INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SUCCESS AND LEARNING STRATEGIES APPLIED BY ENGINEERING STUDENTS Year 2: Design, Development, and Pilot Testing of Interventions

North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC

Investigators

Abstract

This project addresses the question -- what can be done to help engineering students to be successful in college and in their profession. The multi-phased study has the following components: Phase 1 (currently underway): Understanding of learning strategies, attitudes, and success of engineering freshmen; Phase 2: Design, Development, and Pilot Testing of Interventions; and Phase 3: Interventions and Their Longitudinal Effect on Cognitive Empowerment During and Beyond Freshman Year. In this phase, the data being collected and analyzed will provide the baseline information for the design of a series of interventions targeted to students rather than the teaching environment; that is, rather than proposing new courses, teaching methods, or instructional delivery systems, we will focus on identifying and providing cognitive and learning strategies that foster healthy habits and coach students to remove weaknesses in the context of the existing culture in engineering education into which first-year students are immersed, both at NC State and in many other engineering programs. Throughout the duration of the project, the established Website for the LESSONS research team (Learning Styles and Strategies Of ENgineering Students) http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/LESSONS/ will be constantly enlarged with the new results as well as new scientific work from the literature. Publications and conference papers will disseminate the results of our research and share educational strategies broadly.