Date of Award:

12-2025

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department:

Engineering Education

Committee Chair(s)

Oenardi Lawanto (Chair), Angela Minichiello (Co-chair)

Committee

Oenardi Lawanto

Committee

Angela Minichiello

Committee

Cassandra McCall

Committee

Wade Goodridge

Committee

Assad Iqbal

Abstract

Cognitive and motivational factors play an important role in students’ engagement during problem-solving, which can lead to academic and professional success. Among these factors, Need for cognitive closure (NFCC) and achievement goal orientation (AGO) have been studied extensively individually, but their interaction and impact on engineering students’ problem-solving is still not explored. NFCC refers to the person’s desire for quick answers, and AGO is the student’s approach to learning and success. This research investigated the impact of NFCC on gender and engineering major, and the relation between NFCC (five facets) and AGO (Mastery, Performance) at their different levels. Additionally, this research also analyzed the engagement pattern and problem-solving behavior of students with different levels of NFCC and AGO.

In the first phase of this mixed-method study, engineering students completed surveys measuring their NFCC and AGO. The survey data were used to identify if there is a difference in the NFCC approach between men and women, and also based on the engineering major. In the second phase, 8 participants were selected based on their NFCC and AGO profiles for the problem-solving activity. The entire process was recorded and analyzed later to understand the engagement and problem-solving behavior of the participants with different profiles of NFCC(Low/high) and AGO (Performance or Mastery).

The results of this research have shown that there is no difference in students’ desire for quick answers across most genders, and NFCC and AGO are related to each other based on their levels only. The engagement pattern of students with different profiles of NFCC and AGO showed the dominance of AGO with mastery and performance goal orientation. This means if the person is having either high or low NFCC and Mastery goal orientation, their engagement behavior will be defined by their Mastery goal orientation, i.e., their approach to problem solving will be based on learning rather than competing with others. Students halt their NFCC behavior and align their engagement in problem solving with their goal orientation. These findings help educators better understand how to support diverse learners and promote deeper thinking in engineering classrooms.

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