<p dir="ltr">This study examines the evolution of moral reasoning among STEM professionals, focusing particularly on those within high-consequence, regulated environments. Building upon Kohlberg's moral development framework and the Defining Issues Test (DIT), the study introduces the General Engineering Ethics Reasoning Instrument (GEERI), a revised version of the Engineering Ethics Reasoning Instrument (EERI), adapted for broader application across educational and professional engineering contexts. Additionally, a new set of 'prominence' indices are introduced as part of this research, intended to aid in investigating shifts in moral reasoning patterns by measuring the relative prominence of principled, conventional, and preconventional reasoning schemas compared to each other. The research explores three primary hypotheses: the preservation of GEERI’s validity after changing its language to be more inclusive beyond student populations, the coherence of validity after reducing the length of the instrument to lower burden on participants, and the influence of high-stakes professional settings on moral reasoning patterns, particularly the shift from principled to conventional reasoning.</p><p dir="ltr">Findings support the validity of both the original EERI and the new, shorter, and more generally applicable GEERI. Furthermore, findings reveal distinct shifts in moral reasoning as individuals transition from educational to professional settings. Notably, professionals in the high-stakes and highly regulated environment sampled demonstrated decreased reliance on principled reasoning, as measured by the traditional P and N2 indices commonly used in DIT-based instruments. At the same time, there was a concurrent increase in conventional reasoning, as indicated by the newly developed 'prominence' indices, which helped uncover the tradeoff STEM professionals are experiencing between principled and conventional judgement. This approach allows for a broader understanding of how different forms of reasoning are prioritized in professional settings, highlighting not just a shift towards conventional reasoning, but also the dynamics among all reasoning schemas as individuals adapt to their environments. These findings underscore the potential impact of high consequence and strictly regulated environments on ethical decision-making.</p><p dir="ltr">The observed shift towards increased conventional judgement, along with the decreased reliance on principled judgements, challenges linear moral development models and suggests a context-dependent adaptation in moral reasoning as a pragmatic response to the demands of professional environments. The findings raise important psychological and philosophical questions about whether the observed shift to conventional responses represents an actual reversion to less principled thinking or whether truly principled reasoning may lead to similar outcomes given the context in which these STEM professionals operate. If the latter, it suggests the need for a more nuanced paradigm of moral reasoning assessment.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Demand for STEM professionals in the US is growing. Math anxiety (MA) influences STEM degree selection, retention, and success. A systematic search was conducted and showed that past MA research has heavily depended on convenience sampling, resulting in a significant data deficit for engineering and technology majors. The Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS) (Hopko 2003)<b> </b>was used to measure MA in technology (T) students. The author has developed a mixed-methods conceptual framework based on Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory (SET) and Pekrun’s Control-Value Theory (CVT). Results found that T students experience more acute levels of MA than other STEM students except engineering, with most exceeding the high MA threshold. Females experienced greater MA than males, but ethnic differences were not found in the population of T students, perhaps because of underrepresentation. Other variables were also explored. Technology degree type influenced learning math anxiety when MA was compared to the three constructs of math self-concept (confidence, perceived value, and perceived control). The Math Confidence Scale (MCS (Hopko et al. 2003)), perceived Math Value Scale (MVS (Hopko et al. 2003)), and perceived control over the math assessment outcome Self-Description Questionnaire (SDQ II) (Parker et al. 2014)<b> </b>were used for math confidence, perceived value, and perceived control, respectively. Correlational and regression analyses were performed. Regression analyses relating MA to the three constructs of math self-concept could not reliably predict MA in one unified equation. Still, when used individually, confidence, value, and control produced reliable predictions for MA. The interview phase explored why students choose their degree program. It found that the math difficulty required, and mentors (both good and bad) had the most significant influences, followed by having a passion for the subject, having hands-on or experiential learning, being a good fit for their current skill set, university characteristics; and having a connection to the industry. Students’ confidence was most influenced by their judgments of their readiness and skills. Closely behind that were pragmatic, motivation, and learning help variables driven by the immediate need for time, a favorable grade, and to be as good as their peers. Perceived value aligned with confidence, prioritizing grades and peer comparisons over long-term value. However, real-world connections became an important variable in valuing math learning. Students found success primarily through deliberative means of controlling the outcome, including finding real-world connections, setting aside focus time, actively controlling emotions and overthinking, and, just in general, being determined and persistent.</p>

