Awareness of Self and the Engineering Field: Student Motivation, Assessment of ‘Fit’ and Preparedness for Engineering Education

Abstract

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Using Motivation Theory to Inform Engineering Course Design

“…A student's orientation will influence their academic values and priorities, which drive motivation and behaviour. When faculty embrace the diverse ways that students find to make engineering meaningful, they can better understand their student's development processes, and create appropriate learning opportunities [11]. Otherwise, engineering students experience dissonance between their personal understanding of engineering and their education experience, and will struggle to find value in the learning.…”

“…Case Studies, Real-World Labs, Service Learning [26], [32], [15], [17], [28], [34], [31], [35] Course Delivery [26], [27], [29], [36], [37], [30], [33], [38], [39] Assessment [13], [16], [40], [41], [22], [42], [23], [43], [44] Theory Based or Survey Results [11], [45], [46], [47], [10], [19], [48], [1], [39], [49], [24], [25], [50], [51], [52] Out-of-class activities [53], [54], [55], [56], [57], [58] While there have been many successful interventions that improved student motivation discussed in the CEEA 2010-2018 proceedings, the relevant motivation theory behind each intervention is often missing. Understanding motivation theory may not be necessary ...…”

“…If an activity with high cost is being prescribed (either time, mental energy, or stress), it is important to help students understand the value of the task Incoming students will have differing views on what is means to be an engineer. Attainment theory states that if a learning task matches a student's perceptions of what engineering is, they are more likely to engage [11]. This means providing examples that relate to all possible career goals, or various disciplines (for example in an introductory circuits course, the instructor could explain how electrical engineering relates to civil and chemical engineering).…”

What Makes a Good Assessment? Assessments for Learning

“…There are a number of factors, both intrinsic and extrinsic, that motivate a student to choose to study engineering. Bennet et al [1] studied Canadian engineering first year students and determined that many students choose engineering because they are intrinsically motivated by the prospects of what they will learn and the contributions they will make.…”

Meaningful problems in students’ design projects: Relational, perceptual, and moral tensions

“…All three types reveal conflicting narratives or messages about what engineering is, and who the engineer is. Students' responses to these tensions may have an important effect on the way students 'see themselves in the field' of engineering [3].…”