Enhanced Learning in Undergraduate Education: A Research Communications Studio Model

本科教育中的强化学习：研究传播工作室模式

• 批准号: 0212244
• 负责人: Michael Matthews
• 金额: $ 37.5万
• 依托单位: University South Carolina Research Foundation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2002-08-15 至 2006-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0212244&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Enhanced; Learning; Undergraduate; Education; Research

Objectives and Methods: The objectives of this project are to develop and to critically assess a novel Research Communications Studio model that is designed to improve learning, retention, and diversity of undergraduate engineering students. The project will provide much-needed data on how student learning is enhanced via hands-on research and interactions that take place within the studio group. In the Research Communications Studio (RCS), small groups of three to five undergraduate students, who are working on research with an engineering faculty, will meet under the mentorship of communications faculty and engineering graduate students. To ensure full integration of the model into the colleges program of research and instruction, the project will provide orientation for faculty/research directors and training for graduate student mentors. The RCS model focuses strongly on the students communications tasks, as assigned by their research directors. The RCS project emphasizes student participation in professional meetings where results of their undergraduate projects are presented. The studio enhances inquiry-based learning by making principles of research and communications explicit and by engaging students in reflection on those experiences. Assessment of the methodologies, results, and significance will be done by the South Carolina Office of Program Assessment. Assessment data will include measures of enrollment, persistence to graduation, interviews with faculty and students. Data will be collected for project participants as well as for a control group of non-participating undergraduate students.Intellectual Merit. The RCS project is predicated upon Vygotskian theories of guidedparticipation and distributed cognition, i.e. cognitive development of the engineering novice within groups or communities. The project explores three hypotheses related to the effect of studio methods of instruction on 1) quality of learning 2) retention and enrollment and 3) cognitive development and self-directed learning. The program evaluation component will furnish data to test the three hypotheses and the overall effectiveness of the RCS model, especially the use of communications, in cognitive development through research-based learning. The interdisciplinary project team includes engineering, communications, and education professionals. Their expertise spans chemical, electrical, and mechanical engineering, rhetoric, educational psychology, and interactive methods of teaching professional communications. Broader impacts. In an effort to recruit and retain more, and more diverse, undergraduate students, engineering colleges in research-intensive universities are expanding opportunities for undergraduates to conduct research with a faculty members group. However, better understanding of student cognitive development from this project is urgently needed to identify modes of mentoring and instruction that are effective in improving student learning, retention, and performance. Collaboration with the South Carolina Alliance for Minority Participation is designed to promote research participation by underrepresented minorities, and to provide data on whether minority performance and retention is improved via the RCS. The proposed RCS implementation plan conforms to the situations and constraints typical of a state-supported, research intensive engineering college. It should therefore be widely adaptable. Dissemination of results from the RCS project will occur in a variety of methods, most notably through two national workshops planned for years three and five.

目的和方法：该项目的目标是开发和批判性地评估一种新的研究通信工作室模型，旨在提高本科工程专业学生的学习，保留和多样性。该项目将提供急需的数据，说明如何通过实践研究和工作室小组内的互动来增强学生的学习。在研究通信工作室（RCS），三到五个本科生小组，谁是研究工作与工程学院，将满足通信教师和工程研究生的指导下。为了确保该模式充分融入学院的研究和教学计划，该项目将为教师/研究主任提供指导，并为研究生导师提供培训。 RCS模型强烈关注学生的通信任务，由他们的研究主任分配。RCS项目强调学生参与专业会议，展示他们的本科项目结果。该工作室通过明确研究和交流的原则，并让学生参与对这些经验的反思，加强了基于探究的学习。方法、结果和意义的评估将由南卡罗来纳州项目评估办公室完成。评估数据将包括入学措施，坚持到毕业，与教师和学生的采访。 将收集项目参与者以及未参与的本科生对照组的数据。RCS项目基于Vygotskian的指导参与和分布式认知理论，即群体或社区内工程新手的认知发展。该项目探讨了与工作室教学方法对1）学习质量，2）保留和注册以及3）认知发展和自我导向学习的影响有关的三个假设。计划评估部分将提供数据来测试三个假设和RCS模型的整体有效性，特别是通信的使用，通过研究性学习的认知发展。 跨学科项目团队包括工程，通信和教育专业人士。他们的专业知识涵盖化学，电气和机械工程，修辞学，教育心理学和教学专业通信的互动方法。 更广泛的影响。为了招募和留住更多、更多样化的本科生，研究型大学的工程学院正在扩大本科生与教师小组进行研究的机会。然而，更好地了解学生的认知发展，从这个项目是迫切需要确定的指导和教学模式，有效地提高学生的学习，保留和性能。与南卡罗来纳州少数民族参与联盟的合作旨在促进代表性不足的少数民族参与研究，并提供有关少数民族的表现和保留是否通过RCS得到改善的数据。建议的RCS实施计划符合典型的国家支持，研究密集型工程学院的情况和限制。因此，它应该具有广泛的适应性。将以各种方法传播登记册系统项目的成果，最主要的是通过计划在第三年和第五年举办的两次国家讲习班。