CAREER: Exploring the Relationship Between Self-Efficacy and Project-Based Learning Among Engineering Students

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。奥林工程学院将确定第一年基于项目的学习课程对提高所有工程专业学生的自我效能感的影响，无论背景和准备如何。低自我效能感往往与学生决定离开工程项目，更好地了解差异的影响，对学生的实施基于项目的团队为导向的学习组件可以提高工程教育的质量，以及保留和多样性。本研究将调查这些课程中的活动，目前实施的，提高所有学生的自我效能。项目团队中的各个学生将花费时间在不同的任务上，并可能选择不提供掌握经验的任务。一年级学生的自我效能感将根据他们在不同团队项目任务上花费的时间来衡量。该项目将包括一所小型私立本科工程学院、一所中型私立研究型大学和一所大型公立大学的学生，妇女和代表性不足的少数民族学生将大量参与。作为这项研究的结果，将制定干预措施，以确保所有学生从事已被确定为最有可能提高自我效能的活动。这项研究可能是变革性的理解基于性别的自信差异在工程，其结果将是有价值的所有学生。这项研究的结果将被广泛传播，并将为工程学院举办讲习班。这项研究将对改善工程教育和所有学科的保留产生深远的影响，并将增加完成工程学位并准备填补工程工作的学生人数。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)This engineering education research CAREER award to Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering will determine the impact of first year project-based learning courses on increasing self-efficacy in all engineering students, regardless of background and preparation. Low self-efficacy is often associated with student decisions to leave engineering programs, and better understanding differential impacts on students of implementations of project-based team-oriented learning components can improve the quality of engineering education as well as retention and diversity. This research will investigate whether the activities in these courses, as currently implemented, increase self-efficacy for all students. Individual students in a project team will spend time on different tasks and may select tasks which do not provide mastery experiences. Self-efficacy of first year students will be measured in relation to the amount of time spent on different team project tasks. The project will include students from a small private undergraduate engineering college, a medium sized private research university, and a large public university, with significant participation of women and underrepresented minority students. As a result of this research, interventions will be developed to ensure that all students engage in activities which have been identified as most likely to improve self-efficacy. This research may be transformative in understanding gender based self-confidence differences in engineering, and the results will be valuable for all students. Results of this research will be widely disseminated and workshops will be held for engineering faculty. This research will have profound impact on improving engineering education and retention in all disciplines, and will enhance the number of students who complete engineering degrees and are ready to fill engineering jobs.