2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Assessing Student Growth in Systems Thinking and Systems Engineering Skills in an Online Learning Environment

Presented at Systems Engineering Division (SYS) Technical Session 1

Conventional coverage of the product development process in the mechanical engineering curriculum touches on several core concepts from systems thinking and systems engineering—such as stakeholder needs analysis, concept generation, and system architecture definition. However, these topics are typically addressed at the component design level, leaving many graduating students underprepared to tackle the design of complex, integrated systems. While it is unrealistic to embed a full systems engineering curriculum within an undergraduate mechanical engineering program, it is possible to enhance existing design instruction with key tools and principles from systems engineering. By carefully integrating such enhancements across the curriculum, the goal is to better prepare graduates to contribute to the development of complex systems such as automobiles, aircraft, or submarines.

This paper builds on prior work that developed online modules introducing systems thinking and systems engineering fundamentals in a first-year mechanical engineering course. The current work focuses on improved assessment strategies that (1) demonstrate direct pre–post student growth on systems engineering fundamentals and (2) correlate post-test performance with students’ self-efficacy. Earlier assessment efforts examined students’ sense of belonging and self-efficacy in systems thinking and systems engineering topics; however, because those data spanned the entire course, isolating the specific effects of the online modules was difficult. Moreover, prior analyses of technical performance relied only on post-test data, without accounting for students’ incoming knowledge.

In this work, pre–post assessments are embedded directly into the online learning environment, enabling clearer attribution of learning gains to the modules themselves. The self-efficacy measures are explicitly aligned with post-test content, allowing analysis of how students’ confidence relates to demonstrated understanding. Results compare outcomes across a medium-sized private institution, a small public technical university, and a large public research university, revealing both commonalities and contextual differences in students’ learning and self-efficacy. The findings can be used to inform strategies for scalable integration of systems engineering concepts into mechanical engineering curricula.

Authors

Dr. Mark David Bedillion http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5065-4131 Carnegie Mellon University [biography]

Dr. Bedillion received the BS degree in 1998, the MS degree in 2001, and the PhD degree in 2005, all from the mechanical engineering department of Carnegie Mellon University. After a seven year career in the hard disk drive industry, Dr. Bedillion was on the faculty of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology for six years before joining Carnegie Mellon in 2016. His research interests include STEM education and industrial applications of control systems.
Dr. Laura Ochs Pottmeyer Carnegie Mellon University [biography]

Laura Pottmeyer is a Data Science Research Associate at Carnegie Mellon University's Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation. She consults with faculty members and graduate students on implementing educational research projects. S
Dr. Karim Heinz Muci-Kuchler http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2272-2886 Texas State University [biography]

Dr. Karim Muci-Kuchler is a Professor and Mechanical Engineering Program Coordinator at the Ingram School of Engineering of Texas State University. Before joining Texas State University, he was a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Experimental and Computational Mechanics Laboratory at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. He received his Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics from Iowa State University in 1992. His main interest areas include Computational Mechanics, Solid Mechanics, Product Design and Development, and STEM Education. He has taught several different courses at the undergraduate and graduate level, has over 80 publications, is co-author of one book, and has done consulting for industry in Mexico and the US. Dr. Muci-Kuchler is an ASME Fellow.
Lynn Kojtek Carnegie Mellon University
Prof. Anahita Emami
Dr. Cassandra M Birrenkott http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6137-0820 South Dakota Mines [biography]

Dr. Cassandra (Degen) Birrenkott received her B.S. degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 2007. She received her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering in 2012 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, studying mechanochemical reactions of a spiropyran mechanophore in polymeric materials under shear loading. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering department at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology where her research interests include novel manufacturing and characterization techniques of polymer and composite structures and the incorporation of multifunctionality by inducing desired responses to mechanical loading.
Dr. Micah Lande http://orcid.org/https://0000-0003-4964-5654 South Dakota School of Mines & Technology [biography]

Micah Lande, PhD is an Associate Professor and E.R. Stensaas Chair for Engineering Education in the Leslie A. Rose Department of Mechanical Engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. Dr. Lande directs the Holistic Engineering Learning Lab and Observatory. He teaches human-centered engineering design, design thinking, and design innovation courses. Dr. Lande researches how technical and non-technical people learn and apply design thinking and making processes to their work. He is interested in the intersection of designerly epistemic identities and vocational pathways. Dr. Lande received his B.S. in Engineering (Product Design), M.A. in Education (Learning, Design and Technology) and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (Design Education) from Stanford University.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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