Susan Amato-Henderson

Measuring Sisu: Development of a Tool to Measure Mental Toughness in Academia

Sisu is a Finnish term loosely translated as endurance or resilience in the face of adversity. In the athletic arena, the construct of Mental Toughness (MT) similarly describes the ability of some top athletes to overcome challenge and persist. We sought to measure sisu, or mental toughness, within an academic context in an effort to understand if mental toughness may be one of the missing puzzle pieces in understanding individual differences in persistence in STEM majors and careers. Exploratory factor analysis yielded similar constructs underlying academic MT as compared to athletic MT. This preliminary research provides the first step in creating a reliable and valid tool to assess MT in academics. Further research establishing the reliability and validity of this construct is warranted given the finding that several MT factor correlations with academic self- efficacy existed. We believe the ability to identify and quantify one’s MT will serve as an important variable in understanding individual differences in challenging situations.

Work in progress — Refining a technical communication rubric for first-year engineering instructors

At Michigan Technological University, we offer approximately 23 sections of first-year engineering courses (ENG1001, ENG1101, and ENG1102) every fall semester. For course assessment and accreditation reporting, it is important to have a reliable metric of student performance. Perhaps even more important is for this metric to produce comparable results when used by different instructors. The authors began by reviewing the reliability of a rubric developed by Washington State University. For our courses, this rubric was not applicable for all assignments and not reliable between instructors teaching different sections of the same course. Therefore, the rubric was modified to reduce inconsistencies in grading between different instructors and standardize it so that the same rubric could be used for first-year engineering technical communication assignments. This paper focuses on the process of adapting and evaluating a technical communication rubric for use with multiple instructors and assignments. Our process for developing, refining and using a common rubric will be discussed as well as the challenges encountered and the modifications required making it an effective tool for course assessment.

Exploring the Future of Human Factors Education: Online Learning, MOOCs, Next Generation Standards, and the Technological Skills We Need to Impart

The objective of this panel was to examine how the future of human factors education is changing given the influx of technology, a push for online learning, and adapting to the changing market. The panel will begin by Heather Lum briefly giving an overview and the precipice for this discussion panel. The panelists will provide their views and experiences regarding this topic. Kelly Steelman will discuss the potential for MOOCs and other online formats to create faster and more flexible postgraduate programs. Christina Frederick will discuss her perspectives on the technological skills we should be equipping our human factors graduates with to be successful. Nathan Sonnenfeld will give his unique take on this as a graduate student currently obtaining a human factors education. Susan Amato-Henderson will discuss the Next Generation Science Standards and the ramifications for educators. Lastly, Thomas Smith will focus on the advantages and disadvantages of online learning at the K-12 level. Dr. Lum will foster discussion among the panelists and questions from the general audience. Discussion time: 90 minutes.