Direct Assessment of Entrepreneurial Minded Learning Through Integrated E-Learning Modules

Entrepreneurial Minded Learning (EML) has a significant emphasis in engineering educationtoday. Several approaches have been used to assess the impact of various EML approaches. Many indirect assessment techniques have been used and a few direct assessment techniques have been developed. The work presented in this thesis investigates the effectiveness of two specific measurement methods to quantify entrepreneurial minded learning in students.The University of New Haven has adopted the approach of integrating e-learning modules on entrepreneurial topics and related contextual activities into courses as the primary approach of developing an entrepreneurial mindset (EM) in students. This study focuses on 4 of the 18 modules that were deployed at the University of New Haven during the fall 2017, spring 2018 and fall 2018 semesters.A conventional assessment technique based on the proportion of students achieving or exceeding a minimum performance threshold using instructor evaluations of learning outcomes is first investigated. By mapping the assessment outcomes for each e-learning module to KEEN Student Outcomes (KSOs) with appropriate weights, this conventional assessment approach is extended to assess student achievement of KSOs. An analysis methodology is proposed for determining whether the difference in the proportion of students at or above the threshold in two different course sections deploying the same e-learning module are statistically significant.A recently proposed EML Index is also used to assess student achievement of KSOs through the integrated e-learning modules. An analysis methodology is also proposed for determining whether the difference in the EML Index between two course sections deploying the same e-learning module are statistically significant.Finally, achievement of KSOs through students completing multiple integrated e-learning modules is assessed using both the conventional and EML Index approaches. The index has the advantage of being able to track the learning of each student completing multiple e-learning modules through different courses, as opposed to tracking performance in the aggregate. The index also provides a more reasonable quantification of student achievement of KSOs after completing multiple integrated e-learning modules.