Effects of high school dual credit introduction to engineering course on first-year engineering student self-efficacy and the freshman experience (evaluation)

J. Jill Rogers, Amy Annette Rogers, James C. Baygents

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

High school engineering programs and curricula are becoming more widespread partly due to the acceptance of engineering as part of the national PreK-12 science curriculum. Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs often collaborate with community colleges to offer dual credit engineering courses. Additionally, some universities offer for-credit, engineering summer school courses to high school students. Two Advanced Placement (AP) computer science courses are currently taught in high schools and plans are underway for an AP engineering course. As these dual credit programs develop, it is important to understand how they prepare the pathway to an undergraduate engineering major, particularly if they are designed to replace the on campus introduction to engineering course. University engineering first-year programs are critical to the retention and success of engineering students in their freshman year and the wisdom of replacing this first-year experience with a high school course is under debate. Data was collected from 28 first year engineering students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in the American Southwest. All participants took a dual credit introduction to engineering course in high school. Participants were asked about their decision to take the course in high school as well as self-efficacy questions about fitting in, being prepared and about their decision to major in engineering. Sixty-four percent of respondents reported that their high school course made them more prepared than their peers who did not take the high school course. More than 43% reported that their high school engineering course helped them fit in and 53% reported that it made them feel more confident in their decision to major in engineering. Importantly, almost all respondents who did not report a positive effect from their dual credit introduction to engineering course felt neutral about the experience.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number552
JournalASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings
Volume2020-June
StatePublished - Jun 22 2020
Event2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference, ASEE 2020 - Virtual, Online
Duration: Jun 22 2020Jun 26 2020

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Engineering

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