TY - JOUR
T1 - The making of an innovative engineer
T2 - 124th ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition
AU - Schar, Mark
AU - Gilmartin, Shannon Katherine
AU - Rieken, Beth
AU - Brunhaver, Samantha Ruth
AU - Chen, Helen L.
AU - Sheppard, Sheri
N1 - Funding Information:
The EMS study was conducted with support from the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation (Epicenter), a center funded by the National Science Foundation (grant number DUE-1125457) and directed by Stanford University and VentureWell, formerly the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). The EMS research continues with funding support from the National Science Foundation (grant number 1636442).
PY - 2017/6/24
Y1 - 2017/6/24
N2 - This research paper presents the results of a study that uses multivariate models to explore the relationships between participation in learning experiences, innovation self-efficacy, and engineering task self-efficacy. Findings show that many engineering students participated in learning experiences that are typically associated with engineering education, such as taking a shop class or engineering class in high school (47%), taking a computer science (81%) or design/prototyping (72%) class as an undergraduate, working in an engineering environment as an intern (56%), or attending a career related event during college (75%). Somewhat surprisingly, given the rigors of an engineering curriculum, a significant number of students participated in an art, dance, music, theater, or creative writing class (55%), taken a class on leadership topics (47%), and/or participated in student clubs outside of engineering (44%) during college. There also were important differences in rates of participation by gender, underrepresented racial/ethnic minority status, and first generation college student status. Overall prediction of engineering task self-efficacy and innovation self-efficacy was relatively low, with a model fit of these learning experiences predicting engineering task self-efficacy at (adjusted r2 of).200 and.163 for innovation self-efficacy. Certain patterns emerged when the learning experiences were sorted by Bandura's Sources of Self-Efficacy. For engineering task self-efficacy, higher participation in engineering mastery and vicarious engineering experiences was associated with higher engineering task self-efficacy ratings. For the development of innovation self-efficacy, a broader range of experiences beyond engineering experiences was important. There was a strong foundation of engineering mastery experiences in the innovation self-efficacy model; however, broadening experiences beyond engineering, particularly in the area of leadership experiences, may be a factor in innovation self-efficacy. These results provide a foundation for future longitudinal work probing specific types of learning experiences that shape engineering students' innovation goals. They also set the stage for comparative models of students' goals around highly technical engineering work, which allows us to understand more deeply how "innovation" and "engineering" come together in the engineering student experience.
AB - This research paper presents the results of a study that uses multivariate models to explore the relationships between participation in learning experiences, innovation self-efficacy, and engineering task self-efficacy. Findings show that many engineering students participated in learning experiences that are typically associated with engineering education, such as taking a shop class or engineering class in high school (47%), taking a computer science (81%) or design/prototyping (72%) class as an undergraduate, working in an engineering environment as an intern (56%), or attending a career related event during college (75%). Somewhat surprisingly, given the rigors of an engineering curriculum, a significant number of students participated in an art, dance, music, theater, or creative writing class (55%), taken a class on leadership topics (47%), and/or participated in student clubs outside of engineering (44%) during college. There also were important differences in rates of participation by gender, underrepresented racial/ethnic minority status, and first generation college student status. Overall prediction of engineering task self-efficacy and innovation self-efficacy was relatively low, with a model fit of these learning experiences predicting engineering task self-efficacy at (adjusted r2 of).200 and.163 for innovation self-efficacy. Certain patterns emerged when the learning experiences were sorted by Bandura's Sources of Self-Efficacy. For engineering task self-efficacy, higher participation in engineering mastery and vicarious engineering experiences was associated with higher engineering task self-efficacy ratings. For the development of innovation self-efficacy, a broader range of experiences beyond engineering experiences was important. There was a strong foundation of engineering mastery experiences in the innovation self-efficacy model; however, broadening experiences beyond engineering, particularly in the area of leadership experiences, may be a factor in innovation self-efficacy. These results provide a foundation for future longitudinal work probing specific types of learning experiences that shape engineering students' innovation goals. They also set the stage for comparative models of students' goals around highly technical engineering work, which allows us to understand more deeply how "innovation" and "engineering" come together in the engineering student experience.
KW - Academic pathway
KW - Engineering task self-efficacy
KW - Innovation self-efficacy
KW - Learning experiences
KW - Self-efficacy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85030552865&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85030552865&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference article
AN - SCOPUS:85030552865
SN - 2153-5965
VL - 2017-June
JO - ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings
JF - ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings
Y2 - 25 June 2017 through 28 June 2017
ER -