Measuring Undergraduate Students' Engineering Self‐Efficacy: A Validation Study

Mamaril, Natasha A.; Usher, Ellen L.; Li, Caihong R.; Economy, David Ross; Kennedy, Marian S.

doi:10.1002/jee.20121

Cited by 198 publications

(188 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…In addition, success rate during implementation is critical for student self-confidence and continued interest in engineering learning (Bandura, 1977(Bandura, , 2006Britner and Pajares, 2006;Mamaril et al, 2016). Through our preliminary work, we have observed that even a robot that might be considered a "failure" by laboratory standards typically resulted in an organic, "squirmy" motion that students naturally find intriguing.…”

Section: Mold Designmentioning

confidence: 94%

A Modular, Reconfigurable Mold for a Soft Robotic Gripper Design Activity

et al. 2017

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Soft robotics is an emerging field with strong potential to serve as an educational tool due to its advantages such as low costs and shallow learning curves. In this paper, we introduce a modular and reconfigurable mold for flexible design of pneumatic soft robotic grippers. By using simple assembly kits, students at all levels are able to design and construct soft robotic grippers that vary in function and performance. The process of constructing the modular mold enables students to understand how design choices impact system performance. Our unique modular mold allows students to select the number and length of fingers in a gripper, as well as to adjust the internal geometry of the pneumatic actuator cavity, which dictates how and where bending of a finger occurs. In addition, the mold may be deconstructed and reconfigured, which allows for fast iterative design and lowers material costs (since a new mold does not need to be made to implement a design change). We further demonstrate the feasibility of the modular mold by implementing it in a soft robot design activity in classrooms and showing a sufficiently high rate of student success in designing and constructing a functional soft robotic gripper.

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Section: Mold Designmentioning

confidence: 94%

A Modular, Reconfigurable Mold for a Soft Robotic Gripper Design Activity

et al. 2017

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“…The instrument was identical to that validated by Mamaril et al 16 but with one major change: items related to tinkering self-efficacy were omitted. This was done because the unit operations course did not focus on students' ability to tinker (assemble, disassemble, or build machines) and therefore should not have much effect on students' self-efficacy in this area.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[14][15] Mamaril et al recently validated an instrument to measure students' self-efficacy in relation to engineering. 16 The instrument is broken down into sub-scales to assess students' beliefs about their general capabilities and specific types of skillsets important to engineering (e.g., experimental skills, design skills). Each subscale is assessed with four or five Likert-style statements about which students rate their certainty.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This lack of overall difference matches with Mamaril's results, in which there was no significant distinction in engineering self-efficacy between men and women. 16 Similarly, to assess the potential effect of ethnicity, the differences in the means of White, Asian, and URM students were compared using Tukey's HSD test. The only significant differences among ethnicities were found for item #1 ("I can master the content in the engineering-related courses I am taking this semester").…”

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confidence: 99%

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Impact of Course Structure on Learning and Self-Efficacy in a Unit Operations Laboratory

