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1. Effects of an Intervention on Student Self-Efficacy and Integration in Chemical Engineering Sophomores

   Cicciarelli, Bradley A.; Sherer, Eric A.; Reeves, Timothy C.; Belk, Catherine H.; Orr, Marisa K. (January 2023, ASEE Annual Conference proceedings)

   We are assessing the impact of an intervention (a two-day voluntary workshop) on the specific factors of self-efficacy and student integration. This workshop, called the “ChemE Camp”, takes place just before the start of fall classes and includes team-building exercises, presentations from faculty about upcoming classes, a hands-on project, a lab tour, presentations from upper-level students and alumni about their experiences in the curriculum and in industry, information about academic advising and the career fair, and some recreational games. Students attending the camp learn more about chemical engineering courses and the profession and also have the opportunity to meet peers and interact with faculty and upper-level students. We hypothesized that the activities included in the camp would positively impact on students’ self-efficacy and social integration, factors which have been shown in other studies to significantly influence student experience and student success. The effects of the intervention were assessed using surveys administered to students at the start of the camp. These surveys included published subscales used in the study of self-efficacy and social and academic integration. The same surveys were administered to all second-year chemical engineering students at the beginning of the academic year (three days after the beginning of the camp) and the end of the academic year (approximately eight months later). Data collected from the previous three academic years indicate a statistically significant increase in the chemical engineering self-efficacy, coping self-efficacy, and social and academic integration ratings for students who attend the camp and these effects appear to largely be maintained throughout the sophomore year. Non-attendees enter the sophomore year with lower average ratings in these factors and show little change over the course of the year. Students’ intent to persist in the chemical engineering major was also assessed by these surveys, and while the camp attendees’ ratings showed almost no change from just prior to the camp to just after, their ratings exhibited a substantial, statistically-significant increase during the sophomore year. Non-attendees entered the year with a similar average rating to the attendees but showed a much more modest increase over the course of the year. We continue to collect data from both student survey responses and academic records, with the goal of eventually using path analysis to establish the relationships between the factors of self-efficacy and student integration and the outcomes of academic performance and persistence for second-year chemical engineering students. We currently have insufficient data to power such an analysis, but our available data suggest that the intervention is having a positive impact on these factors. 

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2. From Assessment to Research: Evolution of the Study of a Two-Day Intervention for ChemE Sophomores

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--34692  

   Cicciarelli, Bradley; Sherer, Eric; Martin, Baker; Orr, Marisa (June 2020, ASEE Conferences)

   This paper describes the evolution of our assessment of a two-day workshop for rising chemical engineering (ChemE) sophomores into a more rigorous evaluation of the mechanisms behind its impact. In 2016, we implemented a voluntary two-day workshop (the "ChemE Camp") for rising chemical engineering sophomore students to try to improve their retention in our program. To assess the impact of the camp, we developed and administered surveys to camp attendees before the camp and to all ChemE students at the beginning and toward the end of the sophomore year. Student feedback about the camp was overwhelmingly positive, and the survey results indicated that students who attended the camp entered the sophomore year feeling more prepared for the curriculum and more comfortable with the ChemE major than those who did not. Camp attendees also reported a larger network of potential study partners than non-attendees and performed better in the Material and Energy Balances (MEB) course. To explain these observed effects, we enlisted the help of an engineering education researcher. After review of the relevant literature in learning theories, we decided to focus on the constructs of self-efficacy and social support. We then improved the design and rigor of our study and refined our surveys by introducing subscales from validated instruments of self-efficacy and social integration. Preliminary results suggest that the camp is having a positive effect on the self-efficacy, social and academic integration, and intent to persist of the students who attend, and data collection is ongoing to determine whether these effects are lasting. Here we describe our journey from the original development of the camp and assessment tools to our current research examining the factors that affect the achievement and persistence of ChemE sophomore students. 

