Work in progress - cognitive, affective and social factors contributing to the success in undergraduate computer science and engineering education

A three-year research project is proposed whose overall goal is to look at how cognitive, affective and social factors determine success for undergraduate students and how this varies across 1) major, 2) year of study, 3) campus culture (geographic location, size), 4) gender and 5) race. The proposed research will explore cognitive, affective and social factors that contribute to success in engineering education and computer science with one central question: How does the student's state of mind (mind-state) influence the physical process of learning which then can lead to academic success. Under investigation are the differences with mind-state in response to learning in engineering and computer science, and the relational images that explain the quality and quantity of bow the student respondents constructed success. Defining and implementing research measures for mind-state is a central part of this project. Quantitative, qualitative, medical, and projective methods will include samples that reflect variations in mind states reported by male and female participants, in mixed-sex and same sex environments, by race, by discipline and by major.