Emotional Intelligence and Cognitive Moral Development in Undergraduate Business Students

This study examines relationships between emotional intelligence (EI) and cognitive moral development (CMD) in undergraduate business students. The ability model of emotional intelligence was used in this study, which evaluated possible relationships between EI and CMD in a sample of 82 undergraduate business students. The sample population was approximately 700 students in a private university in the Midwest United States. A weak, positive relationship was found between overall emotional intelligence and moral development, but the strength of this relationship failed to reach statistical significance. However, one branch of EI, Understanding Emotions, did have a positive correlation with moral development at the .01 significance level. Results indicated a statistically significant relationship between level of education and cognitive moral reasoning at the .05 significance level. Women also showed significantly higher moral development levels than men; that relationship reached statistical significance at the .01 level. These results support previous empirical research findings. Conflicting with previous research results, accounting majors had significantly higher emotional intelligence scores than other business majors in this study, reaching statistical significance at the .01 level. This study provides empirical support for the relationships between cognitive moral development and emotional intelligence

Iron Range Engineering - An Overview of Design and Open-Ended Problem Solving Activities in an Interdisciplinary, Project-based Learning Program

Project-based learning (PBL) in engineering education is growing at a rapid pace. The Iron Range Engineering (IRE) Program of Minnesota State University Mankato, is an upper division (3rd and 4th year) undergraduate engineering education program based on the Aalborg, Denmark PBL model. Students work in teams to solve industry-sourced projects each semester. The learning of engineering is accomplished in three domains - technical learning of engineering concepts, professionalism, and design, which we call the “three-legged stool” of engineering education. The program promotes entrepreneurial mindset and innovative open-ended problem-solving in context. Fifty students are enrolled in 3rd and 4th-year studies at a time and work in vertically integrated teams. Most of the courses are flipped and active learning based on learning science is implemented regularly. Nearly all students in the program have one or more co-op experiences in industry. Students earn a Bachelor of Science in Engineering when they complete the interdisciplinary engineering program. IRE has been awarded recognition for innovative practices in engineering education by ABET. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the integrated teaching and learning strategies that IRE uses to facilitate engineering design learning with an entrepreneurial mindset in a PBL model

Effectiveness of Gamification Activities in a Project-based Learning Classroom

The purpose of this research is to analyze the effectiveness, and student\u27s self-reported engagement with gamification tools on a student\u27s learning of technical concepts when used in a project-based learning (PBL) engineering classroom environment. Gamification, as defined in this study, is the use of game-based elements such as online audience response systems with automated feedback in non-game situations. By adding gamification to the classroom, we hope to further build on the active and collaborative learning environment that our PBL program already provides. Five gamification activities were implemented during the Fall 2017 semester with junior and senior student engineers enrolled in Iron Range Engineering, a program of Minnesota State University, Mankato. The Iron Range Engineering (IRE) model is a project-based-learning program in which students work closely with industry on design projects throughout their 3rd and 4th years. The goal of this program’s approach is to prepare and produce graduates with significant integrated technical and professional knowledge and skills to enter the engineering workforce. The three game-based online platforms along with two hands-on activities were used in six technical courses: Signals & Systems, Engineering Economics, Statistics, Linear Control Systems, Lean Principles, and Electric Machines. All five gamification tools allowed for real-time assessment, so students were given instant feedback from the game on their level of understanding of a technical concept. The in-class gaming activities were used in approximately five instances within the six courses; with about 8 - 12 participants in each class (n is approx 300 student gaming interaction instances). Feedback was collected via student surveys, student and faculty reflections and data received automatically by the game programs. Preliminary analysis of student feedback and faculty reflections indicates increased learner motivation, enhanced review of technical content and an upbeat atmosphere to the classroom. Faculty reflections also noted that the use of games that allow learners to answer the questions individually helped faculty identify those students who had successfully mastered the concepts, which allowed the instructor to structure peer-to-peer active learning opportunities during class more effectively. Future work includes analyzing test scores, and other measures of long-term retention of concepts. Overall, use of these gamification tools was found to be a significant addition to the project-based learning environment at Iron Range Engineering, bringing value to the overall learning process and will continue to be used to improve our teaching and student learning

Student Responses to Active Learning Strategies: A Comparison Between Project-Based and Traditional Engineering Programs

