2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The [blinded] program aims to deliver engineering learning for learners and communities that have been displaced (currently in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Senegal, and the U.S.) due to reasons including conflict, poverty, and access to education. Because of the constraints they encounter in displaced settings, formal and informal marginalization, and minimal prior exposure to the topic, we want to compare students' perceptions of engineering before and after our engineering learning opportunity. We therefore examine students' self-determination, motivation, and self-efficacy before and after the course to understand attitudinal outcomes from the students’ perspective. Pre-assessment tests were given to students in two Kenyan refugee camps to analyze their knowledge of and attitudes towards the content before taking the class. With this information, we first analyzed scale consistency by grouping similar questions, determining sufficient reliability, generating ideas about students’ performance on motivation, and potential ideas about relating attitudinal factors to students’ engineering understanding. We utilized analysis tools ranging from descriptive statistics, to reliability scales, and various types of visualizations to analyze students' attitudinal factors. Next, we examine the students’ corresponding responses and performance after course completion.
The purpose of this research is to develop new learning models and specifically ways of assessing engineering understanding and attitudes of students from marginalized communities. Students’ confidence and self-determination is fundamental to their success in the classroom. The pre-and-post study will reveal the impact of participating in the [blinded] program on the student’s attitudes towards science and technology. Engineering curricula, especially those designed in American university contexts, often promote narrow ways of thinking about engineering. Hence, students may feel alienated when progressing in their engineering careers. This course enables them to explore engineering and think like an engineer. By closely examining their perceived confidence, aspirations, and attitudes towards technology, we can improve our content and nurture their interest in science and technology without making them feel alienated.
The difference between the pre-course and post-course assessment is primarily analyzed through descriptive statistics, two-sample inferential statistics, and visual analysis. We divided the questions into smaller groups based on existing scales. The themes were recognized as Self-Efficacy, Self-Determination, and Intrinsic Motivation.
We expect the students to feel more confident and motivated to understand the topic after completing this relevant and localized engineering course. This is most of the students' first time being exposed to it which makes them newly engaged and fascinated with the content but, as a contrasting hypothesis, potentially less confident about the material.
The purpose of this study is to determine how questions measuring students’ engineering attitudes operate in this context, and further, how this localized engineering course assists students in developing their self-efficacy and other attitudinal factors such as their overall view on science and technology. This paper has implications for both research and practice. It examines how assessments are conducted and the repercussions of assessments, not only for students but also for motivating curriculum modifications. This allows us to improve our content for students while also assisting them in increasing their self-efficacy.