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，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。多媒体案例研究被认为有助于培养雇主期望毕业生具备的关键技能，以便在现实世界中成为优秀的应用问题解决者、有效的决策者、熟练的技术分析师和协作的团队成员。LITEE小组是NSF赞助的一个项目，在设计用于工程课程的高质量多媒体案例研究方面具有开创性的努力。这些努力的成功进一步得到了国家科学基金会2003年夏季收到的关于在信息技术(IT)课堂上改编和实施LITEE多媒体案例研究的资助。在过去的七年里，这一合作努力集中在将多媒体技术应用于信息技术教室，并在合作大学和不同学科之间传播该技术，这一趋势从课堂上越来越多地使用多媒体案例研究就可以看出。尽管有这种增长，但关于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，以分析通过使用多媒体案例研究教授和学习现实世界的技术问题如何提高学习成果。这项计划中的研究将是由私人投资机构共同主持的博士论文的组成部分。智力价值：结合两个在STEM多媒体技术上广泛发表的PI组成的多学科团队，以及一名认知和行为科学家/专家的高级调查员，该项目的一个关键智力价值是标准化一系列评估工具，以评估教师的影响？教师和学生？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获得了足够的技能组合，包括提高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，并在给定的问题解决环境中执行适当的决策(S)。评估矩阵也将被用来衡量教师和设计师在学术机构、行业和政府组织中使用它作为培训形式的好处。广泛影响：除了牵头机构南方大学(SUBR)之外，其他三所合作大学将作为该项目的主要试验台。共有2300名工程和信息技术本科学生将受到该项目的影响。PIS计划实施教师发展计划，培训100多名来自合作大学和会议研讨会的多学科教师。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，这些机构将在那里实施LITEE材料。此外，私家侦探？与美国国家科学基金会资助的多媒体学习和在线教学资源(MERLOT)项目的紧密联系，将为该组织的多个学科社区提供更多传播机会的平台。此外，Merlot在线资源库拥有大量科学、数学、工程和技术(SMET)学科的高质量同行评议案例研究，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，S项目的发现和最佳实践将通过南加州大学科学/数学教育系的博士论文和南加州大学教育学院的硕士论文来传播。

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.