Leveraging the Collective Wisdom of a Network to Identify Behaviors Linked to Entrepreneurial Mindset (2025)
This paper will report on the results of a four-year project to identify a set of observable behaviors associated with an entrepreneurial mindset (EM) development. Design content is commonplace in engineering, from developing requirements, to analyzing solutions, to creating models or prototypes. However, simply going forth with a design process without pursuing an exploration for opportunity and without opening an eye for impact will probably not create the best value for users and society. Accordingly, engineering programs can prepare their students for a more successful career by embracing the practical orientations associated with EM – design, opportunity, and impact. By adding opportunity and impact to their design skills, students can apply creative thinking to ambiguous problems, convey engineering solutions in terms of value, evaluate technical feasibility, and understand the motivations and perspectives of team members and stakeholders. However, mindsets of any kind are challenging to assess. We hypothesize that behaviors provide an opportunity to observe the translation of mindsets into actions and that observing these behaviors, in turn, allows for assessing EM development.
The novelty of the approach described here is that the investigators took deliberate steps to crowd-source wisdom across over 50 Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) institutions as the best means to provide the clarity and support requested by many within the Network. As part of this effort, all partner institutions within the Network were consulted through in-person visits, presentations at KEEN National Conferences, and partner surveys to craft an initial set of indicators of observable EM-specific behaviors. This set was then reviewed by experts from 38 network institutions using a three-round Delphi process (a well-established, structured approach) to identify consensus on a preliminary list of observable behaviors, which the authors finalized into a list of eight behaviors. These results not only provide a framework for researchers to develop and identify tools that measure these key observable EM-specific behaviors but also have the potential to inspire new approaches and initiatives in engineering education, thereby contributing to the transformative impact of the research.
An Initiative in Student Learning Outcome Assessment for Education Abroad (2021)
This chapter reports on an initiative at San Diego State University (SDSU) to assess the quality of short-term and mid-length education abroad programs following the decision to double the annual number of students it sends abroad. The assessment used student learning outcomes as measured by scores on the Global Perspective Inventory (GPI). The GPI uses survey questions across six scales to indirectly assess student gains along cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal dimensions of human development. Student outcome assessment was undertaken for all SDSU education abroad participants in 2016–2017 (n = 935). Using a quasi-experimental design involving pre–post format, the authors compared the results to those of a group of SDSU students who did not go abroad (n = 854). Responses were analyzed only if students completed both pre-and post-tests. Paired t-tests determined the statistically significant changes between the pre- and post-test scores. Students who studied abroad (n = 372) were found to have statistically significant growth on five of the six GPI scales. Students in short-term and mid-length programs showed statistically significant growth on three of the six GPI scales: knowledge, identity, and affect. In addition, students in mid-length programs showed statistically significant growth on the Social Responsibility Scale and the Social Interactions Scale. Students in the comparison group (n = 134) showed no significant growth on any of the six GPI scales. Moreover, students in the comparison group showed losses on the Knowing Scale and Affect Scale. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications for improving assessment.
Diverse Students’ Mental Health: Influences of Civic Learning Dimensions of Campus Climate (2019)
It is important to understand how students’ perceptions influence their mental health. We explored how perceptions of civic learning dimensions of campus climates interacted with race/ethnicity to affect the mental health of Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White college students. Findings indicate that mental health was not significantly different across institution or race/ethnicity group. Ethical and moral reasoning was the only climate factor that was a significant, positive predictor of mental health across groups.
Increasing Student Awareness and Understanding of Food Security by Integrating a Service-learning Project into an Undergraduate Hydroponic Food Production Course (2018)
Food security is a growing global concern. To meet the needs of an ever-growing population, food production practices will need to evolve to maximize food quantity and quality. Controlled-environment food production has increased significantly in the United States over the past 5 years, and a component of that production includes hydroponic food crops. In an effort to better prepare a workforce with knowledge of hydroponic crop production, a new course was added to an existing greenhouse curriculum. A service-learning project was integrated in the course that allowed students to experience both growing crops hydroponically and volunteering at a local food bank with a free meal program. Self-assessment showed a significant increase in student confidence in understanding food security by the end of the course. There was also a significant knowledge gained in defining terminology, factors, and the impact of food security in a community. The three guided reflections students completed during the course identified four common themes relative to the course content and service-learning project including the following: community benefits, value of volunteering, local and global effects of food insecurity, and personal growth.
