Well, you heard it right, the reason for failure in college is that engineering students lack motivation, not intelligence!
I’ve come across this Reddit thread about several engineering students who are worried about getting their first B, which prevented them to become the valedictorians in their uni. In the thread posted last year, most of them doubted themselves because of their grades, and also because others already appeared to be smarter than them.
Among several student engineering problems that I read… and 700 comments posted… this one comment from an MIT grad captured my attention.
He shared the same struggle and inadequacy when he entered Cambridge. Cal Newport’s Study Hacks Blog reproduced essential points that the commenter posted that will strike as a good tip for engineering students as well:
The people who fail to graduate from MIT, fail because they come in, encounter problems that are harder than anything they’ve had to do before, and not knowing how to look for help or how to go about wrestling those problems, burn out.
The students who are successful, by contrast, look at that challenge, wrestle with feelings of inadequacy and stupidity, and then begin to take steps hiking that mountain, knowing that bruised pride is a small price to pay for getting to see the view from the top. They ask for help, they acknowledge their inadequacies.
They don’t blame their lack of intelligence, they blame their lack of motivation.
During my freshman year, I almost failed out of differential equations. I was able to recover and go on to be very successful in my studies.
When I was a senior, I would sit down with the freshmen in my dorm and show them the same things that had been shown to me, and I would watch them struggle with the same feelings, and overcome them.
By the time I graduated MIT, I had become the person I looked up to when I first got in.
You feel like you are burnt out or that you are on the verge of burning out, but in reality you are on the verge of deciding whether or not you will burn out. It’s scary to acknowledge that it’s a decision because it puts the onus on you to to do something about it, but it’s empowering because it means there is something you can do about it.
So do it.
What this MIT graduate shared can be a wake-up call for engineering students who are failing their subjects because they claim that they are “dumb enough” or “not good enough” to be in engineering.
When actually, intelligence can be worked on – it is the drive to learn engineering that is essential for every engineering student and not the requisite intelligence that others claim they need.
Of course, engineering students need intelligence to be able to graduate in engineering; but to be able to get to the higher level of intelligence required for an engineer, you need the motivation to pursue your dream.
Being able to decide that you will succeed in engineering college is a mindset you cannot lose along the way.
Motivation is a critical component whenever an engineering student, or any student at that, feels challenged and more so, beaten.
When you are overwhelmed with failure and you can’t seem to stand up, all it takes for you to rise again is to repeatedly say to yourself, “I can do it.”
In recent years, there has been a growing concern over the declining levels of student motivation and engagement in schools. A number of studies have shown that students’ lack of motivation is not due to their lack of intelligence but to their lack of engagement in meaningful learning experiences.
In order to improve student motivation, schools need to focus on creating a more engaging learning environment.
Why engineering students don’t have enough motivation?
Engineering students do not have enough motivation. This is not because they are unintelligent, but because they lack the proper motivation. Schools and parents need to find ways to motivate these students in order for them to succeed in their field of study.
Students are not motivated to learn because they do not see any value in the work they are doing. The following quote from an engineering student, “I just don’t have any motivation for this class. When students do not have enough motivation, they may be more likely to give up.
This can cause them to feel discouraged and eventually drop out of engineering. Students who have the proper motivation are motivated by their desire to help others and understand a topic that is challenging for them.
Engineering students are often thought of as being some of the smartest people around. But a recent study found that the biggest challenge for these students isn’t intelligence, it’s motivation.
Engineering Students Lack Motivation:
The study, which was published in the journal Learning and Instruction, surveyed over 1,500 students from around the world and found that motivation was a bigger challenge than intelligence. Many engineering students come to college with a desire to do well but are not as motivated as they could be.
According to the study, only five percent of the students surveyed said they were motivated to do their best.
Engineering Students Lack Motivation: What are the Causes?
There are a number of different reasons why engineering students lose motivation. Some common causes include: feeling overwhelmed, struggling with coursework, and not having any role models or mentors.
Engineering students lack motivation to finish their bachelor’s degrees in many countries. There are various potential causes of this, including feeling overwhelmed and struggling with coursework, but the main reason is that they do not see the value in what they are doing.
The solution is not to change the students, but to change how we present engineering. We need to show them how their work can make a difference in the world and inspire them to become leaders in their field.
Engineering Students Lack Motivation: The Solutions
Engineering students lack motivation to study and complete their engineering coursework, according to a study by the University of Texas at Austin. The solution to this problem is not to give up on these students, but to find ways to help them regain their motivation.
Contrary to popular belief, these students are not unintelligent; they simply need help finding the motivation to study and learn.
There are a number of different things that educators and students can do to help restore motivation. One of the is to provide students with a system to track their time and assignments or have engineering students spend some time reflecting on their past experiences, especially those that they have found to be most meaningful.
