The Effects of a Collaborative Problem-based Learning Experience on Students' Motivation in Engineering Capstone Courses

We identified and examined how the instructional elements of problem-based learning capstone engineering courses affected students’ motivation to engage in the courses. We employed a two-phase, sequential, explanatory, mixed methods research design. For the quantitative phase, 47 undergraduate stude...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInterdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning Vol. 7; no. 2; pp. 34 - 71
Main Authors Paretti, Marie C, Mokri, Parastou, Bryant, Lauren H, Epler, Cory M, Jones, Brett D
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Purdue University Press 16.05.2013
Subjects
Caring
Comparative Analysis
Competence
Curriculum
Empowerment
Engineering Education
Feedback (Response)
Group Activities
Likert Scales
Mixed Methods Research
Problem Based Learning
Questionnaires
Semi Structured Interviews
Student Interests
Student Motivation
Student Projects
Success
Undergraduate Students
United States (Mid Atlantic States)
Usability
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Summary:We identified and examined how the instructional elements of problem-based learning capstone engineering courses affected students’ motivation to engage in the courses. We employed a two-phase, sequential, explanatory, mixed methods research design. For the quantitative phase, 47 undergraduate students at a large public university completed a questionnaire that measured the components of the MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation (Jones, 2009): empowerment, usefulness, success, situational interest, individual interest, academic caring, and personal caring. For the qualitative phase that followed, 10 students answered questions related to the MUSIC components. We identified several instructional elements that led to motivating opportunities that affected students’ motivation to engage in the courses. We discuss how these motivating opportunities can foster or hinder students’ engagement and provide implications for instruction.
ISSN:1541-5015
1541-5015
DOI:10.7771/1541-5015.1344