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Student and Faculty Perceptions of Engagement in Engineering
Author(s) -
Heller Rachelle S.,
Beil Cheryl,
Dam Kim,
Haerum Belinda
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of engineering education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.896
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 2168-9830
pISSN - 1069-4730
DOI - 10.1002/j.2168-9830.2010.tb01060.x
Subject(s) - enthusiasm , student engagement , curriculum , class (philosophy) , psychology , engineering education , mathematics education , pedagogy , exploratory research , subject (documents) , active learning (machine learning) , medical education , engineering , sociology , computer science , medicine , social psychology , mechanical engineering , artificial intelligence , anthropology , library science
B ackground This study is designed to investigate how undergraduate engineering students and their faculty define engagement. While many researchers provide descriptions and suggestions that engagement is crucial to learning, there is no widespread, standard definition for engagement to guide engineering educators. P urpose (H ypothesis ) The purpose of this study is to begin to understand student engagement by examining how students and faculty viewed the term engagement as it relates to their engineering courses. The two key questions asked were (1) How do faculty and undergraduate students define engagement? and (2) How are their definitions similar or different? D esign /M ethod This exploratory study included a survey of all engineering faculty teaching first‐ and second‐year students and first‐ and second‐year engineering undergraduates enrolled in any engineering course within the standard curriculum at a small engineering school. R esults Students view engagement in terms of faculty enthusiasm for the subject and in teaching and the availability of faculty for out‐of‐class interactions. Faculty members believe that engagement rests with the students. C onclusions This study suggests that there is not a single definition of engagement for engineering students. Rather, engagement is both a process and an outcome. Faculty stimulate engagement by providing students with active learning experiences, conveying excitement and enthusiasm for their subject, and providing opportunities for student‐faculty interactions. Students show their engagement by participating in class discussions, doing research projects, and interacting with their professors and peers.