Abstract
As part of an investigation into the effects of curricular reforms in the undergraduate program in the College of Engineering, a series of Perry-style interviews were conducted over a 4-year period. The study was undertaken in an attempt to assess the impact of collaborative design-based engineering courses that were being implemented. Students who completed the collaborative design course in their first year were higher on the Perry scale than their peers who did not. However, this effect was not sustained through the rest of the curriculum, as more traditional courses dominated. No statistically significant change in Perry position was observed for students in their 1st and 3rd years; however, a growth of approximately one Perry position was observed between the 3rd and 4th years. The relationship of current curricula to this pattern of intellectual development is discussed, and arguments for altering the curriculum to support intellectual development are made.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
ABET. (1997). Engineering criteria 2000: Criteria for accrediting programs in engineering in the United States. ASEE Prism, 6(7), 41-42.
Augustine N. R. (1996). Rebuilding engineering education. Chronicle of Higher Education, 42(37), B1-B2.
Baxter-Magolda M. B. (1992). Knowing and reasoning in college: Gender-related patterns in students' intellectual development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Belenky M. F. (1997). Women's ways of knowing: The development of self, voice, and mind (10th anniversary ed.). New York: Basic Books.
Kallas M. N., Engel R., & Sathianathan D. (1996). Teaching design skill in the freshman engineering curriculum. Paper presented at the American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, DC.
Kloss R. J. (1994). A nudge is best: Helping students through the Perry scheme of intellectual development. College Teaching, 42(4), 151-158.
Marra R. M., Palmer B., & Litzinger T. A. (2000). The effects of a first-year engineering design course on student intellectual development as measured by the Perry scheme. Journal of Engineering Education, 89(1), 39-45.
NSF. (1996). Shaping the future: New expectations for undergraduate education in science, mathematics, engineering and technology (Report NSF 96–139). Washington, DC: Author.
Palmer B., Marra R. M., Wise J. C., & Litzinger T. A. (2000). A longitudinal study of intellectual development of engineering students: What really matters in our curriculum? Paper presented at the Frontiers in Education (FIE) Conference, Kansas City, MO.
Perry W. (1999). Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Wise J. C., Lee S., Litzinger T. A., Marra R. M., & Palmer B. (2001, June). Measuring cognitive change in engineering undergraduates: A longitudinal study. Paper presented at the American Society for Engineering Education Conference, Albuquerque, NM.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wise, J.C., Lee, S.H., Litzinger, T. et al. A Report on a Four-Year Longitudinal Study of Intellectual Development of Engineering Undergraduates. Journal of Adult Development 11, 103–110 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JADE.0000024543.83578.59
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JADE.0000024543.83578.59