Increasing enrollment of students and declining availability of qualified and experienced faculty are leading to increased assessment loads of the existing faculty. Moreover, the assessment techniques are changing drastically due to the ever-increasing demand of new knowledge and abilities from the students. The tools offered by information technology can now be effectively used in enhancing the productivity of a teacher. This thesis proposes a mechanism for creating both summative and formative assessment instruments for a course in an engineering program. The assessment instruments will vary widely in nature depending on the subject. With increasing prevalence of digital devices in all walks of life a first level knowledge of digital systems is considered necessary for all engineers especially under electrical and computer engineering curricula. The first level course ‘Basics of Digital Systems’ is chosen for developing a framework of computer assisted evaluation. Creation of assessment instruments is best done in the context of an instructional system design (ISD) model. ADDIE, a generic model is chosen for the study. Bloom’s classification of levels of cognition, Vincenti’s categorization of engineering knowledge, and ‘Gronlund 2-level’ method for writing the learning objectives are integrated to create a ‘Bloom-Vincenti–Gronlund’(BVG)framework for preparing the learning objectives/assessment instruments. Developing tools for evaluation of performance of students in the assessment tests requires consideration of many issues: analysis of problems and their solution methods, errors normally committed by students, grading preferences of the instructor and feedback to students. A set of tools are developed that are able to evaluate the truth tables, state tables, excitation tables, timing diagram and VHDL codes. The developed tools are validated. The submission of the assignment and the integration of all the tools for evaluation will be more effective if they can be integrated in a learning management system (LMS). ‘MOODLE’, an open source LMS, is identified for the integration of the tools. The developed tools execute the files submitted by the students, evaluate them, and provide feedback to the students. In summary, the thesis addressed some key issues related to “assessment and evaluation of students’ performance” and proposed an integrated computer assisted system for the evaluation of students’ performance in the course ‘Basics of Digital Systems’.

Abstract This thesis makes a novel and original contribution to the discourse surrounding engineering education, and how it can be made more accessible to underrepresented groups. The study includes two contexts representing two different perspectives. Two studies are conducted, one examines upper secondary school pupils’ views of engineering students and the other the societal and cultural production of the engineering student in a recruitment campaign for KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Few earlier studies have examined the messages communicated in initiatives aiming to increase and broaden the recruitment of underrepresented groups to technical universities. Still, many initiatives sharing this goal are initialised in Sweden. The theoretical framework applied by discourse analysis and governmentality analysis enables a critical examination of the discursive framework surrounding the engineering student. The thesis concludes that there is a power struggle between a discourse of a contemporary technologist and a traditional technologist and that this position is exclusively but only for the most advanced engineering students, excluding BSc students as communicated by a KTH recruitment campaign. / Moderna samhällen förutsätter att människor är ansvariga för att göra val av olika slag, till exempel av utbildning och yrke. Dessutom förväntas yrkesvalet överensstämma med individens självuppfattning. Det finns ett stort engagemang i Sverige och globalt för att öka och bredda rekryteringen till tekniska utbildningar som leder till yrken inom teknik och naturvetenskap. Detta är synligt i den stora mängd av initiativ som görs med syfte att öka ungas intresse för utbildningar av detta slag. Ungas intresse för teknikintensiva utbildningar är ett väl utforskat område. Detta är däremot inte budskap som kommuniceras med syfte att öka och bredda rekryteringen till teknisk intensiva utbildningar.  Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka det diskursiva ramverket som definierar subjektet ingenjörsstudenten i en rekryteringskontext i Sverige. Det teoretiska och metodmässiga tillvägagångsättet är inspirerat av diskursanalys och governmentalitetsstudier. Detta perspektiv förser analysen med en kritisk blick vilket resulterat i ett intressant bidrag till forskningen om diskursen som omger ingenjörsutbildningens tillgängliggörande för underrepresenterade studentgrupper. Uppsatsen består av en sammanhållande kappa och två artiklar som beskriver två olika studier och perspektiv. Den första studien undersöker gymnasieungdomars uppfattningar om ingenjörsutbildningar och ingenjörsstudien. Det metodmässiga tillvägagångsättet kombinerar klassrumsstudier gjorda med hjälp av mindmapping-tekniker och diskursanalys på ett unikt sätt. I den andra studien analyseras de budskap som kommuniceras i en rekryteringskampanj för KTH. I den sammanhållande kappan analyseras det samlade resultatet av studierna. Denna analys visar att det pågår en diskursiv kamp mellan en diskurs av traditionell karaktär och en av nutida karaktär. Den traditionella som lyfts fram av gymnasieeleverna bygger på ett reduktionistiskt förhållningsätt och traditionella värden som personlig framgång (ekonomisk framgång och social status). Den nutida som lyfts fram i kampanjen i bygger på ett holistiskt förhållningsätt och vikten av att bidra till en gynnsam samhällsutvecklingen för alla. I teorin bjuder den nutida in nya studentgrupper i högre grad än den traditionella. Intressant nog sker inte detta i kampanjen, vilket beror på att endast de mest avancerade grundstudenterna, civilingenjörsstudenter som studerar på det äldsta av KTH:s campus, representeras i kampanjen. Detta får till följd att den breddning som sker endast är gällande för en liten skara individer  Uppsatsens viktigaste bidrag är insikter om diskursen som omger ingenjörsutbildningen, som trots försök till breddning verkar exkluderande för många presumtiva studenter. Vidare är det teoretiska och metodmässiga tillvägagångsättet ett intressant bidrag till forskning och en breddad rekrytering till tekniska lärosäten.

