Laboratory experimentation is a key component of the development of professional engineers.
However, experiments conducted in chemical engineering laboratory classes are commonly more
prescriptive than the problems faced by practicing engineers, who have agency to make
consequential decisions across the experiment and communication of results. Thus,
understanding how experiments in laboratory courses vary in offering students opportunities to
make such decisions, and how students navigate higher agency learning experiences is important
for preparing graduates ready to direct these practices. In this study, we sought to answer the
following research question: What factors are measured by the Consequential Agency in
Laboratory Experiments survey? To better understand student perceptions of their agency in
relation to laboratory experiments, developed an initial version of the Consequential Agency in
Laboratory Experiments survey, following research-based survey development guidelines. We
implemented it in six upper-division laboratory courses across two universities. We used
exploratory factor analysis to investigate the validity of the data from the survey for measuring
relevant constructs of authenticity, agency in specific domains, responsibility, and opportunity to
make decisions. We found strong support for items measuring agency as responsibility,
authenticity, agency in the communication domain, agency in the experimental design domain,
and opportunity to make decisions. These findings provide a foundation for developing a more
precise survey capable of measuring agency across various laboratory experiment practices. Such
a survey will enable future studies that investigate the impacts of increasing agency in just one
domain versus in several. In turn, this can aid faculty in developing higher agency learning
experiences that are more feasible to implement, compared to authentic research experiences.
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Consequential agency in chemical engineering laboratory experiments
Despite being at the center of undergraduate engineering education, laboratory experiments have remained unchanged for decades, resulting in assignments lacking in opportunities for students to learn and grow. We used a survey to measure students’ sense of agency in prototypical design and laboratory courses at research universities. We found students in laboratory courses at both levels experienced significantly lower framing agency than their peers in senior design, and that even those engaged in authentic course-based research did not perceive the experiments as more agentive or authentic. We infer students drew upon abundant low-agency experiences in laboratory experiments; maximizing learning in laboratory courses may hinge on clearer communication about authentic experiments or systematic redesign of earlier courses
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- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10385869
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the ISLS Annual Meeting
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 623-630
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Laboratory experimentation is a key component of the development of professional engineers. However, experiments conducted in chemical engineering laboratory classes are commonly more prescriptive than the problems faced by practicing engineers, who have agency to make consequential decisions across the experiment and communication of results. Thus, understanding how experiments in laboratory courses vary in offering students opportunities to make such decisions, and how students navigate higher agency learning experiences is important for preparing graduates ready to direct these practices. In this study, we sought to answer the following research question: What factors are measured by the Consequential Agency in Laboratory Experiments survey? To better understand student perceptions of their agency in relation to laboratory experiments, developed an initial version of the Consequential Agency in Laboratory Experiments survey, following research-based survey development guidelines. We implemented it in six upper-division laboratory courses across two universities. We used exploratory factor analysis to investigate the validity of the data from the survey for measuring relevant constructs of authenticity, agency in specific domains, responsibility, and opportunity to make decisions. We found strong support for items measuring agency as responsibility, authenticity, agency in the communication domain, agency in the experimental design domain, and opportunity to make decisions. These findings provide a foundation for developing a more precise survey capable of measuring agency across various laboratory experiment practices. Such a survey will enable future studies that investigate the impacts of increasing agency in just one domain versus in several. In turn, this can aid faculty in developing higher agency learning experiences that are more feasible to implement, compared to authentic research experiences.more » « less
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Laboratory experimentation is a key component of the development of professional engineers. However, experiments conducted in chemical engineering laboratory classes are commonly more prescriptive than the problems faced by practicing engineers, who have agency to make consequential decisions across the experiment and communication of results. Thus, understanding how experiments in laboratory courses vary in offering students opportunities to make such decisions, and how students navigate higher agency learning experiences is important for preparing graduates ready to direct these practices. In this study, we sought to answer the following research question: What factors are measured by the Consequential Agency in Laboratory Experiments survey? To better understand student perceptions of their agency in relation to laboratory experiments, developed an initial version of the Consequential Agency in Laboratory Experiments survey, following research-based survey development guidelines. We implemented it in six upper-division laboratory courses across two universities. We used exploratory factor analysis to investigate the validity of the data from the survey for measuring relevant constructs of authenticity, agency in specific domains, responsibility, and opportunity to make decisions. We found strong support for items measuring agency as responsibility, authenticity, agency in the communication domain, agency in the experimental design domain, and opportunity to make decisions. These findings provide a foundation for developing a more precise survey capable of measuring agency across various laboratory experiment practices. Such a survey will enable future studies that investigate the impacts of increasing agency in just one domain versus in several. In turn, this can aid faculty in developing higher agency learning experiences that are more feasible to implement, compared to authentic research experiences.more » « less
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In contrast to the dynamic treatment of other aspects of the curriculum, and despite being at the center of chemical engineering education, laboratory experiments have remained largely unchanged for decades. To characterize the potential impact changes to laboratory courses could have, we explored student perceptions across a department and characterized the kinds of opportunities students have to use their agency in these courses across universities. We used a survey to measure students’ sense of agency across several laboratory courses in a chemical engineering department. We found students in laboratory courses across the chemical engineering laboratory sequence, including those engaged in authentic course-based research did not perceive the experiments as agentive or authentic. We infer students draw upon abundant low-agency experiences in laboratory experiments. We report on the agency that instructors report students possessing across two chemical engineering departments to understand variation across institutions. Maximizing learning in laboratory courses may hinge on clearer communication about authentic experiments or systematic redesign of earlier courses.more » « less
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