivation is related to academic performance and behavior , but the relationship between motivation and cognition, particularly in engineering, has not been examined in a way that is useful to practitioners. Motivation is a major factor in students’ progress towards critical thinking and solving problems , skills that are commonly identified as important in preparing students for the ever-changing global challenges they will face as practicing engineers. Understanding relationships between motivation and problem solving could help engineering educators address challenges including increasing interest in engineering, and preparing students to become effective problem solvers. The purpose of this study is to answer the following research questions: • RQ1: What factors contribute to students’ motivation to pursue engineering? • RQ2: How do motivational attributes correlate to learning and cognition in engineering, especially problem-solving and knowledge transfer? • RQ3: How do motivational attributes change over time as knowledge, experience and skills in one’s field develop? • RQ4: What relationship, if any, do the particular aspects of bioengineering (BioE) and mechanical engineering (ME) have to motivation, learning and cognition in those disciplines? How do these relationships compare between the two disciplines? Theoretical Framework This study examines the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills through the lens of motivation theory. Motivation theories incorporate a wide array of contributing factors; modern theories most relevant to engineering pertain to goals, values, and expectations . Expectancy x Value models of motivation , in particular a model refined by Eccles et al. , posit that expectations of success and the value placed on success determine motivation to achieve, and directly influence performance, persistence, and task choice. Expectancy of success is defined as one’s beliefs about competence in a domain; it is not necessarily task-specific. Aspects of instrumentality capture how students perceive the importance of what they are doing in class relative to their future careers . Students’ expectancy is based partly on their selfefficacy , in addition to their perceptions about the difficulty of the goal, their prior experience, and peer encouragement from others . Students with high self-efficacy use more cognitive and metacognitive strategies as well as self-regulatory strategies such as planning, monitoring, and regulating . Achievement motivation, which encompasses students’ attitudes about their abilities and tasks, can elucidate student choices related to persistence in engineering, solving problems, and the value of tasks encountered in an engineering environment . Achievement motivation serves as a useful framework for the examination of research questions related to students’ attitudes about pursuing engineering, and how these factors affect students’ learning experiences. Phase 1: Identifying Relevant Factors Contributing to Engineering Student Motivation In the first phase of this project, a survey to assess first year students’ motivation to pursue engineering studies was developed based on achievement motivation theories. A Motivation and Attitudes in Engineering (MAE) survey was developed with three constructs: expectancy, or students’ expectations for successfully completing tasks in their engineering studies , perceptions about future tasks/goals in engineering (“Future”), and perceptions about present tasks/goals in engineering (“Present”). The latter two constructs are supported by the Future Time Perspective theoretical framework . The 34 item Likert-scale survey was tested and validated with first year engineering students . Sample questions within each construct are included in Table 1. Table 1: Sample items within each of three Motivation and Attitudes in Engineering (MAE) survey constructs. Construct # of Items Sample Items Expectancy (E) 12 I believe I will receive an excellent grade in this engineering course. The course work in engineering classes is easy. I am certain I can understand the most difficult material presented in the readings for this engineering course. Perceptions of Future (F) 11 I am confident about my choice of major. I want to be an engineer. My interest in engineering outweighs any disadvantages I can think of. Perceptions of Present (P) 11 I will use the information I learn in my engineering course in other classes I will take in the future. The university is preparing me well to become an engineer. I am being exposed to new ideas in my engineering courses. Survey reliability and validity were established through factor analyses (exploratory and confirmatory) and comparisons of results to results from the literature. Responses over the first year in engineering were collected for a single cohort of students. Data on choice of major one year later were used to compare students who did and did not remain in engineering, and to develop a predictive model of persistence. Over the course of the first year in engineering there was a significant decrease in Expectancy (p<0.001), and significant increases in Future (p<0.001) and Present (p<0.001) perceptions. Binomial regression revealed that Future perception was a significant positive predictor, and the interaction between Present and Future perceptions was a significant negative predictor, of persistence in engineering. First year engineering students whose perceptions about the future are more positive are more likely to persist in engineering. Perceptions about the present are only impactful when interacting with perceptions about the future. Engineering educators should address factors contributing to students’ understanding of their future in engineering to maximize student persistence. Appropriate learning activities could include assignments in which students explore their future profession, or having students shadow practicing engineers. Results from this study have been prepared for publication, and are currently under review by the Journal of Engineering Education. Results from the MAE survey were further analyzed with respect to correlations between motivation factors and chosen major . Since no significant differences between chosen majors (from among 9 availab