2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Student Perspectives on Skills Required in Engineering and Computing Sciences Courses

Presented at First-Year Programs Division WIPS 2: Students and Peer Mentors

Engineering students need to be prepared to address solutions to the complex problems faced. Solving these challenges requires a variety of knowledge and skills. Engineering students are exposed to soft skills using one of the following three learning methodologies: expository (lectures, seminars, conferences, and demonstrations), guided (discussions, debates, case studies, project work, simulations, mentoring, and workshops), and active learning (brainstorming, role play, games, site visits, outdoor training, and coaching). According to the literature, skills can be characterized into 5 categories: technical skills, metacognitive skills, intrapersonal skills, interpersonal skills, and problem solving skills. Some of those skills have been identified as essential for success in engineering: high-level thinking, critical thinking, problem-solving, ability to prioritize their tasks, and presentation skills.

This work-in-progress (WIP) research aims to answer the following research questions: (1) according to the students, what are the technical and non-technical skills required for student success in upper level engineering and computing courses (200 and 300 level courses)? (2) How do those skills align with the ABET accreditation objectives? (3) How do skills vary by engineering and computing science major of study? (4) Are there differences in the skills considered as essential by first-year versus upper-level engineering and computing students? This research will guide a discussion on changes needed in first-year engineering courses to align them with the needs of students in upper-level courses.

This WIP research is conducted via mixed-methods study. A survey collecting engineering and computing students’ demographic information and their opinions on important technical and non-technical skills to their success in their major-specific 200 or 300-level courses was conducted in an R1, land-grant, public university. The survey includes both Likert-scale questions and open-ended questions. The survey was designed in Qualtrics and distributed, via weekly newsletter and flyers, to all undergraduate students enrolled in the College of Engineering. Some of the participants will be selected for a semi-structured interview.

At this point, data is still being collected from the survey. The anticipated sample size is more than one hundred survey responses. The results of this study are intended to help first-year engineering programs support necessary skills for success in upper-level engineering courses.

Authors

Dr. Atheer Almasri West Virginia University [biography]

Dr. Almasri is currently a teaching assistant professor in the Fundamentals of Engineering Program (FEP) at the Statler College of Engineering, West Virginia University. He has been serving in this position since 2020. Before joining West Virginia University, he worked as an assistant professor of Chemical Engineering at Imam University for 10 years. Dr. Almasri holds a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, as well as master's and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Engineering.
Dr. Todd R. Hamrick West Virginia University [biography]

Dr. Todd Hamrick, Ph.D. is aTeaching Professor in the Fundamentals of Engineering Program at West Virginia University Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, a position he has held since 2011.
Dr. Carter Hulcher West Virginia University [biography]

Dr. Hulcher is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Fundamentals of Engineering Program in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV. He has been in his current role at WVU since 2020. Dr. Hulcher holds degrees in Civil Engineering, as well as Mathematics.
Dr. Akua B. Oppong-Anane West Virginia University [biography]

Akua Oppong-Anane is an Assistant Professor of Freshman Engineering at Montana Technological University. She holds a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, a master's degree in Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering Sciences. Her research areas are in groundwater contamination, hazardous waste management as well as advising and retention of first year engineering students.
Dr. Xinyu Zhang Purdue University [biography]

Dr. Xinyu Zhang is an Assistant Professor of Practice in Environmental and Ecological Engineering (EEE) at Purdue University’s College of Engineering. She received her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is a North Carolina-licensed Professional Engineer, and currently leads an NSF project on recruitment strategies for engineering bridge and success programs. Her research interests include engineering education such as broadening participation in engineering, teaching technology innovations, and engineering entrepreneurship, as well as EEE discipline-based topics such as energy-water-environment nexus and sustainable biomanufacturing. Previously, Dr. Zhang was a Teaching Assistant Professor of Engineering at West Virginia University and has successfully led and expanded their summer bridge program for incoming first-year engineering students called Academy of Engineering Success (AcES).
Dr. Lizzie Santiago West Virginia University [biography]

Lizzie Y. Santiago, Ph.D., is a Teaching Professor and Director of the Fundamentals of Engineering Program in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University. She holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and completed postdoctoral training in Molecular Neurosciences and Neural Tissue Engineering.

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