A Longitudinal Evaluation of an AP Type, Dual Enrollment Introduction to
Engineering Course: Examining Teacher Effect on Student Self Efficacy and
Interest in Engineering (Evaluation)
Abstract
ENGR 102 HS is an introduction to engineering course taught by 37 high school teachers in both public and private high school classrooms. This university level, dual enrollment course offers high school students three units of credit towards an engineering degree. Unlike an Advanced Placement (AP) class, students who successfully complete the course receive a university transcript. In the ten years since the initial pilot, more than four thousand high school students have taken the course and of those, 2704 students have enrolled and received college credit. With a nearly identical core curriculum as the semester long, ENGR 102 on campus course, the high school program runs for a full school year and thus provides students with increased contact time. Extra classroom time in the high school program allows students to participate in service learning projects, online modules and multiple teacher-designed hands-on projects. Each spring students in the program are asked questions about multiple topics as part of a course evaluation survey.
In this longitudinal evaluation, we examine seven years of survey data and report on changes over time in teacher (n=66) effectiveness and explore how teachers influence student self-efficacy and interest in pursuing a career in engineering. The effects of teacher/student gender match was also explored. Teachers with engineering degrees were compared to teachers without and no significant differences were found in effectiveness, course quality or student interest in engineering. However, when students were divided by gender, results showed that female students preferred teachers without the master’s in engineering whereas teachers with the master’s in engineering were preferred by male students.
Dr. Amy Rogers has an earned Ph.D. in Social Psychology. Her current appointment is as Associate Professor and former Chairperson of the Department of Psychology at Delaware State University. She specializes in areas surrounding social justice. Her current application of social justice principals is in the area of the access/success of women/girls to science, technology, engineering, and math education and careers for which she recently served two years at the National Science Foundation as a grant administrator. Dr. Rogers provides statistical and methodological consulting on a variety of research, evaluation, and assessment projects.
J. Jill Rogers is the assistant director for ENGR 102 HS at the University of Arizona. ENGR 102 HS is an AP-type, dual credit college level, introductory engineering course offered to high school students. In 2014, the ENGR 102 HS program won the ASEE best practices in K-12 and University partnerships award. Over the years Rogers has developed K-12 science summer camps, conducted K-12 educational research, developed engineering curricula for formal and informal education venues, and developed robotics outreach programs for children’s museums and K-12 schools. Rogers is a certified teacher and holds a Master’s of Science in Education. Her Master’s thesis topic examined middle school student attitudes towards robotics and focused on gender differences. She is a member of the National Science Teachers Association, Philanthropic Educational Organization (P.E.O) and American Society for Engineering Education. Her interest lies in the K-12 pathways to engineering and ways to bring young people, particularly under represented populations, into STEM careers.
James C. Baygents is the associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Engineering at the University of Arizona. His primary responsibilities include oversight of academic programs, as well as recruitment, admissions and retention programs. Baygen
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