Understanding Student Attitudes in a Freshman Design Sequence* QAISER MALIK, MATTHEW J. KOEHLER, PUNYA MISHRA, NEERAJ BUCH, MICHAEL SHANBLATT, STEVEN J. PIERCE College of Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. E-mail: malikqai@msu.edu mkoehler@msu.edu punya@msu.edu buch@msu.edu mas@msu.edu pierces1@msu.edu Research has shown that students��� initial attitudes are key to understanding attrition in engineering programs. The College of Engineering at Michigan State University introduced a cornerstone design sequence in fall 2008 that provided an opportunity to study freshman attitudes towards engineering. We tested whether the new design sequence (DS) was more effective than the older traditional sequence (TS) at positively influencing freshman attitudes over the course of one semester. We collected attitude data twice, i.e., in the beginning and towards the end of fall 2008 semester, using the Pittsburgh Freshman Engineering Attitude Survey, and examined changes in attitude in the two groups with repeated analysis of covariance models. In fall 2008, 722 freshmen entered the College of Engineering. The analyses reported here include data from 389 of those students. We found that freshmen join the program with positive or strongly positive attitudes towards engineering. Those strong attitudes are durable and resistant to change. Students in the DS group had higher ACT scores, enjoyed math and science the most, and did not believe engineering to be an exact science. The DS and TS groups had similar longitudinal trajectories so there was no evidence for differential influence on student attitudes. Strongly positive initial attitudes coupled with insignificant changes in these attitudes could mean that one semester is insufficient to effect a measureable change. This quantitative study is a subset to the longitudinal study based on explanatory mixed methods design. The qualitative data collected in a follow up study (one-on- one interviews) may shed more light on the numerical results to further investigate the effectiveness of the freshman curriculum. Keywords: freshman design sequence freshman engineering freshman attitudes repeated measures analysis of covariance 1. INTRODUCTION CHALLENGING ENGINEERING EDUCA- TION has been a commonplace occurrence over the past two decades. Major concerns about recruitment and retention in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education surfaced in the mid-1980s. Decreasing retention of freshmen in STEM majors was identified by some research studies of large national samples at two��� and four-year institutions [1���3]. Approximately 34���40% of high school graduates who abandoned their intentions of entering STEM majors did so at or before college enrollment [4]. During college, 53% of the freshmen who started their academic program in engineering did not graduate with an engineering degree, and at least 50% of this attri- tion took place during the freshman year [5]. Clearly, the freshman year is critical for student success and retention in engineering programs [6]. The losses due to rising attrition rates are key issues for engineering educators. Considerable effort has been directed to examining the high attrition rates at engineering institutions in order to develop timely interventions [7]. Research suggests that both cognitive and affec- tive issues contribute to attrition among engineer- ing students. While cognitive issues in engineering education involve student knowledge and skills, affective issues relate to their attitudes toward engineering and confidence in their abilities to succeed. The initial attitudes and changes that take place in these attitudes during the freshman year affect student motivation, performance, and retention in engineering programs [8]. Studies have indicated that student attitudes are strongly corre- lated with their retention in the engineering programs [9]. For instance, a longitudinal study based on a large multi-institutional sample of freshmen found that the students who were most likely to choose engineering majors and complete degree requirements were those who held positive perceptions of engineering and had a measurable interest in science and technology [10]. The same study found that students who avoided engineering majors or dropped out of engineering were those who generally had a negative impression of engin- eering, lacked confidence in their abilities to complete the engineering program, and had little or no motivation to study science and mathe- * Accepted 16 April 2010. 1179 Int. J. Engng Ed. Vol. 26, No. 5, pp. 1179���1191, 2010 0949-149X/91 $3.00+0.00 Printed in Great Britain. # 2010 TEMPUS Publications.

