This longitudinal study investigated development in expectancy for success (perceived competence), 3 types of task value (utility, interest, attainment), and 3 types of perceived cost (opportunity, effort, psychological) for engineering students during their first 2 years of college. Latent growth curve models indicated declines in expectancy and values, with attainment value declining more slowly than expectancy, interest value, and utility value. Costs increased over time, with effort cost increasing more rapidly than psychological cost. Demographic differences were observed in initial levels of motivation, but not in rates of change over time. Students with slower declines in expectancy and value and slower increases in effort cost achieved higher grades and were more likely to remain in an engineering major. The attainment value model explained the largest amount of variance in engineering major retention, while the expectancy model explained the largest amount of variance in GPA. Taking a supportive gateway course in the first semester rather than later was associated with slower declines in utility value and attainment value, and slower increases in effort cost. Results suggest expectancy, values, and costs display unique patterns of development and uniquely relate to predictors and outcomes, extending our theoretical understanding of motivation in early college. Implications for practice include the promise of programmatic efforts to support students’ motivation in engineering through supportive gateway courses early in college.

No abstract

No abstract

Shaeiwitz received his B.S. degree from the University of Delaware and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Carnegie Mellon University. His professional interests are in design, design education, and outcomes assessment. Joe is an associate editor of the Journal of Engineering Education, and he is a co-author of the text Analysis, Synthesis, and Design of Chemical Processes (2nd ed.), published by Prentice Hall in 2003. Daina Briedis, Michigan State University DAINA BRIEDIS is a faculty member in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Michigan State University. Dr. Briedis has conducted research in bioadhesion; she is currently studying development of integrated approaches to using computation tools to support technical problem solving throughout the curriculum. She is active nationally and internationally in engineering accreditation, is an ABET IDEAL Scholar, and is a member of the ABET Board. She leads the assessment and evaluation efforts in her program.

Dr. Urban-Lurain is responsible for teaching, research and curriculum development, with emphasis on engineering education and, more broadly, STEM education.His research interests are in theories of cognition, how these theories inform the design of instruction, how we might best design instructional technology within those frameworks, and how the research and development of instructional technologies can inform our theories of cognition. He is also interested in preparing future STEM faculty for teaching, incorporating instructional technology as part of instructional design, and STEM education improvement and reform.Amanda Idema, Michigan State University Mr. Timothy J Hinds, Michigan State University TIMOTHY J. HINDS is the Academic Director of the Michigan State University College of Engineering CoRe (Cornerstone Engineering and Residential) Experience program and a Senior Academic Specialist in the Department of Engineering Undergraduate Studies. His current teaching and management responsibilities include development, delivery and administration of first-year courses in engineering design and modeling. He has also taught courses in machine design, manufacturing processes, mechanics, computational tools and international product design as well as graduate-level courses in engineering innovation and technology management. He has conducted research in the areas of environmentally-responsible manufacturing, globally-distributed engineering teaming and early engineering education development and has over 30 years of combined academic and industrial management experience. He received his BSME and MSME degrees from Michigan Technological University.