Validation Of Surveys Measuring Student Engagement In Engineering, Part 2

Abstract

This paper will summarize the development, testing and validation of the engineering versions of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and its faculty version, the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE). These engineering versions (E-NSSE and E-FSSE) assess the extent to which engineering students are being engaged by identified "best instructional practices" and are achieving certain learning outcomes desired of engineering graduates. Both instruments include sections on students' college activities; reading, writing, and other educational program characteristics; educational and personal growth; and opinions about school. These surveys were first pilot-tested at six engineering programs across the United States. These institutions were selected to participate in the pilot administration of the survey because of their leadership and interest in the field of engineering education, their geographic diversity, and their willingness to administer the surveys college-wide. Tests of validity and reliability were conducted on both instruments. The instruments were then refined and shortened based on the psychometric properties of the items in the original instruments. Ultimately, we hope to make the instruments available to the national engineering education community so that they might improve the ways in which they teach tomorrow's engineers. This paper will discuss the ongoing progress of both instruments as well as summarize results obtained from their administration.

Throwing Away the Course-centric Teaching Model to Enable Change

“…With ABET's accreditation criteria in mind 3 the two-pronged plan utilizes granular assessments to measure the impact of the pedagogical and organizational changes. Pedagogical measures range from evaluating students' perceptions and competencies [25][26][27][28][29][30] to assessing their grasp of technical content through standardized concept inventories 23 . The change assessments are designed to develop a solid perception of the department and gauge impact of the new approach on organizational norms.…”