Predictors of First-year Retention Among Undergraduate Engineering Students Who Earn a C in their First-semester Math Course

This study was conducted to examine how first-year engineering students conceptualize the Entrepreneurial Mindset (EM) and how that conceptualization changes over the course of their first semester of college, using the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN)’s 3Cs as a starting point. Students enrolled in an introductory, multidisciplinary design course responded to biweekly reflection prompts on their educational experiences (either in high school or as a first-year college student) and related this experience to one of the 3Cs of EM: Curiosity, Connections, or Creating Value. Results indicate that students’ conceptualization of the 3Cs often align with definitions of EM from KEEN, as well as foundational works in the entrepreneurship field, and that their interpretation of each of the 3Cs does change during their first semester in college. For instance, students were less likely to write about curiosity and more likely to write about creating value at the end of the semester compared to the beginning.

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Retention of First-year Undergraduate Engineering Students: Role of Psychosocial Interventions Targeting First-generation College Students

10.18260/p.24675 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Jennifer Paz ◽

Margo Cousins ◽

Cindy Wilson ◽

Mia Markey

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Engineering Students ◽

First Generation ◽

Psychosocial Interventions ◽

First Generation College Students ◽

First Year ◽

Undergraduate Engineering ◽

First Generation College

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Engineering Innovation in Biomedical Nanotechnology

Volume 5: Education and Globalization ◽

10.1115/imece2015-50911 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Eniko T. Enikov ◽

Zoltán Szabó ◽

Rein Anton ◽

Jesse Skoch ◽

Whitney Sheen

Keyword(s):

Engineering Students ◽

Qualitative Assessment ◽

First Year ◽

Nanoscale Science And Engineering ◽

Training Project ◽

Undergraduate Engineering ◽

Nanoscale Science ◽

College Of Engineering ◽

Student Projects ◽

Institutional Challenges

The objective of this National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded undergraduate engineering training project is to introduce nanoscale science and engineering through an innovative use of a technical elective sophomore-level mechatronics course, followed by an Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)-mandated senior-level engineering capstone design project. A unique partnership between University of Arizona’s department of surgery, its neurosurgical division, and the College of Engineering presents a creative environment, where medical residents serve as mentors for undergraduate engineering students in developing product ideas enabled by nanotechnology. Examples include: a smart ventricular peritoneal (VP) shunt with flow-sensing; a bio-resorbable inflatable stent for drug delivery, and a hand-held non-invasive eye tonometer. Results from the first year of the student projects, as well as qualitative assessment of their experience, is presented. Several institutional challenges were also identified.

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So you need to choose a textbook: An investigation into first-year engineering calculus textbooks in Canada

Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) ◽

10.24908/pceea.v0i0.12965 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Sasha Gollish ◽

Bryan Karneyc

Keyword(s):

Engineering Students ◽

First Year ◽

Online Search ◽

Canadian Universities ◽

Undergraduate Engineering ◽

Course Syllabus

The motivation for this paper was two-fold; first to examine the types of textbooks that are being used to teach calculus to undergraduate engineering students in the Canadian Universities; and, second, to assess whether these textbooks do a "good job" at teaching calculus to undergraduate engineering students.The calculus textbooks used by engineering faculties across Canada were found through an online search, either by downloading a course syllabus or through a course website. Research into these various textbooks was done through the various textbook company websites and other articles. A review of the various textbooks was provided. In addition, select calculus textbooks were selected for a more thorough review of teaching differentiation.More often universities are choosing calculus textbooks that are rooted in engineering.

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Student Responses to a Tough Early Assessment: A Useful “Kick up the Bum”?

Student Success ◽

10.5204/ssj.v11i3.1158 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 28-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kate Wilson ◽

Kate F Wilson

Keyword(s):

Engineering Students ◽

Diagnostic Assessment ◽

First Year ◽

Mixed Methods Design ◽

High Failure Rate ◽

Early Assessment ◽

Student Responses ◽

First Semester ◽

The Right ◽

Depth Interviews

First year is a delicate time for students. Many have little idea what to expect of university, and their sense of identity as tertiary students is fragile. A diagnostic assessment early in first semester may reassure students that they have chosen the right path. However, some academics, particularly in engineering, argue that this early assessment should be very demanding – so tough, in fact, that some students fail - in order to alert students to the hard work required to pass the course. This study uses a mixed methods design (weekly surveys and in-depth interviews) to explore the effects of a purposefully tough early assessment on first year engineering students at an Australian university. We find that, across the cohort, the high failure rate was not associated with a significant slump or spike in motivation. Although some students were initially dismayed by their results, most went on to address their study with resilience, and appreciated the “kick up the bum”, as they described it.

