Education Research Grant: A Multi-Metric Approach to Assess the Impact of STEM Instructional Multimedia on Undergraduate Teaching and Learning Outcomes

专家预测，在未来十年，50%的人才培训将通过基于多媒体的教学系统进行。多媒体案例研究已被假设，以帮助培养关键技能，雇主希望毕业生拥有，以成为良好的应用问题解决者，有效的决策者，熟练的技术分析师和协作团队成员在现实世界的情况下。LITEE小组是nsf赞助的一个项目，它在设计高质量的多媒体案例研究以用于工程课程方面做了开创性的努力。这些努力的成功在2003年夏天得到了国家科学基金的资助，以在信息技术（IT）教室中采用和实施LITEE多媒体案例研究。在过去七年，这项合作的重点是在资讯科技教室采用多媒体技术，并在合作的大学和不同学科之间推广该技术。在教室中越来越多地使用多媒体案例研究证明了这一趋势。尽管有这样的增长，但对多媒体案例研究影响的评估研究很少，关于实施技术和学生的最佳实践的知识也很少。学习成果仍然缺乏。拟议的三年研究和教育计划旨在确定和验证一系列措施，以分析如何通过使用多媒体案例研究来教授和学习现实世界的技术问题，从而提高学习成果。计划的研究将是博士论文的一个组成部分，将由pi共同主持。智力价值：结合两名在STEM多媒体技术方面广泛发表的pi的多学科团队，以及一名认知和行为科学家/专家的高级研究员，这个项目的一个关键智力价值是标准化一系列评估工具来评估教师的影响。教学和学生？运用多媒体案例研究的高级认知技能。更具体地说，这些评估工具将检查学生是否掌握了足够的技能组合，包括在多媒体案例研究中识别、整合、评估和相互关联概念的能力的提高，以及在给定的问题解决环境中执行适当决策的能力。评估矩阵还将用于衡量讲师和设计师在学术机构、工业和政府组织中使用它作为一种培训形式的好处。更广泛的影响：除了领导机构南方大学（SUBR）之外，其他三所合作大学将作为该项目的主要试验台。这项计划将影响2300名工程及资讯科技本科生。pi计划实施教师发展计划，培训来自合作大学和会议研讨会的100多名多学科教师。与LITEE小组合作，这些矩阵将在20个不同机构的工程教室中进一步传播，这些机构将实施LITEE材料。此外，pi ？与多媒体教育资源学习和在线教学（MERLOT）的紧密联系，一个国家科学基金会资助的项目，将提供一个平台，在组织的多个学科社区中提供更多的传播机会。此外，MERLOT在线存储库承载了大量高质量的科学、数学、工程和技术（SMET）学科的同行评审案例研究，预计这项研究的结果将促进这些资源的整合，以支持SMET教育。最后，项目？该研究的发现和最佳做法将通过南太平洋大学科学/数学教育系的博士论文和南太平洋大学教育学院的硕士论文进行传播。

Experts predict that 50% of personnel training in the coming decade will be delivered via multimedia-based instructional systems. Multimedia case studies have been hypothesized to help develop critical skills that employers expect graduates to have in order to become good applied problem solvers, effective decision makers, proficient technical analysts and collaborative team players in real-world situations. The LITEE group, an NSF-sponsored project, has pioneered efforts in designing quality multimedia case studies for use in engineering classes. Success with these efforts was further enhanced through an NSF grant the PI received in Summer 2003 to adapt and implement LITEE multimedia case studies in information technology (IT) classrooms. In the past seven years, this collaborative effort has concentrated on adopting multimedia technology for use in IT classrooms and diffusing the technology among partnering universities and across various disciplines, a trend that is evidenced by the growing use of multimedia case studies in the classrooms. Notwithstanding this growth, assessment research on the impact of multimedia case studies is rare and knowledge on best practices for implementing the technology and students? learning outcomes are still lacking. The proposed three-year research and education plan aims to identify and validate a battery of measures to analyze how the teaching and learning of real-world technical issues through the use of multimedia case studies can enhance learning outcomes. The planned research will be an integral part of a doctoral dissertation that will be co-chaired by the PIs. Intellectual Merit: Combining the multidisciplinary team of two PIs who are extensively published in STEM multimedia technologies, as well as a Senior Investigator who is a cognitive and behavioral scientist/expert, a key intellectual merit of this project is to standardize a battery of assessment instruments to evaluate the impact of instructors? teaching and students? higher order cognitive skills with use of multimedia case studies. More specifically, these assessment tools will examine whether students acquire an adequate portfolio of skills that include an improved ability to identify, integrate, evaluate, and inter-relate concepts within the multimedia case study and execute the appropriate decision(s) in a given problem-solving context. The assessment matrices will also be used to measure the benefits to instructors and designers using it as a form of training in academic institutions, industries, and government organizations.Broader Impacts: In addition to the lead institution, Southern University (SUBR), three other partnering universities will serve as the primary test-beds on this project. A total of 2300 undergraduate engineering and IT students will be impacted by the project. The PIs plan to implement faculty development programs to train over 100 multidisciplinary faculty members from the partnering university and conference workshops. In collaboration with the LITEE group, the matrices will be further disseminated at engineering classrooms in 20 different institutions where LITEE materials will be implemented. Furthermore, the PIs? strong affiliation with Multimedia Educational Resources for Learning and Online Teaching, (MERLOT) an NSF funded project, will provide a platform for even more dissemination opportunities across multiple discipline communities of the organization. Also, the MERLOT online repository hosts a multitude of high quality peer-reviewed cases studies in the Science Mathematics Engineering and Technology (SMET) disciplines, it is expected that the results from this research will promote the integration of these resources in support of SMET education. Finally, the project?s findings and best practices will be disseminated through a Ph.D. dissertation in the department of science/mathematics education at SUBR and a master thesis in the SUBR College of Education.