2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This complete research paper explores two different research questions associated with a larger, more comprehensive research study ultimately aimed at formal makerspace course characterization in conjunction with student interest in engineering and its associated impact on engineering retention. More specifically, this paper is predominantly focused on student perceptions in personal levels of interest triggered by varying fundamental engineering topics and associated activities, in addition to investigating the effectiveness of a formal makerspace course in increasing students’ maintained interest in engineering through the promotion of the various (triggered) situational interests among first-year engineering students. Situational interest refers to environmentally triggered responses, such as focused attention and affective reactions, that are predominantly short-term. Maintained interest refers to beliefs related to the enjoyment and/or usefulness of engineering that are relatively stable across pedagogical settings, which have been shown to be more effective at positively influencing longer-term engineering student retention. While makerspaces have excited considerable interest, much of the research on makerspace impacts and practices have focused on K-12 and informal educational settings. Little is known about how a well-designed makerspace-based engineering course can contribute to first-year students’ persistence in engineering.

The platform for this study is an introductory engineering makerspace course at a Southeastern, public university. The course’s objective is to facilitate the application and integration of fundamental engineering skills. Six course features were identified by course instructors as potential pedagogical features that can activate students’ situational interest: technical writing, hand tool usage, 3D modelling, 3D printing, circuitry, and programming. Other course-related factors were also considered with respect to impact on situational interest, such as, engineering design sub-features, personal satisfaction in proficiency, and teamwork. Participants were 314 first-year, undergraduate students enrolled in the makerspace course during Spring of 2022. From January 2022 to April 2022, students completed a series of surveys that prompted them to reflect on their interest regarding specific course-related experiences and activities. Situational interest surveys were administered immediately following the completion of the feature modules identified above, whereas the maintained interest survey was administered at the end of the course. Surveys regarding other course-related factors were administered throughout the semester at appropriate times. Findings suggested that hand tool usage elicited the highest situational interest among students, whereas technical writing was the lowest. In this sample, maintained interest in engineering did not differ based on student demographic (i.e., age, gender, and race). Additionally, situational interest in all feature modules, with the exception of programming, significantly and positively explained the variance of students’ maintained interest in engineering. The majority of students reported an increase in interest in engineering for all course-related factors. Lastly, implications of these findings and limitations of the study are discussed.