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Understanding Interrelated Growth Mind-set and Academic Participation & Performance

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Conference

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Tampa, Florida

Publication Date

June 15, 2019

Start Date

June 15, 2019

End Date

June 19, 2019

Conference Session

ERM Technical Session 13: Student Learning and Contexts

Tagged Division

Educational Research and Methods

Page Count

8

DOI

10.18260/1-2--33479

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/33479

Download Count

446

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Paper Authors

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Ziang Xiao University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

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Ziang Xiao is a PhD student from the computer science department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His primary research interest is in human-computer interaction.

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Shiliang Zuo

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Jinhao Zhao Tsinghua University

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Wai-Tat Fu University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

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Wai-Tat Fu is an associate professor of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). His research focuses on applying theories of cognitive science and human-computer interaction techniques to education. Wai-Tat Fu is the Associate Editor of the ACM Transactions on Intelligent Interactive Systems (TiiS) and the Topics in Cognitive Science journal. He is m the program chair of ACM IUI (Intelligent User Interfaces) 2017, and the general chair of ACM IUI 2019.

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Molly H. Goldstein University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-2382-4745

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Molly H. Goldstein is Senior Lecturer in the Industrial and Systems Engineering & Design at the University of Illinois. She earned her B.S. in General Engineering (Systems Engineering & Design) and M.S. in Systems and Entrepreneurial Engineering from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Purdue University. Her research interests include design education research at K-16 levels.

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Michael L. Philpott University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

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Julia Laystrom-Woodard University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

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Marcia Pool University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

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Dr. Marcia Pool is a Teaching Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Programs in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). She has been active in improving undergraduate education including developing laboratories to enhance experimental design skills and mentoring and guiding student teams through the capstone design and a translational course following capstone design. In her Director role, she works closely with the departmental leadership to manage the undergraduate program including: developing course offering plan, chairing the undergraduate curriculum committee, reviewing and approving course articulations for study abroad, serving as Chief Advisor, and representing the department at the college level meetings. She is also engaged with college recruiting and outreach; she coordinates three summer experiences for high school students visiting Bioengineering and co-coordinates a weeklong Bioengineering summer camp. She has worked with the Cancer Scholars Program since its inception and has supported events for researcHStart. Most recently, she was selected to be an Education Innovation Fellow (EIF) for the Academy for Excellence in Engineering Education (AE3) at UIUC. At the national level, she served as the Executive Director of the biomedical engineering honor society, Alpha Eta Mu Beta (2011-2017) and is an ABET evaluator (2018-present).

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Angela Wolters University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

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Director, Women in Engineering

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Brian S. Woodard University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

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Dr. Woodard received his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2011. His Aerospace research interests currently focus on the effects of icing on the aerodynamics of swept-wing aircraft. In engineering education, he is also interested in project-based learning and spatial visualization. He teaches courses at the University of Illinois where he serves as the Director of Undergraduate Programs for the Department of Aerospace Engineering.

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Abstract

Spatial Visualization skills is a key predictor of student’s academic performance in STEM classes, retention rate in STEM majors, and future career choice. Previous research focusing on students’ spatial visualizations skills has impacted educational practice, including the formation of targeted training to help students overcome difficulties in overall visualization skills. Research in developmental psychology shows individuals with the growth mindset are often more actively engaged in the training process and as such gain higher improvement in skills of study. However, students' mindsets in spatial visualization skills were rarely studied. To understand and describe the relationship between mindset and (1) willingness to participate in a skill-development workshop and (2) visualization skills growth, in this paper, we studied 490 students from three first-year engineering courses that heavily emphasized their spatial visualization skills. We assessed all students’ spatial visualization skills via the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Visualization of Rotations pre and post the course and collected their final course grades. We also collected survey regarding mindsets toward spatial visualization skills for all students (n = 289) who participated in the online workshop. Our results indicate 1) students who actively engaged in the training process reported having a high growth mindset, 2) having a growth mindset will bring better learning outcomes, and 3) mindset about spatial visualization skills is malleable. We believe our findings provide strong evidence for integrating growth mindset interventions in spatial visualization training programs that may benefit students academic performance in engineering education and future career.

Xiao, Z., & Zuo, S., & Zhao, J., & Fu, W., & Goldstein, M. H., & Philpott, M. L., & Laystrom-Woodard, J., & Pool, M., & Wolters, A., & Woodard, B. S. (2019, June), Understanding Interrelated Growth Mind-set and Academic Participation & Performance Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--33479

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