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The Use of Blogs in a Project-Based Learning Context for First-Year Engineering Students’ Teams

Volume 9: Engineering Education ◽

10.1115/imece2020-23768 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anabela C. Alves ◽

Ana C. Pereira ◽

Celina P. Leão ◽

Sandra Fernandes ◽

Andre F. Uebe-Mansur

Keyword(s):

Engineering Students ◽

Assessment Method ◽

Project Based Learning ◽

Industrial Engineering ◽

First Year ◽

Learning Context ◽

First Semester ◽

Teachers And Students ◽

Development Context ◽

Project Phases

Abstract The Integrated Project of Industrial Engineering and Management 1 (IPIEM1) is a curricular unit of the first year developed in the first semester of the Integrated Masters degree of Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM11) – University of Minho, Portugal. In the 2019’s 1st semester and in the IPIEM1 previous versions, Project-Based Learning (PBL) was usually adopted as a learning methodology. In this pedagogical development context, freshman students develop a project integrating all five courses related to this current semester. To undertake this project, the students work in large teams that comprise nine to ten members. Throughout the semester, each team must accomplish the project phases and tasks. To communicate their progress and results developed during the semester, each team designed a blog. In the IPIEM1 previous editions of PBL of this year in this program, the weblog (blog) digital technology was also adopted, but it was never assessed. Thus, this paper has two main objectives: 1) to evaluate the importance of the blog for the teams; 2) to discuss teams’ engagement during its development, knowing that it would be a part of the assessment method. The survey results revealed that the teams considered the blog useful to keep an update record of the project progress and to stimulate the writing and reflection about project contents. Furthermore, some of teachers’ and students’ considerations showed the need for providing more training and experience in the development of blogs.

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Top down, bottom up and classroom reading anxiety and their effect on reading performance of undergraduate engineering students in Pakistan

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education ◽

10.1108/jarhe-07-2018-0138 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 590-603

Author(s):

Ashfaque Hussain Soomro ◽

Imran Khan ◽

Muhammad Younus

Keyword(s):

Engineering Students ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Reading Performance ◽

First Year ◽

Top Down ◽

Bottom Up ◽

Content Type ◽

Undergraduate Engineering ◽

Reading Anxiety ◽

The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore EFL reading anxiety of first-year undergraduate engineering students and its effect on their reading performance in a public sector engineering university in Pakistan. It specifically aims to explore their top-down, bottom-up and classroom EFL reading anxiety. Design/methodology/approach Data for the present study were collected from 200 first-year engineering students to explore their reading anxiety. A 20-item questionnaire developed by Zoghi and Alivandivafa (2014) was used to measure students’ EFL reading anxiety, while an IELTS academic reading test was used to measure their reading performance. The data were analyzed through exploratory factorial analysis and multiple regression analysis to determine which type of reading anxiety has a significant effect on students’ reading performance. Findings It was found that the bottom-up reading anxiety and the classroom reading anxiety have a significant negative impact on the reading performance of the first-year undergraduate engineering students of a Pakistani university. However, top-down reading anxiety has an insignificant negative impact on the reading performance of university students. Research limitations/implications The data for the current study were drawn from one Pakistani public sector engineering university, and all the students were first-year undergraduates. The data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire and IELTS (academic) reading test. Some of the students may be unfamiliar with the IELTS test pattern, so their reading performance might have been affected. Practical implications Teachers should adopt such a methodology in their EFL classrooms which helps students reduce their reading anxiety. Reading texts must be selected considering the proficiency level of students, and reading strategies must be explicitly taught to reduce bottom-up and top-down reading anxieties. Teachers should create a positive learning environment in their classroom by encouraging students to make an effort to improve their reading skills in order to deal with classroom reading anxiety. Students must be explained that they should help one another rather than ridiculing each other’s reading mistakes. Differentiated instruction can also be adopted to facilitate weak readers. The teachers can provide additional/out of the class support to weak readers in order to help them deal with reading anxiety. Originality/value The EFL reading anxiety among university students in the Pakistani context has received little attention from the researchers. Furthermore, although the impact of EFL reading anxiety on EFL students’ reading performance has been explored previously, the impact of three types of EFL reading anxiety on EFL learners’ reading performance has not been adequately investigated.

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