Assessment of the Impact of Freshman Engineering Courses*

Budny, Dan; LeBold, William K.; Bjedov, G.

doi:10.1002/j.2168-9830.1998.tb00372.x

Cited by 96 publications

(93 citation statements)

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“…In addition to developing support programmes for struggling students and developing interventions to assist in the difficult transition from high school to college, this study advocated developing a means for gauging a student's motivation to persist as part of the engineering application process. In a study that analysed 15 years of data from one university, [16] analysis showed that of the 43% of students who left engineering, 84% did so before they moved from general engineering into a specific engineering department, which typically occurs in the sophomore year. Furthermore, Budny et al [16] showed that retention of these engineering students was related to GPA in the fall of the first year, a significant portion of which depends on performance in a first mathematics course.…”

Section: Relationship Between Engineering Retention and First Mathemamentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In a study that analysed 15 years of data from one university, [16] analysis showed that of the 43% of students who left engineering, 84% did so before they moved from general engineering into a specific engineering department, which typically occurs in the sophomore year. Furthermore, Budny et al [16] showed that retention of these engineering students was related to GPA in the fall of the first year, a significant portion of which depends on performance in a first mathematics course. The data further showed that first-semester mathematics grades were an important predictor of retention in engineering, even if the mathematics course was a precalculus (remedial) course.…”

Section: Relationship Between Engineering Retention and First Mathemamentioning

confidence: 98%

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Predicting performance in a first engineering calculus course: implications for interventions

Hieb

Lyle

Ralston

et al. 2014

International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and

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At the University of Louisville, a large, urban institution in the south-east United States, undergraduate engineering students take their mathematics courses from the school of engineering. In the fall of their freshman year, engineering students take Engineering Analysis I, a calculus-based engineering analysis course. After the first two weeks of the semester, many students end up leaving Engineering Analysis I and moving to a mathematics intervention course. In an effort to retain more students in Engineering Analysis I, the department collaborated with university academic support services to create a summer intervention programme. Students were targeted for the summer programme based on their score on an algebra readiness exam (ARE). In a previous study, the ARE scores were found to be a significant predictor of retention and performance in Engineering Analysis I. This study continues that work, analysing data from students who entered the engineering school in the fall of 2012. The predictive validity of the ARE was verified, and a hierarchical linear regression model was created using math American College Testing (ACT) scores, ARE scores, summer intervention participation, and several metacognitive and motivational factors as measured by subscales of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. In the regression model, ARE score explained an additional 5.1% of the variation in exam performance in Engineering Analysis I beyond math ACT score. Students took the ARE before and after the summer interventions and scores were significantly higher following the intervention. However, intervention participants nonetheless had lower exam scores in Engineering Analysis I. The following factors related to motivation and learning strategies were found to significantly predict exam scores in Engineering Analysis I: time and study environment management, internal goal orientation, and test anxiety. The adjusted R 2 for the full model was 0.42, meaning that the model could explain 42% of the variation in Engineering Analysis I exam scores.

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Section: Relationship Between Engineering Retention and First Mathemamentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Relationship Between Engineering Retention and First Mathemamentioning

confidence: 98%

Predicting performance in a first engineering calculus course: implications for interventions

Hieb

Lyle

Ralston

et al. 2014

International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and

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“…ABET Engineering Criteria require that at least twenty-five percent of the credits for an engineering program be taken in mathematics and science courses, and some of the science courses for mechanical engineering curricula are expected to be in physics [1]. At least one study [2] has shown that success in the first mathematics course is useful in predicting persistence in an engineering program. While importance of mathematics and physics for success in studying engineering is unquestioned, deeper understanding of both how engineering faculty members expect their students to apply mathematics and physics and the extent to which engineering students are prepared to satisfy the expectations of their faculty members is required.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing instruments to assess first-year calculus and physics mechanics skills needed for a sophomore statics and dynamics course

Shryock

Srinivasa

Froyd

2011

2011 Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)

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Anecdotally, engineering faculty members complain students taking sophomore engineering science courses are not prepared with respect to mathematics and mechanics-based physics. However, evidence has rarely been systematically collected and analyzed to determine the veracity of these assertions. Therefore, the paper intends to address two questions:  With respect to first-year mathematics and firstyear physics mechanics knowledge, what do engineering faculty members expect students to know and be able to do when they begin a sophomore statics and dynamics course?  To what extent do students satisfy these expectations? To address these questions, the following steps were taken. First, engineering faculty members who taught a sophomore statics and dynamics course at Texas A&M University were asked for problems involving first-year mathematics and physics mechanics they thought students should be able to solve entering the course. Learning outcomes were abstracted, and two instruments were developed and administered near the beginning of the statics and dynamics course. After administering the instruments and analyzing results, faculty members have a better idea of the background of their students. Furthermore, there is evidence to examine the extent to which students are prepared in first-year mathematics and physics mechanics to begin a core engineering science course.

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“…Research has shown that nationally, approximately 50% of engineering and computer science students who begin their studies never graduate in those majors [3,4]. Underrepresented minority engineering students graduate at an estimated 33% [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Blurring of Academic, Cultural, and Social Borders for Minority Engineering Students

Anderson-Rowland

Newell

2006

Proceedings. Frontiers in Education. 36th Annual Conference

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In 2003 Arizona State University received a fiveyear block grant from the National Action Council on Minorities in Engineering (NACME).The funding provides scholarships of up to $2,500 for underrepresented students with financial need. Qualified non-minority students have been included in the program during the past two years and are supported by other funding. The new freshmen NACME students are required to take a two-hour course in the fall and meet every other week for an hour during the spring semester. In subsequent semesters, the NACME scholars meet for an hour six times a semester. This paper will report on lessons learned during the three years of the program, on programming improvements (including an academic emphasis), and on the challenges of the program. The paper will also include the students' retention, GPAs, and evaluations of the program. To date, over 60 students have participated in the program. This program helps to blur the academic, cultural, and social borders that minority engineering students often face.

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Assessment of the Impact of Freshman Engineering Courses*

Cited by 96 publications

References 1 publication

Predicting performance in a first engineering calculus course: implications for interventions

Predicting performance in a first engineering calculus course: implications for interventions

Developing instruments to assess first-year calculus and physics mechanics skills needed for a sophomore statics and dynamics course

The Blurring of Academic, Cultural, and Social Borders for Minority Engineering Students

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