Synthesis of Engineering Undergraduate Students’ Out-of-Class Involvement

Abstract

As engineering educators prepare more high-quality engineers for the global workforce, more emphasis has been placed on developing students' professional skills, increasing student persistence, and improving diversity in the engineering workforce. Out of class activities have been considered as a unique way to improve these outcomes. Some empirical studies have been conducted to examine the effectiveness of out of class involvement in promoting engineering students' development. However, many of these studies focused on a single out of class activity or a single outcome and did not focused on engineering students. In order to better understand the role of out of class activity in engineering education and to accurately identify future research areas, the present study synthesized the findings on two domains: what factors are related to engineering students' participation in out of class activities and what are the outcomes of student participation. The results indicate that female and minority students are more likely to engage in out of class activities. Some institutional characteristics influence student participation. In general, out of class activities support engineering students' cognitive development, affective development, persistence in engineering, and career preparation. Different types of out of class activities are associated with different outcomes. These findings suggest that educators should encourage and support students to participate in out of class activities and point to the need for additional research.

The Popularity and Intensity of Engineering Undergraduate Out‐of‐Class Activities

“…Participants completed the Postsecondary Student Engagement (PosSE) Survey on their out‐of‐class activities and the associated outcomes and level of activity. In this survey, each activity category and its outcomes of student engagement were determined based on a literature review of 45 relevant studies published between 2000 and 2014, focus group data and think‐aloud protocols (Simmons et al, ; Simmons & Yu, ; Yu & Simmons, ). During survey development, definitions and examples of selected activities were added to the survey if the developers determined that such explanations would be useful to respondents.…”

Completing the Pass: Leadership 'On' and 'In' the Field

“…They note that there are "opportunities for students, who fill the leadership roles, to learn non-technical skills such as people, time management, and most importantly, people management." Yu, R., & Simmons, D. R. 17 reported that "student involvement in out-of-class activities promoted the development of leadership skills, group skills, and engagement." Fisher, D. R., & Bagiati, A., & Sarma, S. 18 posed a "student skill development framework", which included "skills and attributes for engineering students to ideally obtain or experience during their undergraduate education."…”

“…Fisher, D. R., & Bagiati, A., & Sarma, S. 18 posed a "student skill development framework", which included "skills and attributes for engineering students to ideally obtain or experience during their undergraduate education." Common, and evident, in the work of both these authors 17,18 is the development of a number of professional attributes and skills, including interpersonal skills (e.g., social and communication), leadership skills (e.g., selfconfidence, self-direction and teamwork), and cross-cultural awareness and skills, gained through a student's participation in activities 'outside of a course'.…”

Are Future Constructors Experiencing a Warm Climate? An Initial Study of Citizenship Status and Affective Engagement

“…Survey, which measured the quality and quantity of students' engagement in out-of-class activities [43], [44]. The administration included students enrolled at three research institutions.…”