Predicting and Assessing College Students’ Mental Health (2016)
Concerns about college students’ mental health have prompted attention in recent years. Studies have shown that mental health problems can negatively influence academic performance. Fortunately, positive mental health can serve as a buffer against mental health problems. Integrating a focus on mental health into policies and practices can enhance the educational environment. Not only can policies, practices, and campus community members influence campus climates, but also campus climates can encourage mental health. This dissertation makes two broad contributions to the literature. First, it examines perceptions of campus climates that support civic learning and their influence on mental health. It also explores whether the relationship between campus climates and mental health vary by race or ethnicity. Second, it explores the factor structure of mental health for college students, an area seldom examined despite increasing emphasis on mental health.
Findings indicated that mental health was not different for students in the sample and that the institution a student attended had little influence on mental health. Perceived campus climates related to ethical and moral reasoning, perspective taking, and contributing to a larger community were significant predictors of mental health for many students. Findings indicated that a bi-factor structure of mental health provided the best fit for the data. The broad Mental Health factor accounted for most of the variance, thus making it the most reliable measure. The specific emotional, social, and psychological well-being factors minimally contributed.
Academic Coaching and Self-Regulation: Promoting the Success of Students with Disabilities (2016)
The increasing number of students with disabilities enrolling in postsecondary education, and the variety of these disabilities, challenges higher education institutions to meet the unique needs of these students. Academic coaching has been found to be effective in enhancing student success and is one approach that can help meet the needs of students with disabilities. This paper describes an academic coaching model for students with disabilities, discusses the theoretical foundations on which the model was developed, and summarizes the results of an assessment of the program.
Improving Student Outcomes of Community-Based Programs Through Peer-to-Peer Conversations (2016)
The authors used the Personal and Social Responsibility Inventory (PSRI), a nationally available campus climate assessment, for this study. The PSRI, which assesses individual students' behavior and perceptions of campus climate related to civic learning in higher education, was developed in 2006 as part of the Core Commitments Initiative of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (Dey, Barnhardt, Antonaros, Ott, & Holsapple, 2009). The authors used used data from 12,745 undergraduate students (50% White, 66% female, and 35% college senior) at 19 colleges and universities to answer two primary research questions, each comprising two parts: (1) How does participation in community based programs (CBP) and engaging in meaningful peer-to-peer discussion affect (a) perceptions of the importance of contributing to a larger community, and (b) development of personal and social responsibility? (2) Do meaningful discussions mediate the effect of CBP on (a) perceptions of the importance of contributing to a larger community, and (b) development of personal and social responsibility? Students who reported more participation in CBP, regardless of whether the CBP was connected to a course, also reported more positive assessments of the importance of contributing to community and greater development of personal and social responsibility. Findings indicate that educators should consider how they could intentionally infuse meaningful peer-to-peer discussions into CBP and related experiences. These findings suggest that educators should remove obstacles to peer-to-peer discussions. Welcoming spaces, where students feel comfortable engaging in conversation, aid in meaningful discussions and allow students to converse, construct meaning, and create knowledge.
Perceptions of Campus Climates for Civic Learning as Predictors of College Students’ Mental Health (2016)
This study explored whether three broad areas promoted students’ mental health: perceptions of the climate related to civic learning, experiences on campus, and civic engagement. Campus climates for civic learning including the development of ethical and moral reasoning and the importance of contributing to community were the strongest predictors of students’ mental health scores. Additional predictors included experiences that develop skills to change society for the better, and a well-developed ability to consider ethical and moral consequences of actions. Civic engagement through participation in community service was a significant, although weak, predictor.
Climate for Learning and Students’ Openness to Diversity and Challenge: A Critical Role for Faculty (2016)
Utilizing data from 15 institutions that participated in the 2013 and 2014 administrations of the Personal and Social Responsibility Inventory (PSRI), this study employed a multilevel modeling approach to examine the relationship of students’ perceptions of their climate for learning to their scores on the Openness to Diversity and Challenge Scale (ODC). Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s process-person-context-time (PPCT) model of student environments, we found that a climate for learning perceived as valuing a wide range of ideas and perspectives and including faculty advocacy for the respect of diverse ideas and points of view is positively related to students’ openness to diversity and challenge.
Developing and Using Dashboard Indicators in Student Affairs Assessment (2013)
Dashboard systems are increasingly popular as assessment and performance management tools in higher education. This chapter examines the use of dashboards in student affairs, including examples of key indicators and considerations for developing and implementing these tools.
Measuring Campus Climate for Personal and Social Responsibility (2013)
Understanding institutional climate enhances decision-making capacity when planning new programs and improving learning environments on college campuses. This chapter defines climate, discusses the purpose and advantages of climate assessment, and identifies important factors to consider in planning and conducting a personal and social responsibility climate assessment, using the Personal and Social Responsibility Inventory as an example.