2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Engineering design graphics educational environments incorporating elements of active learning and associated supplementary resources promote students' engagement in applying course content and potentially student retention and persistence in STEM degree programs. An NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) study conducted at a large land grant institution in the southeast United States within an engaging student-centered introductory engineering design graphics course identifies that using active learning components with supplemental material supports increases in student self-efficacy in three-dimensional modeling along with academic success, including mental rotation ability. Additionally, the course structure presents learners with the opportunity to practice elements of self-regulated learning within engineering design graphics, which is a critical component in students' success in engineering and engineering technology programs.

While the IUSE study presents findings from six semesters of an introductory engineering graphics course, there remains an opportunity to conduct a longitudinal study analyzing the three years' worth of data for patterns of retention and persistence of students in STEM degree programs, including engineering and engineering technology degree programs. Results from this quasi-experimental study will act as a stepping stone for comparing retention and persistence rates at other institutions. Furthermore, results presented from this study can serve as support for engineering design graphics programs to utilize student-centered learning environments that incorporate elements of active learning and expose students to supplemental resources that can deepen their engagement with course content. This in-depth engagement with applying course content prepares students with experiences that can transfer to function within a STEM environment.

The STEM workforce continues to expand and requires a diverse population with proficient technological and engineering literacies to fulfill those developing needs, such as communicating through engineering design graphics. Engineering and engineering technology degree programs incorporating evidence-based student-centered strategies to promote retention and persistence can increase interest and identity within their programs. Such an increase can lead to meeting the growing needs of an expanding STEM workforce.