Article in International Journal of Engineering Education (IJEE):
Title: Examining validity of general self-efficacy scale for assessing engineering students’ self-efficacy
Abstract:
Self-efficacy has been found to be one of the key factors that are responsible for academic success of engineering students. However, there exist multiple instruments for determining the self-efficacy of engineering students and studies conducted in this area in the past have varied significantly in their use of a general or engineering domain-specific constructs. This work investigates whether an engineering-domain specific self-efficacy measurement instrument is required for determining the self-efficacy beliefs of engineering students or whether a general instrument will suffice. Furthermore, this study also aims to investigate the effect of gender, class level, and transfer status of students on their engineering self-efficacy beliefs. Over two hundred engineering students from Texas A&M University and Houston Community College are surveyed on 39 questions divided across 6 distinct self-efficacy instruments. The survey data was then analyzed to determine whether there exists a significant difference in the scores obtained across the generic and the domain-specific instruments. Factor analysis is also performed to explore the interrelationships among the questions belonging to different self-efficacy instruments. The results reveal that there exists a significant difference in the scores across the two types of instruments.
Link for download: https://www.ijee.ie/latestissues/Vol34-5/23_ijee3651.pdf
Article in The Journal of Engineering Education (JEE):
Title: A Review of Competency-Based Learning: Tools, Assessments, and Recommendations
Abstract:
Background Over the past decade, there has been a shift in science, technology, engineering and math education, especially in engineering, towards a competency-based pedagogy. Competency-based learning (CBL) is an outcome-based, student-centered form of instruction where students progress to more advanced work upon mastering the necessary prerequisite content and skills. Many articles have been published on the implementation of CBL in engineering higher education; however, the literature lacks a systematic review that summarizes prior work to inform both future research and practice.
Purpose The purpose of this review is to integrate previous literature as well as identify gaps in competency-based engineering higher education research. It summarizes the different approaches for implementing CBL, the effects of the pedagogy on student outcomes, tools to enhance its effectiveness, and assessment strategies. In addition, suggestions and recommendations for future research are provided.
Method Engineering education articles were obtained from several EBSCO educational databases. The search was limited to articles published from 2005-2015, and inclusion criteria consisted of peer-reviewed journal articles that address the use of CBL in engineering higher education. Articles were then classified into several categories, summarized, and evaluated.
Conclusions Theoretical and applied perspectives are provided that address both the theoretical basis for the effectiveness of CBL and practical aspects of implementing successful CBL instruction in engineering education. There are gaps in the literature regarding how CBL programs should be structured and assessed. Future research directions include empirical quantitative evaluation of CBL’s pedagogical effectiveness and the use of CBL for teaching professional skills.
DOI: 10.1002/jee.20180
Link for download: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jee.20180
(Two journal articles on E3 Teachers and Continuing Education are currently under preparation.)