Engineering students' development as lifelong learners

Abstract

It is widely accepted that one goal of higher education is to instill in students the need for and the practice of lifelong learning. Given its importance, it is surprising that there is a paucity of methods to assess this outcome in students. Two recently developed assessment instruments purport to measure various facets of this outcome in college students. We used these instruments to assess differences between engineering students at a large, public university in the western United States. Engineering students from the first through senior year of study in a variety of disciplines were surveyed using both instruments. The sample (n=356) also included a fair representation by females and minority groups. Analysis of variance was used to assess for differences between the various subgroups of students. The results based on the survey for measuring lifelong learning skills showed that there were several differences between student populations. In comparing between racial or ethnic groups, Asians self-reported lower abilities with "application of knowledge and skills," and "adaptable learning strategies." When students were compared based on their year of study, a significant difference was found between the firstyear and senior students, and between second-year and senior students, with the seniors reporting higher abilities in "adaptable learning strategies." The results based on the survey for measuring autonomy of learning showed significant differences between Asian students and other racial or ethnic groups, with Asian students consistently self-reporting weaker scores on both subscales of "independence of learning" and "study habits". Finally, male students held a higher self-belief in independence of learning compared with female students. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2013.