1. Exploring the Role of Innovation and Social Self-Efficacy within a Diverse Engineering Ecosystem 2James Thomas, 1Jessica P. Houston, Ph.D., and 1Laura Boucheron, Ph.D. New Mexico State University; 1College of Engineering, 2College of Education 1450 Horseshoe Drive, Las Cruces, NM, 88003, U.S.A. (graduate student)
Abstract
Entrepreneurially Minded Learning (EML) is emerging rapidly as a novel way to impart engineering students with T-shaped skills and a mindset that is critical for success in industries that constantly change and innovate. Much work has been done to study how EML, when injected into engineering courses, affects learning, yet little work is done to study how this mindset might affect social self-efficacy. Moreover, self-efficacy is known to differ in students of color. Therefore, this research focuses on the EML mindset and how it influences the self-efficacy of underserved and underrepresented engineering students at New Mexico State University, a Hispanic Serving Institution. We implemented EML an intervention-like approach with freshmen engineering students and used before and after surveys to evaluate how strongly and confidently they identify as engineers when exposed (or not) to the mindset.
3. Methods
We designed an IRB-approved study in which we created three groups: (i) a freshmen cohort exposed to EML design projects guided by faculty and a graduate student; (ii) a freshmen cohort exposed to EML design projects lightly guided by a student-mentor; (iii) freshmen cohort not exposed to EML. We performed pre- and post-surveys that probed attitude (conceptually framed in Fig. 2).
1. Introduction
Today’s workplace preference for teamwork-oriented, innovative engineers suggests that undergraduate engineering education benefits from an entrepreneurial and innovation mindset. Literature confirms that such qualities can be included in the formation of an engineer by making changes to engineering curricula. One common approach is to modify project-based learning with narratives and open-ended questions that foster an entrepreneurial mindset of the ‘three C’s’: curiosity, connections, and creating value.
Fig. 2 Connections between the projects and activities implemented (left) and what outcomes are expected (right) through various behaviors (middle)
4. Results and Discussion
Fig. 3. includes examples of questions from the pre-intervention survey. Student data collected include age, ethnicity, gender, and background experience (e.g., working on family farm). For intervention cohorts, traditional design problems were augmented with EML emphasis of curiosity, connections, and creating value (i.e. having a mock customer, fictional engineering firm, and culturally-related hook, see Fig 4). Fig. 5 shows students working on a pulley designed to hold New Mexico green chile bushels. A post-intervention student survey was given to assess self-efficacy after introduction to EML. Fig 3. includes examples of some questions.
Fig. 1 Model of the NMSU innovation ecosystem and connection to the student demographics.
A major question related to the ‘three C’s’ is whether EML not only influences student learning but also the perception of students’ personal ability to be successful in engineering and their confidence in becoming engineers. Some work has been shown to relate innovation self-efficacy with student interactions with maker spaces and innovation-related activities. With a diverse NMSU ecosystem (Fig. 1) and majority Hispanic students with strong ‘hands-on’ abilities, attributable to their background, led us to question how their personal self-efficacy might be altered depending on if EML or design thinking is added to freshmen design projects.
Fig. 3 Example questions from survey to evaluate student self-efficacy in engineering.
2. Objective
Our main objective is to test how EML might impact self-efficacy in freshmen students and correlate the changes, if any, to social identity
Fig. 4 EML version of a pulley design challenge for NMSU freshmen students
Fig. 5 (top and bottom picture) students completing the “Chile Pulley Challenge.”
A full analysis of the data includes contrasting self-efficacy across all experimental and control groups and correlating with student demographics. The project concluded at the end of the fall 2017 term and assessment at a light level suggests students exposed to EML embraced the narrative of being an engineering with an important role of creating value for a customer. Further analysis is anticipated to demonstrate the significance of EML with self-efficacy.
Acknowledgements
Support by the NSF RIEF Program Grant Number EE
Proceedings of the 2018 ASEE Gulf-Southwest Section Annual Conference The University of Texas at Austin
April 4-6, 2018