Academic Help-seeking as a Stand-alone, Metacognitive Action: An Empirical Study of Experiences and Behaviors in Undergraduate Engineering Students

Abstract

Chris is currently a PhD student in the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia. Chris' dissertation work is in the area of engineering education specifically investigating academic help-seeking behavior in undergraduate engineering students. Chris is also interested in energy transformation systems and is investigating acoustic to electrical conversion. After completing his PhD, Chris plans to teach in an engineering program and continue work in engineering education. Prior to entering UGA, Chris worked in education as a business manager, an IT adviser, and special topics instructor in a local high school. He also volunteered as a SAT math instructor, a science and math tutor, and a robotics team coach. Chris worked for various corporations for over 20 years in microprocessor architecture, error correcting codes, and system architecture. Chris holds 21 patents, participated in many industry standard specification groups including PCI and SDRAM, presented at many conferences and proceedings including Comdex, CeBIT, CES, US Patent Office, IEEE Micro, and others. Chris has a bachelor's (with highest honors) and master's degree in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech. Chris is married and has two sons. When he needs down time, Chris likes games of all types, hiking, sport shooting, and other outdoor activities. Chris also plays french horn in the local community band. Dr. Joachim Walther, University of GeorgiaDr. Joachim Walther is an associate professor of engineering education research at the University of Georgia (UGA). He is a director of the Collaborative Lounge for Understanding Society and Technology through Educational Research (CLUSTER), an interdisciplinary research group with members from engineering, art, educational psychology and social work. His research interests range from the role of empathy in engineering students' professional formation, the role of reflection in engineering learning, and interpretive research methodologies in the emerging field of engineering education research. His teaching focuses on innovative approaches to introducing systems thinking and creativity into the environmental engineering program at the University of Georgia.c American Society for Engineering Education, 2016 Academic help-seeking as a stand-alone, metacognitive action: An empirical study of experiences and behaviors in undergraduate engineering students AbstractContemporary research investigating academic help-seeking behavior (HSB) is predominantly K-12 in focus. Few studies have examined HSB within an undergraduate engineering context. Primary efforts are quantitative which, due to typical engineering demographics, limits the voice of minority constituents. The purpose of this research is to develop a rich, empirical understanding of engineering students' lived experiences of HSB ensuring the perspective of underrepresented groups. Self-efficacy (SE) and self-theory of intelligence (STOI) were examined as inputs into HSB.This qualitative research is based on interviews of students' perceptio...

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“…In this investigation, we do not intend to convey the message that engineering programs should seek to mitigate the lived phenomena of frustration among their students. Rather, we want to encourage programs to equip students with healthy ways of working through frustration, such as enacting reparative help-seeking behavior, 33 when the experiences do occur.…”

Finnish university students’ views of different relationships in first-year engineering mathematics courses

“…However, the phenomenon of avoidance of asking for academic help is not only environment-dependent but also depends on the students themselves (Ryan et al, 1998). Furthermore, avoidance might be an acquired response and help-seeking should be learned (Herring & Walther, 2016). Students also might be concerned how help-asking affects their social or academic image (Herring & Walther, 2016;Ryan et al, 2001).…”

“…Furthermore, avoidance might be an acquired response and help-seeking should be learned (Herring & Walther, 2016). Students also might be concerned how help-asking affects their social or academic image (Herring & Walther, 2016;Ryan et al, 2001). By offering encouraging situations and places, this kind of student could make contact more easily with teachers, and they would not hold back with their questions considering their studies (Herring & Walther, 2016).…”