Encouraging intellectual growth: senior engineering student profiles

Over a two year period, nearly 200 first-year, junior, and senior students have participated in one-hour interviews designed to measure their intellectual development using the Perry model (1998). A Perry scheme expert rates these interviews producing a numerical intellectual development "score". From a sample of 27 seniors, seven had Perry ratings of 5 or higher. Ratings in this range indicate that students are able to sort through conflicting, ambiguous data and make informed choices between alternatives. This paper examines the profiles of these students to determine what classroom and co-curricular experiences influenced their intellectual growth.