matics. The study further found that students who left engineering in good academic standing had significantly different attitudes about engineering and themselves than those who stayed in engineer- ing and those who left engineering in poor academic standing. Students who left engineering in good standing liked engineering less when they began their program and had a lower appreciation of the engineering profession than the other students. This category of students also liked math and science less and had lower confidence in their ability to succeed in engineering [9]. Another longitudinal study conducted at seven major four-year institutions that contribute most to the national supply of STEM majors found that students who left engineering were not academi- cally different from those who stayed in engineer- ing and that retention was better correlated with their attitudes than with academic factors. They also found that switchers (those who changed to non-engineering majors) and non-switchers had similar educational experiences but the non- switchers made more effective use of the resources and strategies that enabled them to tolerate and overcome their difficulties [2]. These studies substantiate the argument that students��� initial attitudes toward engineering are key to understanding attrition in engineering programs. Accurately measuring students��� atti- tudes and changes in these attitudes over the course of the freshman year allows us to develop effective means to evaluate the engineering programs, to reduce attrition, and improve academic success [11]. Attitude strength may be an important element in this context. Social psychologists have identified several aspects of attitude strength, ranging from the depth of know- ledge possessed about an issue, to the extremity of personal attitude about the issue [12]. Despite so much variability in the conceptualization of this construct, researchers do agree that strong atti- tudes are ������resistant to change, persistent over time, and predictive of behavior������ [13]. Our literature review indicates that several en- gineering institutions in the US and abroad have conducted attitude related studies to better under- stand their students, to develop timely interven- tions, and to examine to what degree these interventions are meeting their desired goals and objectives [8, 10, 14, 15]. To effect a positive change in the students��� initial attitudes, one common and the most talked about intervention that many institutions have adopted is the intro- duction of design���oriented courses���also called cornerstone or freshman design sequence���in the freshman year. An early introduction of engineer- ing as a design���oriented discipline is hypothesized to significantly enhance student interest and moti- vation toward engineering [16]. Sheppard and Jenison provide a framework for exposing fresh- men to key design qualities and give specific examples of how engineering programs around the US revised their freshman curricula to include engineering design [17, 18]. A number of NSF Coalitions have developed valuable information on teaching freshman design courses to improve the undergraduate engineering curriculum [19]. Research shows that these courses significantly contribute to the progress in academic achieve- ment, create a stimulating environment for advanced cognitive development, and offer diverse experiential backgrounds and perspectives [20]. Based on the success of this type of intervention, some of the institutions have developed regression models to predict attrition and student success even before the students begin their programs. These models allow academic advisors to better inform students, especially those at high risk of attrition, of the opportunities that engineering offers, to develop tailor-made programs to suit varied student interests and to set more realistic retention goals for the institutions [21]. 1.1 Context for the study In line with current trends, the College of En- gineering at Michigan State University introduced a cornerstone design sequence in fall 2008. The course sequence was designed to provide freshmen with a broad introduction to the concepts of engineering design, the engineering profession, engineering ethics, engineering problem-solving skills, and teamwork skills. The new sequence comprised two freshman courses: EGR 100 (Intro- duction to Engineering Design) and EGR 102 (Introduction to Engineering Modeling). EGR 100 was an addition to the existing core course requirement for admission to an engineering major and was also a prerequisite for EGR 102. The broad goals of the new initiative were: (1) to attract top students to engineering programs and retain them (2) to better prepare graduates to adapt to a quickly and constantly changing global engin- eering workforce by appreciating the impor- tance of teamwork, project management, innovation, hands-on experience, ethics, career preparation, and professionalism (3) to see engineering as a broad field with many opportunities (4) to position engineering as a favored choice for prospective students and parents (5) to provide an opportunity for an early connec- tion with the college of engineering and its faculty (6) and most importantly, to effect an appreciable and positive change in freshman attitudes about engineering. The cornerstone design sequence aimed to achieve these objectives by raising the sense of community and fostering interaction centered on design projects anticipating the benefits of long, strong, and integrated technical education, paired with social and professional development [22]. This research study sought to examine the effects of the cornerstone design sequence on fresh- Q. Malik et al. 1180