I´m absolutely certain that´s probably true: Exploring epistemologies of sophomore engineering students

Changes in students´ personal epistemology are especially important for engineering educators to examine because they may affect the way students learn and their ability to adapt to engineering education learning environments and culture. Despite the large amount of theoretical research that has been done concerning students´ conceptual change, little research has been done concerning their epistemological change. This study is a preliminary effort in identifying students´ beliefs about knowledge and their effect on learning and successful comprehension of engineering concepts. The cohort consisted of 10 Civil Engineering students in a sophomore level Statics class, and each student participated in a 90-minute interview. The questions were based around an epistemological framework currently in development, which includes six separate dimensions but allows for examination of the ties between the dimensions. Analysis was completed in multiple stages, and involved two researchers co-coding for inter-relater reliability. Most students viewed knowledge as very simple, certain and objective. However, many students felt that different people had different knowledge of statics because of their different backgrounds and learning. These beliefs may be leveraged to support pedagogical practices of proven effectiveness such as peer-tutoring or other active learning methods.