2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

WIP: Exploring the Effects of a Purpose-in-Life Reflection Activity in an Introductory Artificial Intelligence Course

Presented at Educational Research and Methods Division (ERM) Technical Session 19

Sense of purpose in life is related to actively choosing to work for the benefit of society and has been recognized as a key influencer of well-being which in turn has been established to be correlated with students' self-regulation. Activities for developing students' sense of purpose may become relevant, especially in the context of recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), which, some argue, may lead to a decreased sense of purpose. In this work-in-progress paper we describe ongoing research whose objective is to (1) understand how to develop a greater sense of purpose in students, exploring its relation to self-regulation and to (2) understand the relation between students' sense of purpose and their academic and personal motivations. Specifically we describe an uncontrolled mixed-methods study that we carried out on an Introductory AI course at a highly selective Engineering School in Latin America in which 144 students participated. We designed a Purpose-in-life Reflection Activity (PRA), whose answers we analyze qualitatively to see the relationships between academic and personal motivations. Students completed the Purpose in Life (PIL) and Self-Regulation of Learning (SRQ-L) questionnaires three times during the semester: at the start of the course, after the completion of the PRA, and at the end of the course. We found a positive and significant correlation between PIL and the Autonomous regulation subscale of the SQR-L questionnaire. We found no statistically significant differences in PIL scores during the semester. Our preliminary findings show that students were able to articulate connections between their personal and academic motivations with broader societal challenges, as well as reflect upon the potential impact of AI technologies. We show that one activity like the PRA we designed may not be sufficient to have an effect on students' sense of purpose. Therefore, more research is required to understand what types of activities can be introduced in an engineering curriculum to effectively develop students' sense of purpose.

Authors

Trini Balart Texas A&M University [biography]

Trinidad Balart is a PhD student at Texas A&M University. She completed her Bachelors of Science in Computer Science engineering from Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Multidisciplinary Engineering with a focus in engineering education and the impact of AI on education. Her main research interests include Improving engineering students' learning, innovative ways of teaching and learning, and how artificial intelligence can be used in education in a creative and ethical way.
Dr. Jorge Baier Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile [biography]

He is an associate professor in the Computer Science Department and Associate Dean for Engineering Education at the Engineering School in Pontificia Universidad CatÃ³lica de Chile. Jorge holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Toronto in Ca
Prof. Catalina Cortazar Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile [biography]

Catalina Cortázar is a Faculty member in the engineering design area DILAB at the School of Engineering at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC). Catalina holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Science with a focus on Engineering Education from PUC, an MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons The New School for Desing, an MA in Media Studies from The New School, and a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, with a concentration in Structural Design.
Dr. Kristi J. Shryock Texas A&M University [biography]

Dr. Kristi J. Shryock is the Frank and Jean Raymond Foundation Inc. Endowed Associate Professor in Multidisciplinary Engineering and Affiliated Faculty in Aerospace Engineering in the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University. She also serves as Director of the Craig and Galen Brown Engineering Honors Program. She received her BS, MS, and PhD from the College of Engineering at Texas A&M. Kristi works to improve the undergraduate engineering experience through evaluating preparation in areas, such as mathematics and physics, evaluating engineering identity and its impact on retention, incorporating non-traditional teaching methods into the classroom, and engaging her students with interactive methods.

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