Learning in clusters: Exploring the association between noncognitive and affective profiles of engineering students and academic performance

This research paper explores the role of non-cognitive and affective (NCA) factors in influencing student achievement and thriving. We have developed and deployed a survey with evidence of validity and reliability to measure 28 NCA factors from n=2339 undergraduates at 17 U.S. institutions. The factors examined include personality, grit, meaning and purpose, engineering identity, mindset, motivation, test anxiety, test and study environment, perceptions of faculty caring, self-control, stress, gratitude, mindfulness, and sense of belonging. The results from a previous cluster analysis identified four distinct clusters of students' NCA profiles, accounting for 69.0% of the sample. A second analysis indicated that membership within any of the four clusters was only weakly, if at all, associated with academic performance, as measured by self-reported, overall grade-point-average. In this study we explore this association in more detailed and nuanced ways to assess whether cluster membership is truly unassociated with academic performance.