Exploring Engineering Students’ Engagement Through Alignment of Values, Attitudes, and Beliefs

Contribution: The experiences of three students in a co-curricular project-based design experience are explored. The objective is to characterize authentic and inauthentic (performative) forms of engagement and its potential impact on learning within an authentic experience. We consider these cases in supporting an argument for extensive reflection to reinforce learning and to disrupt forms of engagement that may undermine students’ professional preparation. Background: This work is motivated to understand how students might bring inauthentic forms of engagement often found in the classroom to learning experiences that occur outside of classroom structures. Research Questions: Two research questions drive the methodological approach in this study: 1) What values, attitudes, and beliefs (VABs) do students express and display about a co-curricular project experience? and 2) What might students’ VABs tell us about the authenticity of their engagement? Methodology: Two forms of reflection—written reflections and mock job interviews—were analyzed using a VAB coding scheme. The alignment of students’ VABs with four facets of authenticity as defined in the literature is used as an interpretative lens for evaluating the authenticity of each students’ engagement. Findings: Analysis revealed three levels of engagement: 1) Jeff’s engagement appeared authentic and potentially transformative; 2) Adam’s engagement appears inauthentic and focused on a transactional experience; and 3) Lillian’s engagement appears to be mixed with potential to drive change in the future.