Hands-On Ability: Why It Matters and How to Improve It

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This engineering education research project has the following objectives: Determine the value of hands-on ability in the workplace for mechanical and electrical engineers; Develop a motivation and emotion model for hands-on ability; Develop a performance model for hands-on ability; Determine the effectiveness of solitary lab activity as a way to improve hands-on ability. The project will make use of several existing instruments and will develop new ones: Survey on the importance of hands-on ability (to be developed for this project); Previous experience inventory (developed at Ohio U.); Engineering attitudes survey (developed at U. Pittsburgh); Mechanical aptitude test (commercially available); Easy and hard hands-on skills tests (to be developed for this project); Short stress-state questionnaire (already developed by co-PI Helton); Think-aloud problem-solving and protocol analysis The intellectual merit of the project is in the new insights it will provide about the role of hands-on ability in the preparation of engineers. The project will determine the relevance of hands-on ability for engineering work and which previous experiences predict hands-on ability. Furthermore, the project will determine the role that hands-on ability plays in student motivation, confidence, and attitude. Finally, the project will test the effectiveness of one intervention strategy?solitary lab activity--for improving hands-on ability. The broader impacts are eventual curricular reforms (at both the college and pre-college levels) that lead to students with better hands-on practical skills and that lead to much higher percentages of women in mechanical and electrical engineering programs.