Prior research has shown that active learning strategies in engineering education improve student learning, motivation, and retention in STEM disciplines. Yet, instructors are often hesitant to use active learning and other non-lecture strategies due to challenges from students who are resistant to engaging in these methods. Prior research has suggested strategies that can be used to mitigate student resistance to active learning, yet many faculty members have not yet implemented active learning into their engineering education courses. The global demand for entrepreneurially-minded engineers and the rapid growth of engineering programs embracing this mindset increases the need for actionable resources and strategies for faculty to implement in their courses. The program reported here uses active learning across the curriculum, encounters little student resistance, and graduates industry-ready engineers. We report the findings from the Student Resistance to Instructional Practices (StRIP) study focused on students in a specific project-based learning engineering education program, and compare results to non-PBL previous studies. The results indicated that PBL engineering students enjoyed the active learning strategies used by their instructors, and showed less resistance to them. The PBL learners reported less frequent use of non-lecture activities in courses than previous studies. Possible reasons for this result are presented

Growing Entrepreneurial Mindset in Interdisciplinary Student Engineers: Experiences of a Project-Based Engineering Program

Engineering education models have recently embraced the entrepreneurial mindset as a desired outcome of undergraduate engineering education. Interdisciplinary active learning strategies have been suggested as an effective pedagogy for engaging student engineers in undergraduate engineering education. Recent research suggests that active, social learning in context can lead to improvements in learner innovation, problem-solving, curiosity, retention and accessibility of knowledge, value-creation, and other desired learning outcomes. Much of the recent adoption of active and collaborative learning, self-directed learning, problem-based and project-based learning (PBL), peer to peer learning, and other similar learning strategies are aimed at developing innovative and entrepreneurial mindset skills, but they have been limited to Capstone Design courses. Our aim is to develop the entrepreneurial mindset much earlier in the student engineers’ undergraduate education. The Iron Range Engineering program is entrepreneurial in nature, based on continuous improvement, self-directed learning, and reflective practice. Our student engineers learn in context, by applying technical engineering knowledge in project teams working on industry-sourced projects, each of the four semesters of their junior and senior years. In addition, freshman and sophomores enrolled in pre-engineering studies in a closely aligned community college are included in the culture, many activities, and teaching staff of the upper division program. Drawing from the Kern Family Foundation’s Engineering Unleashed program and Innovating Curriculum with Entrepreneurial Mindset (ICE) workshops, faculty in the program were introduced to the entrepreneurial mindset in the summer of 2017. In the Fall, 2017 semester, they developed and piloted several entrepreneurial-minded learning (EML) modules across the curriculum of our program (approx. 100 students in lower and upper divisions), ranging from Statics in Sophomore year, to Entrepreneurship and Statistics in the Junior year, and Three-Phase and Signals and Systems for the Seniors, among others. Entrepreneurial Mindset was also reinforced in Design class and applied in project work. This paper describes the experiences of faculty and students in the implementation of entrepreneurial mindset modules adopted in our program, as well as preliminary results of this rapid deployment in an interdisciplinary engineering program. We use a case study format to report auto-ethnographic stories from both faculty and student perspectives. Early results are promising. After two semesters of simultaneous deployment of entrepreneurial mindset across the curriculum, faculty are engaged and working collaboratively to improve and extend this type of entrepreneurial learning even further into the program. The impact on ABET and KEEN outcomes are addressed. Student feedback is also positive. The pervasiveness of the application of entrepreneurial mindset is present in student reflections, project technical documents, design reviews, oral exams, and other student work. The entrepreneurial mindset has become part of the culture of our program in a short time, which we view as a positive outcome. The experiences of the participating faculty members are presented in the paper, as well as student reflections on the application of entrepreneurial mindset in their courses and design projects. Planned next steps are also addressed in the paper

Shifting Facilitator Roles: The Challenges and Experiences of Tutors within Aalborg and Maastricht PBL Settings

Problem-based learning (PBL) has become a widespread method of teaching and learning around the world since the early 1970s. While several varieties of PBL are in use in many educational institutions, two primary models have taken root: the Aalborg model originating in Aalborg University, Denmark and the Maastricht model, originating in Maastricht University in The Netherlands. The two models both guide self-directed student learning under PBL principles, but they also have distinct differences. As developing PBL facilitators ourselves, we were particularly interested in understanding the role of the facilitator as it differs across the two models. Our goal for this semester was to understand and apply PBL theory and best practices in our own educational institutions. One of our challenges, however, was that we each had different experiences and expectations for the facilitator role. Our goal, then (or our problem statement) became to better understand the tutors’ experiences of the facilitator role in both models so we could best apply this understanding appropriately in our own institutions. Previous research in this area is limited, so this paper fills a gap in our own knowledge of PBL as well as adding to the existing literature

Ethical Reasoning Development in Project-based Learning

This paper will describe the method of ethics instruction in a specific project-based learning program with the aim to improve the current level of moral reasoning skills in the engineering students enrolled in the program. The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) have endorsed efforts to improve the teaching of ethics in the engineering curriculum. Criterion 3-f of the ABET outcomes,specifically calls for student attainment of an understanding of ethical and professional responsibility. In response, engineering educators seek to develop curriculum to improve moral reasoning skills, which should lead to increased understanding of processes used to solve ethical dilemmas. This paper describes one method of developing ethical understanding and decision-making processes in the context of project-based learning, specifically students enrolled in Iron Range Engineering or Twin Cities Engineering, sister programs jointly directed by Minnesota State University, Mankato, Itasca Community College and Normandale Community College. Students in the program completed an online survey, the Defining Issues Test version 2, to measure their current moral reasoning skills. Comparative descriptive statistics are presented to compare measured moral reasoning levels of this group with engineering students at other universities and with other college majors.The paper also documents the ethical development activities and discussions that the students complete as part of the ethics curriculum during the year. The results inform engineering educators of the experience of using a particular ethical development curriculum model,specifically, small group discussions of ethical dilemmas moderated by team mentors and faculty members, followed by written student reflection.The next step is to measure any change in moral development levels during the academic year through a pre- and post-test administration of the DIT-2 survey. The results will inform the research team of the growth in moral development in our student group, assessing the effectiveness of the method of ethics instruction used. Additionally, a longitudinal study to measure growth in moral decision-making skills during a four-year undergraduate engineering program is planned

Understanding Learners\u27 Motivation through Machine Learning Analysis on Reflection Writing

Educational data mining (EDM) is an emerging interdisciplinary field that utilizes a machine learning (ML) algorithm to collect and analyze educational data, aiming to better predict students\u27 performance and retention. In this WIP paper, we report our methodology and preliminary results from utilizing a ML program to assess students’ motivation through their upper-division years in the XYZ project-based learning (PBL) program. ML, or more specifically, the clustering algorithm, opens the door to processing large amounts of student-written artifacts, such as reflection journals, project reports, and written assignments, and then identifies keywords that signal their levels of motivation (i.e., extrinsic vs. intrinsic). These results will be compared against other measures of motivation, including student self-report, faculty observation, and externally validated surveys. As part of a longer-term study, this pilot work sheds light on the key question for student success and retention: how does student motivation evolve through the 3rd and 4th years in college? The purpose of this research project is to gain insights into learners’ motivation levels and how it evolves during the last two years in college, as well as to extend current Educational Data Mining research and Machine Learning analysis described in the literature. It is significant on two fronts: 1) we will extend the ability of ML in analyzing reflective written artifacts to explore student physiological and emotional development; 2) the longitudinal study will help monitor the progressive change of motivation in college students in a PBL environment. Preliminary results from an initial pilot study are promising. By analyzing written reflection journal entries from previous students, the ML algorithm has differentiated keywords into three student motivation levels: “high”, “neutral” and “low”. Using supervised classes, for example, the ML algorithm differentiated words in the highly motivated student text such as “team” and “learning”, while the text coded as low motivation included “use”, “pushed” and “nothing”. For our future research, we aim to create a dictionary that identifies words/phrases related to positive/negative motivation. We will extend the pilot study to a longitudinal evaluation of student motivation over four semesters of engineering education as well as prediction of student success in a PBL environment

2018 Scholars at Work Conference Program

Program for the 2018 Scholars at Work Conference at Minnesota State University, Mankato on March 30, 2018

2019 Scholars at Work Conference Program

Program for the 2019 Scholars at Work Conference at Minnesota State University, Mankato on March 29, 2019