Longitudinal Study to Develop and Evaluate the Impacts of a “Transformational” Undergraduate ECE Design Program: Study Results and Best Practices Report

Abstract

Previous research identified influencers for transformative learning: critical awareness of culture, professional identity development, participation in communities of mentoring and learning, holistic skill integration through reflection, and development of professional integrity through affective awareness. To implement these Evidence-Based Instructional Practices (EBIPs), instructors at Oregon State University conducted a longitudinal study. Emancipatory Action Research (EAR) methodology was used to measure the effects of these influencers when integrated into a Capstone Design engineering program. The researchers found that both interventions did have significant impacts on students’ progression through a process of transformative learning because they reached a “crossroads of questioning.”