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

本研究将在两所赠地大学实施一项关于静力学和材料力学的课堂同侪辅导计划，并在社会资本的框架内调查同侪辅导计划与学生和导师对保留的态度之间的关系。在本项目中，ICPT被定义为经过培训的、经验更丰富的学生，他们在讲座期间通过积极的学习练习帮助学生学习这两门课程。ICPT还战略性地包括导师培训计划和每周课外辅导。社会资本的结构包括社会互动、规范以及这些网络和规范的价值。社会资本已被广泛应用于评估国家、社区、商业和教育层面的社会互动和规范的价值。本提案旨在进一步研究一个行之有效的教学模式，并发展和分享更深入的了解这个模式？的影响，学生保留，社会资本，对工程学科的态度。广泛实施ICPT和社会资本评估措施可以改变本科教育文化。拟议的工作建立在两个外部基础研究来源的基础上。理论认知研究提供了广泛的证据，同伴辅导计划的价值，和社会资本研究提供了理论框架，以调查社会稳健的ICPT计划。增加准备迎接全球经济挑战的工程专业学生的数量对国家竞争力至关重要。目前工程教育的课堂教学实践缺乏公认的最佳实践，缺乏学生参与有意义的互动与更有经验的学生的社会资源。社会融合一直被证明是保留和工程专业学生的学术成功的一个重要因素。在工程教育企业中，缺乏有效的社会融合教学评价方法和工具。该项目的研究结果将补充现有的研究同伴辅导对学生社会融合和保留的有效性，并提供一个框架，以制定更广泛的可实施的评估方法。关于同侪辅导，社会资本和保留的新知识将增加目前稀疏的工程教育基础。

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.