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3. An Integrated Supplemental Program to Enhance the First-year Engineering Experience

   Brown, Ordel; Morris, Melissa; Hensel, Robin; Dygert, Joseph (June 2018, ASEE Annual Conference proceedings)

   Student retention in STEM disciplines, especially engineering, continues to be a challenge for higher education institutions. Poor retention rates have been attributed to academic and institutional isolation, exclusion from social and professional networks, unsupportive peer and family communities, a lack of knowledge about the academic community and financial obstacles. The importance of retention in engineering has attracted increasing attention from many stakeholders in academia including faculty, staff, administrators and students. Its significance goes beyond the benefits for the academic institutions to encompass national concerns. At a large land-grant university in the mid-Atlantic region, between 2003 and 2012, an average thirty percent of first-year engineering students left engineering before their second year. A three-year study (2007-2010) done to gain insight into this attrition rate, showed that students mainly left because of low self-efficacy, lack of interest in and knowledge about engineering and the institution, disconnection from the engineering profession and academic difficulty. To address these issues, an integrated supplemental program was implemented in the first-year engineering program. Students must be in first-time, first-year standing to enroll in the program, which includes a professional development and academic success course beginning with a pre-fall bridge component. The program also provides direct pathways to academic enrichment activities such as undergraduate research. It helps students to develop strategies for academic success, explore engineering careers and start building a professional network through a multi-level peer, faculty and alumni mentoring system. Students are systematically and deliberately immersed in curricular and co-curricular activities with their peer, faculty and alumni mentors. The program was piloted with a NASA Space Grant in 2012 and funded by NSF in 2016. The goal of this evidence-based practice paper is to share the challenges, logistics and results of the implementation of this program in our standard first-year engineering experience. 

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4. Impact of COVID Transition to Remote Learning on Engineering Self-Efficacy and Outcome Expectations

   Milord, Johanna; Yu, Fan; Orton, Sarah; Flores, Lisa; Marra, Rose (July 2021, 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference)

   null (Ed.)

   The outbreak of COVID-19 and sudden transition to remote learning brought many changes and challenges to higher education campuses across the nation. This paper evaluates the impact of the transition to remote learning on the engineering-related social cognitions of self-efficacy (belief in one’s abilities to successfully accomplish tasks in engineering) and outcome expectations (beliefs about the consequences of performing engineering behaviors). These social cognitions can be attributed to important academic and career outcomes, such as the development of STEM interests and goals (Lent et al., 2019) and may be especially important in the success of women in non-traditional fields such as engineering. As an extension to a NSF RIEF (Research Initiation in Engineering Formation) study evaluating engineering social cognitions, students in 8 engineering classes were surveyed at the beginning of Spring 2020 semester (N=224), shortly after the transition to remote learning (N = 190), and at the end of the semester (N=101). The classes surveyed included a common early engineering class at the sophomore level (Engineering Statics) and required junior level courses in different departments. The students were surveyed using reliable and validated instruments to measure engineering self-efficacy (Lent et al. 2005, Frantz et al. 2011), engineering outcome expectations (Lent et al. 2003, Lee et al. 2018), and engineering persistence intentions (Lent et al. 2003). The results show a gradual increase in the mean scores on the engineering self-efficacy and outcome expectation measures through the semester. Two tailed t-tests of matched participants showed no significance when comparing the data between the beginning and mid-semester surveys, as well as the mid-semester and end surveys. However, significance was found in the two engineering self-efficacy measures between the beginning and end of semester surveys. Results are compared across courses at different levels and across gender. Results indicate that despite the sudden change in instructional mode, students’ perceptions of engineering self-efficacy and outcome expectations showed a slight increase or no change. 

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5. Increasing the Success Rates of Engineering Students After Transferring into Four Year Colleges from Community Colleges: It’s Much More Than Dollars

   Fomunung, I. (August 2022, ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN.)

   ASSETS - Academic Intervention, Social Supports, and Scholarships for Engineering Transfer Students is an NSF sponsored program at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga designed to help engineering transfer students overcome known academic and social barriers that impede retention or prolong graduation time following transfer from two-year community colleges into four year colleges. ASSETS is now in its fourth year of implementation. Several focus groups conducted among these scholars have consistently ranked the scholarship received as the number one contributing factor to their success. Other secondary but important factors have also emerged, suggesting that these students perceive the four-year institutions as lukewarm at best and hostile at worst to their ability to acclimate. These secondary factors indicate that these institutions need to become more welcoming by adopting strategies that are intentional in addressing the needs of these students, given current situational needs placing all the burden on them to adapt to their new environment. We conducted attitudinal surveys among students and faculty to gauge how pervasive these negative perceptions are among engineering transfer students. The survey analysis revealed that many faculty members do not differentiate between transfer students and traditional students and may therefore not be sensitive to their unique needs. However, faculty members associated with the ASSETS scholars, through serving as faculty mentors, were found to be aware of these differences and are already implementing measures that reflect a shift in mindset benefiting transfer students. This paper presents the findings of the surveys and the outcomes of the new mindset toward providing support to and enhancing the success of engineering transfer students. 

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