Collaborative Research: In-Class Peer Tutoring - A Model for Engineering Instruction

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This research project will implement an in-class peer tutoring (ICPT) program in statics and mechanics of materials at two land grant universities, and investigate the relationship between the peer tutoring program and student and tutor attitudes about retention, within the framework of social capital. For this project ICPT is defined as trained and more experienced students assisting students in these two courses with active learning exercises during lecture. The ICPT also strategically includes a tutor training program and out-of-class weekly tutoring. The construct of social capital includes social interactions, norms, and the value of these networks and norms. Social capital has been broadly implemented to assess the value of social interactions and norms at the national, community, business, and education levels. This proposal aims to further investigate a proven instructional model and to develop and share a deeper understanding this model?s effect on student retention, social capital, and attitudes towards the engineering discipline. Broad implementation of ICPT and social capital evaluation measures can transform the undergraduate education culture. The proposed work builds upon two external sources of foundational research. Theoretical cognitive research provides extensive evidence of the value of peer tutoring programs, and social capital research provides the theoretical framework to investigate the socially robust ICPT program.Increasing the number of engineering students prepared for the challenges of the global economy is important for national competitiveness. Current classroom instructional practices in engineering education fall short of recognized best practices, lacking the social resources for students to participate in meaningful interactions with more experienced students. Social integration is consistently shown to be a vital factor in the retention and academic success of engineering students. There is a shortage of assessment methods and instruments to evaluate effective socially integrative teaching in the business of engineering education. Research findings from this project will add to existing research on the effectiveness of peer tutoring on student social integration and retention and provide a framework for developing more broadly implementable assessment methods. New knowledge about peer tutoring, social capital and retention will add to a presently sparse base in engineering education.