The purpose of the research reported here was to determine the impact learning the engineering design process (EDP) would have on the critical thinking skills of high school physics students. An EDP unit was conducted with 5 classes of high school physics students in grades 10-12 over 1 month. The EDP unit's curriculum allowed for the gradual release of responsibility as students became more familiar with the EDP and more consistent in using it. The six steps used in this EDP unit were Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Test, and Improve. The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal was given as a pre- and post-test to measure the growth in critical thinking skills. By measured standards, qualitative analysis and observation, students showed an increase in critical thinking skills and in confidence to use them.

The 'flattening of the world', using Thomas Friedman's phraseology, is driving corporations to increasingly use collaborative engineering processes and global teams to operate on a global scale. Globalization of the traditional university engineering curriculum is necessary to help students prepare to work in a global environment. More scalable and economically sustainable program types are needed to enable the majority of students to obtain a globalized education. The purpose of this research was to determine how effectively a global team- and project-based computer aided engineering course provided learning opportunities that enabled students to develop elements of global competence in comparison to existing engineering study abroad programs. To accomplish this, research was necessary to identify, aggregate, and validate a comprehensive set of global competencies for engineering students. From a review of the literature and subsequent analysis, a set of twenty-three global competencies with an associated conceptual model was developed to group the competencies by contextual topics. Two surveys were then developed and distributed separately to academic and industry professionals, each of which groups largely confirmed that it was important for engineering students to develop these global competencies. Next, the traditional ME 471 class was restructured into a Global ME 471 course. A pilot program was conducted from which lessons learned were incorporated into the global course. Selected global competencies were included as new learning outcomes. Course learning materials, labs, and lectures were also updated to reflect the new course emphasis. A survey was developed to be sent to BYU engineering study abroad students and the Global ME 471 course during 2010. A statistical analysis of responses was used to identify significant differences between the response groups. In addition to the global competencies which were identified and validated, global collaborative project-based courses such as Global ME 471 were shown to be effective in enabling students to learn and develop selected global competencies. Study abroad programs and the Global ME 471 course were seen both to be complementary in their emphasis and supportive of global engineering. In addition, global collaborative project-based courses were shown to play an important part of a globalized engineering curriculum.

The significance of teaching the basics of engineering education in middle- and high-schools is generally acknowledged by policy makers, teachers and researchers in the U.S.A. as well as a number of developed and developing countries. Nevertheless, engineering topics are rarely covered by precollege curriculums. A key contributing factor is that engineering hinges on the usage of technology to expose learners to fundamental concepts otherwise difficult to demonstrate. For example, learning the concepts of systems' design, optimization, and trade-offs can be a challenging task when teachers and students limited access to tools to practice their engineering knowledge. Thus, a deficiency of operational learning technologies for diverse precollege environments affects the availability of engineering learning experiences. The aim of this dissertation is to unveil the relationships between influential factors for the advancement of precollege engineering education. We proposed a framework for the development of curriculum and technology derived from analyzing design issues from the perspective of multiple entities encompassing a broad of stage holders including students, teachers and technology developers. Several influential factors are considered including human-computer interaction issues, the problem of a digitally divided population and the lack of engineering curriculum that reconciles precollege engineering education with state and national educational standards. The findings of this dissertation are based on quantitative and qualitative re- search performed during a four year span working with five local schools in the Tucson Unified School District.

<p>Although ABET has outlined educational outcomes to help prepare students with the necessary competencies to succeed in professional engineering practice, it is unclear how confident students are in their professional engineering skills. <i>Competency</i> refers to the<i>“generic, integrated and internalized capability to deliver sustainable effective performance in a certain professional domain, job, role, organizational context, and task situation.” </i>Understanding their competency provides students with a bridge to connect their academic experiences with their ability to perform their workplace duties. To help students assess their competency, I developed the Self-efficacy Inventory for Professional Engineering Competency (SEIPEC), an inventory that aims to measure engineering students’ self-efficacy for professional engineering competencies. Unlike other inventories in engineering that measure the academic experience or other self-efficacy inventories that do not focus on the engineering population, this career assessment is designed for college-level engineering students to evaluate their subjective readiness for successful performance in the workplace. </p> <p>SEIPEC is a tool for students to self-assess their professional competencies, aiming to empower students to become reflective about their learning and increase awareness of workplace competencies. SEIPEC was developed based on the American Association of Engineering Societies’ Engineering Competency Model (ECM). The ECM identifies factors that contribute to self-efficacy for professional engineering competency. ECM was developed using the Delphi method and encompasses a comprehensive list of competency statements that were approved by industry leaders and engineering educators to encapsulate the competencies needed for a professional engineer.</p> <p>The data include 434 complete responses from bachelor’s and master’s students at a Midwest research-intensive university. The sample represents 13 engineering disciplines, such as electrical and computer engineering and mechanical engineering, and includes 282 male and 146 female students, 48 first-generation students, and 63 international students. After the exploratory factor analysis and the confirmatory factor analysis, a four-factor model with 20 competency statements was validated as the measurement for self-efficacy for professional engineering competency. The four factors that contribute to the self-efficacy of professional engineering competency include (a) sustainability and societal impact, (b) health and safety, (c) application of tools and technologies, and (d) engineering economics. </p> <p>The SEIPEC tool has the potential to empower engineering students to reflect upon and connect their academic experience with professional competencies. SEIPEC would provide students with a method to self-evaluate their skills in addition to other assessment methods such as course grades and traditional engineering exams. <a>The results of self-assessment for professional engineering competencies could increase students’ awareness of professional competencies, thus helping students to become more intentional in connecting learning with their professional preparation. </a>Career advisors and counselors can also use this tool to guide career advising conversations revolving around students’ choice to pursue and prepare for engineering as a career path. </p>

Today’s labor market is teeming with software development jobs, and employeesare needed more than ever. With this statement, one would believe it is easy fora newly graduated student to start their career. However, according to severalstudies, there are specific areas where newly graduated Software Engineeringstudents struggle when beginning their first job. Currently, there is a displace-ment about what the school should focus on when teaching their students. Thiscauses various challenges to arise for newly graduated students when they areinitially starting their career. To address this issue, this study aims to iden-tify whether or not there exists a gap between the education provided by theuniversities, and what is expected from the industry. In accordance with this,the purpose is also the point out which areas might be challenging for newlygraduated students, and highlight how the school and industry can benefit fromthe results of this study.By conducting interviews with both newly graduated student with one to threeyears working experience or personnel responsible for hiring new employees atcompanies, this study will give an insight on which common areas newly grad-uates may struggle with. Although the result specifies several areas which arechallenging to newly graduated students. The greatest challenges which thenewly graduated graduated students faced were areas revolving around softskills. This was in accordance with the opinions of the recruiters. Insinuatingthat these areas are what the school should focus more on. Other differencesbetween the newly graduated interviewee’s opinions and the recruiters are alsohighlighted in the report Several subjects in school could improve its way ofteaching. Furthermore, there are possibilities for companies to better adjusttheir on-boarding of newly graduated. By addressing the challenges which newlygraduated face they can provide their new employees with a better understand-ing of how to properly work and function in the industry today.

"The objectives of this research were (1) to develop experimental active-based-learning curricula for undergraduate courses in transportation engineering and (2) to assess the effectiveness of an active-learning-based traffic engineering curriculum through an educational experiment. The researcher developed a new highway design course as a pilot study to test selected active-learning techniques before employing them in the traffic engineering curriculum. Active-learning techniques, including multiple-choice questions, short problems completed by individual students or small groups, and group discussions, were used as active interludes within lectures. The researcher also collected and analyzed student performance and attitude data from control and experimental classes to evaluate the relative effectiveness of the traditional lecture (control) approach and the active-learning (experimental) approach. The results indicate that the active-learning approach adopted for the experimental class did have a positive impact on student performance as measured by exam scores. The students in the experimental class also indicated slightly more positive attitudes at the end of the course than the control class, although the difference was not significant. The author recommends that active interludes similar to those in the experimental curricula be used in other courses in civil engineering."