Table 3-8 Description of categories coded during the pattern coding process.
Efficacy
Source
Emergent
Categories Description of Category
Technical Skill
Mastery
Success or failure performing an
engineering technical skill (e.g.
Mastery programming, problem-solving, etc.)
Experience Professional Skill
Mastery
Success/failure performing an
engineering professional skill (e.g.
teamwork, time management, etc.)
Modeling Witnessing (or hearing about) the
success of others in similar tasks
Camaraderie Experiencing camaraderie with peers
Comparison by
Contribution
Assessing success/failure based on
the degree to which contributions
could be made during teamwork
Comparison by
Amount
Assessing success/failure based on
amount of personal mastery
compared to the mastery of peers
Comparison by
Speed
Assessing success/failure based on
speed of personal performance
compared to speed of peers’
performance
Vicarious
Experience
Comparison by
Grade
Assessing success/failure based on
grades compared to grades of peers
Verbal Feedback Verbal feedback from family, peers,
or instructors
Nonverbal
Feedback
Nonverbal (e.g. body language,
actions, etc.) feedback from peers or
instructors
Verbal/Social
Persuasion
Course Policies
Perception that 106 instructors were
intending to send messages through
various course policies
Physiological State
Emotional responses to experiences
in the learning environment (e.g.
frustration with grading policies),
successes/failures (e.g. satisfaction
from writing a functional program, or
character traits such as being driven
or motivated