Brennan¹,

Nordell²,

Solomon³

2017 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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IntroductionIn the chemical engineering curriculum, the unit operations laboratory course traditionally serves several key roles in the development of students as professional engineers. The primary goal of the course is to apply chemical engineering theory learned in core courses to the operation of equipment. As part of this process, however, numerous additional skills are often also learned and/or emphasized: experimental design, instrumentation, technical communication, teamwork, and critical thinking, to name a few. [1][2][3] The structure and implementation of the laboratory course will necessarily have a significant impact on the extent to which these skills are developed. In particular, the use of open-ended laboratory activities, as opposed to narrowly defined "recipe"-style activities, seems to be particularly critical for learning and thinking skill development, as shown by several studies in chemical engineering unit operations courses. One previous study suggests that the use of "illposed problems" in unit operations can improve teamwork, critical thinking, and problemsolving, and that active engagement of the students in the problem-solving process can improve retention, decision-making, and self-directed learning. 1 Similarly, another unit operations study discusses how inquiry-oriented activities with troubleshooting, feedback, and discourse with an instructor can also improve critical thinking and goal-setting. 2 Other faculty at the University of Calgary indicate that an experimental design approach with open-ended problems leads to increased student learning and performance when compared with an approach using traditional "recipe-style" laboratory activities. 3 More generally, team-focused project-based learning of this nature has been shown to be beneficial on a broad scale, due to increased student motivation and satisfaction (vs. traditional learning methods) 4-5 as well as due to the enhanced development of skills including data collection and presentation, critical thinking, and independent learning. [5][6][7] Theorists have noted that these beneficial characteristics are likely due to the social nature of the learning that occurs (following Vygotsky's social constructivist theory), in which the task involves active engagement, authentic tasks, application of knowledge in multiple representations, and learning communities. [8][9] Furthermore, project-based learning methods compare favorably with the skills necessary for graduating engineers, as identified by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) in outcomes (a)-(k) of Criterion 3. 10 For example, outcome (b) is written as "an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data", which connects directly to an open-ended laboratory approach. Similarly, outcome (e) requires "an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems", which coincides directly with providing student teams with "ill-posed problems". From these sources, an open-ended approach would seem favorable fo...

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“…The survey was given to the students during week 17 of the semester. The survey was comprised of statements from the questionnaire published by Mamaril 15 (items 1-13) that is a modification of previously published survey instruments 16,17,18 . The survey uses a six point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 6 with one point increments, and has a good internal group reliability (Cronbach alpha ranges from 0.93 to 0.86; all grouping categories).…”

Section: Survey Instrumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating a 3-D Printer and a Truss Optimization Project in Statics

Brake¹,

Adam²

2016 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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His area of expertise is in cementitious composites which includes: fracture and fatigue mechanics of quasi-brittle materials, recycled concrete, conductive concrete, reinforced concrete, pervious concrete, geopolymer, and structural dynamics. He currently teaches a wide array of courses that includes statics, reinforced concrete design, structural analysis, and materials engineering. Dr. Brake actively integrates project based and peer assisted learning pedagogies into his curriculum. Dr. Fatih Alperen Adam c American Society for Engineering Education, 2016 Integrating a 3D printer and a truss optimization project in Statics AbstractThere is a need to integrate hands-on engineering analysis and design problems and exciting build technology in lower division engineering courses to stimulate interest and increase students' capacity to solve divergent, open-ended based problems. In this evidence-based practice paper, we discuss the development, execution, and impact of a truss optimization project given to students in Statics. The students were required to optimize two different polyactic acid (PLA) 3D printed trusses using compression and tensile mechanical strength properties. The students were required to provide the optimal tension and compression member cross-section to be 3D printed, provide a three-dimensional drawing using a user-friendly open source CAD software, and provide a summary of the results in a poster presentation. The optimal truss design was then printed, assembled, and tested in the classroom and the results were compared to the engineering design solutions. Students perception of their ability to interpret and analyze data, organize presentations, solve engineering problems, tinker, engineer, and design was assessed using a 21 item online survey. The survey items were taken from both validated instruments and the ABET Criteria 3 course outcomes: a, b, and e. Survey data was collected from the test population (students given the project) and compared to a control population (students not given the project) to assess the impact of the project on engineering self-efficacy. The results indicate there is a statistically significant gain in student engineering skills self-efficacy, student perception of their ability to analyze and interpret data, ability to solve engineering problems, and organize a presentation.

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Measuring Undergraduate Students' Engineering Self‐Efficacy: A Validation Study

Abstract: Background Self-efficacy has been shown to be positively related to undergraduate engi-

Cited by 198 publications

References 57 publications

A Modular, Reconfigurable Mold for a Soft Robotic Gripper Design Activity

A Modular, Reconfigurable Mold for a Soft Robotic Gripper Design Activity

Impact of Course Structure on Learning and Self-Efficacy in a Unit Operations Laboratory

Integrating a 3-D Printer and a Truss Optimization Project in Statics

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