2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

With the increasing demand for new and innovative technologies, engineers are called on to be at the forefront of designing new products. As a result, undergraduate engineering programs must equip students with both technical skills and internal beliefs that they are capable of success in the profession post-graduation. For mechanical engineers, knowledge of computer-aided design (CAD) software is an invaluable skill in order to contribute to product development in a wide variety of industries. However, students at the undergraduate level enter university with varying levels of knowledge and beliefs in their capabilities of using CAD software. Therefore, there is currently a lack of research investigating how students develop self-efficacy in relation to CAD prior to their undergraduate degree.

As there currently does not exist a validated scale to measure CAD self-efficacy, in this paper, we explore the related concepts of undergraduate engineering students’ initial 3D Modeling and Engineering Design self-efficacy before formal CAD instruction at the university level. Bandura’s Theory of Self-Efficacy suggests there are four main sources of self-efficacy: mastery experiences, social persuasion, vicarious experiences and physiological states [1]. Therefore, we aim to answer the question: “What prior CAD learning experiences influence undergraduate engineering students’ self-efficacy with 3D Modeling and Engineering Design?” [2]. Adapting validated measurement tools for 3D Modeling and Engineering Design self-efficacy, we surveyed second-year mechanical engineering students to target beginner CAD users regarding their prior instruction and knowledge of CAD as well as their perceived self-efficacy in these areas [3]–[6].
Hierarchical multiple regression was used to analyze various reported levels of pre-course CAD exposure and test if they predict students’ 3D Modeling and Engineering Design self-efficacy [7]. The results indicate that students' use of video tutorials and personal projects to learn CAD software is a significant predictor (p < .01) of their 3D Modeling self-efficacy. Our findings did not discover any of our survey’s forms of CAD exposure to be a significant predictor of Engineering Design self-efficacy.

These research findings provide a deeper understanding of the experiences that assist students in developing self-efficacy and familiarity with technical software in the pre- and early stages of their undergraduate degree [8]. The intention is to inform educators about how they can design an effective CAD curriculum accommodating students of all skill sets and to provide the foundation for developing and validating a CAD self-efficacy scale. Future work will focus on the implications of blended and project-based learning settings on students’ development of 3D Modeling self-efficacy based on the post-course survey. As a result of this research, students will be able to maximize their learning and become better prepared for upper-year undergraduate studies and their careers in industry as mechanical design engineers [8].