Author(s):
A Study of Tolerance of Ambiguity, Engineering Identity, and Intellectual Mental Models of Undergraduate StudentsM. Javed Khan, Ph.D. and Chadia A. Aji, Ph.D.Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, ALThe primary objective of education is to develop the critical thinking skills of students so that they can use their knowledge and skills in real life to solve problems hitherto unsolved. Critical thinking is a process of solving problems through “conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating” relevant information (www.criticalthinking.org). Recognizing relevant information and identifying dependencies are essential elements of critical thinking. The process of critical thinking becomes intellectually more demanding if the dependencies between various pieces of information are either ill-defined or not defined. The real-life problem space spans the spectrum of full information about the variables, to a probabilistic understanding of the relations to no knowledge of the dependencies. In other words, the problem space spans the ambiguity spectrum. The engineering problem space is ambiguous insofar availability of information and relationships between the various variables. The learning environment typically reinforces a dualistic intellectual mental model in which students strive to respond to problems posed to them which in their understanding would satisfy the instructor, thus limiting their search for innovative solutions. Students are usually averse to solving problems that have incomplete information that is they have intolerance of ambiguity. This intolerance of ambiguity can lead to poor academic performance and persistence. Additionally, one determinant of retention is the engineering identity of the students. The study was guided by the overarching objective of understanding the impact of curriculum on the preparation of undergraduate engineering students to function effectively in an ambiguous problem space and be able to develop innovative solutions. We report the results of a study conducted at an HBCU which measured the tolerance of ambiguity, intellectual mental model in the sense of Perry, and engineering identity of undergraduate engineering students. A comparison was also made with non-engineering students. Validated survey instruments for use in the study. The research question that guided our study was: How do duration of stay in college, and gender impact tolerance of ambiguity, intellectual mental models, and engineering identity? The analysis of the tolerance of ambiguity survey indicated that on average there was not much difference in the correct responses between freshmen and graduating seniors. The less than 50% average of the correct answers to the survey signifies an opportunity to design curricular materials and the learning environment to enhance the students’ tolerance of ambiguity. The engineering identity survey identified that freshmen students felt that their instructors did not recognize them as engineers. This observation indicates that instructors can proactively improve students’ perception of professional recognition by faculty. The understanding gleaned from analyses of the data can guide undergraduate curriculum development, assist in identifying strategies for increasing retention and strengthening innovative thinking, and skills to function in an ambiguous problem space. Grant# 1832041
Coauthors
Chadia A. Aji, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088
