Assessing the Growth in Entrepreneurial Mind-set Acquired through Curricular and Extra-curricular Components
- Conference
- Location
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Tampa, Florida
- Publication Date
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June 15, 2019
- Start Date
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June 15, 2019
- End Date
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June 19, 2019
- Conference Session
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Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation Division Technical Session 7
- Tagged Division
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Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation
- Page Count
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17
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--31905
- Permanent URL
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https://strategy.asee.org/31905
- Download Count
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556
Paper Authors
Cheryl Q. Li University of New Haven
Cheryl Qing Li joined University of New Haven in the fall of 2011, where she is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Cheryl earned her first Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from National University of Singapore in 1997. She served as Assistant Professor and subsequently Associate Professor in Mechatronics Engineering at University of Adelaide, Australia, and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, respectively. In 2006, she resigned from her faculty job and came to Connecticut for family reunion. Throughout her academic career in Australia and Singapore, she had developed a very strong interest in learning psychology and educational measurement. She then opted for a second Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, specialized in Psychometrics at University of Connecticut. She earned her second Ph.D. in 2010.
Ronald S. Harichandran University of New Haven
Ron Harichandran is Dean of the Tagliatela College of Engineering and is the PI of four grants related to the development of an entrepreneurial mindset in students by utilizing integrated e-learning modules and experiential learning opportunities. Through these grant entrepreneurial thinking is being integrated into courses spanning all four years in seven ABET accredited engineering and computer science BS programs.
Nadiye O. Erdil University of New Haven
Nadiye O. Erdil, an assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering and engineering and operations management at the University of New Haven. She has over eleven years of experience in higher education and has held several academic positions including administrative appointments. She has experience in teaching at the undergraduate and the graduate level. In addition to her academic work, Dr. Erdil worked as an engineer in sheet metal manufacturing and pipe fabrication industry for five years. She holds B.S. in Computer Engineering, M.S. in Industrial Engineering. She received her Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Binghamton University (SUNY). Her background and research interests are in quality and productivity improvement using statistical tools, lean methods and use of information technology in operations management. Her work is primarily in manufacturing and healthcare delivery operations.
Maria-Isabel Carnasciali
University of New Haven
orcid.org/0000-0001-5887-0744
Maria-Isabel Carnasciali is Chair of the Engineering and Applied Science Education Department at the Tagliatela College of Engineering, University of New Haven, CT. She is also an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering. She obtained her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech. She received her Bachelors of Engineering from MIT. Her research focuses on the nontraditional engineering student – understanding their motivations, identity development, and impact of prior engineering-related experiences. Her work dwells into learning in informal settings such as summer camps, military experiences, and extra-curricular activities. Other research interests involve validation of CFD models for aerospace and industrial applications, as well as optimizing efficiency of thermal-fluid systems.
Jean Nocito-Gobel University of New Haven
Jean Nocito-Gobel, Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of New Haven, received her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has been actively involved in a number of educational initiatives in the Tagliatela College of Engineering including KEEN and PITCH, PI of the ASPIRE grant, and is the coordinator for the first-year Intro to Engineering course. Her professional interests include modeling the transport and fate of contaminants in groundwater and surface water systems, as well as engineering education reform.
Abstract
In an effort to develop an entrepreneurial mindset in our engineering students, the University of ____ has adopted both curricular and extra-curricular approaches. The curricular components include: 1. Several e-Learning modules covering specific entrepreneurial concepts integrated into the regular engineering and computer science curricula. Available online, each module contains readings, short videos, and self-assessment exercises. Students complete these self-paced modules outside of the classroom over a two-week period. Instructors normally engage students on the content of the module through online or in-class discussions and in-class contextual activities. 2. An elective course on business principles and entrepreneurship that incorporates four e-learning modules. The elective extra-curricular components include: 1. A 24-Hour Imagination Quest event held twice a year. 2. A Startup Weekend event held once a year. 3. A 10-day immersive design experience held once a year. 4. Events at other universities that some students participate in.
In order to measure the growth in students’ entrepreneurial mindset as a result of these curricular and extra-curricular components, a measurement instrument containing 37 items was developed. The survey was first administered to first-year students during the new student orientation in August 2014. An exploratory factor analysis was performed based on the data collected and a revised instrument with 50 items was developed subsequently. 25 items from the first version of the instrument were retained in the revised survey. Many of the first-year students who enrolled in fall 2014 graduated in May 2018 and the revised instrument was administered to them just before they left the university. We analyzed the responses of 25 students who took the surveys in 2014 and 2018 to the 25 items that were identical on both surveys.
The results of the analysis indicate that the students generally achieved significant growth in their entrepreneurial mindset. The growth is more obvious in the areas addressed by the e-learning modules integrated into the curricula. This result is very encouraging and indicates that the curricular and extra-curricular components are effective in developing an entrepreneurial mindset in engineering and computer science students.
Li, C. Q., & Harichandran, R. S., & Erdil, N. O., & Carnasciali, M., & Nocito-Gobel, J. (2019, June), Assessing the Growth in Entrepreneurial Mind-set Acquired through Curricular and Extra-curricular Components Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--31905
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