Studying Underlying Characteristics of Computing and Engineering Student Success (SUCCESS)
I was a statistical consultant research assistant on the SUCCESS project, a collaboration between Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Purdue University. In this role, I analyzed survey data on non-cognitive competencies in engineering students as predictors of academic success using R, communicated statistical results to non-statisticians, and contributed to the following three conference papers:
Self, B. P., Landy, J., Widmann, J. M., Chen, J., Kerfs, M. (2021, July), The Mechanics of SUCCESS: How Non-Cognitive and Affective Factors Relate to Academic Performance in Engineering Mechanics Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. https://strategy.asee.org/37876
This paper investigates how non-cognitive and affective (NCA) competencies (e.g. motivation, grit, belongingness, etc.) can better predict academic success in engineering, as measured by students grades in introductory physics, statics, and dynamics. I performed the analyses and wrote the methods, results, and discussion sections.
Chen, J., Landy, J. M., Scheidt, M., Major, J. C., Ge, J., Chambers, C. E., Grigorian, C., Kerfs, M., Berger, E. J., Godwin, A., Self, B. P., Widmann, J. M. (2020, June), Learning in Clusters: Exploring the Association Between Noncognitive and Affective Profiles of Engineering Students and Academic Performance Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. https://peer.asee.org/34901, DOI: 10.18260/1-2-34901
This paper investigates clustering students by their non-cognitive and affective (NCA) competencies and how academic success and retention differs between these groups. I performed the analyses and wrote the results section.
Widmann, J., Self, B., Chen, J., Chambers, C., Kusakabe, K., Landy, J., Berger, E., Ge, J., Godwin, J., and Scheidt, M. (2019, July), Academic SUCCESS: An Analysis of How Non-Cognitive Profiles Vary by Discipline for Engineering and Computer Science Students. Paper presented at 2019 Research in Engineering Education Symposium. https://www.sasee.org.za/wp-content/uploads/REES-2019-proceedings.pdf, pages 540 - 548.
The paper looks at how non-cognative and affective competencies differ between students of different years. I administered surveys and wrote the methods section.
Advised by Jim Widmann, PhD
Mechanical Engineering Department, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo