Inquiry Based Learning Modules for Atmospheric Science Using Student-Accessible Modeling Tools

大气科学(41)这个项目通过在华盛顿州立大学(WSU)大气化学项目提供的几门课程中引入探究式学习模块，提高学生对科学意味着什么的理解，是改善华盛顿州立大学大气研究和空气质量工程项目的全面战略努力的一部分。该项目的具体目标包括：1)开发学生可访问的大气化学建模工具；2)创建和实施探究式学习模块，以便在整个华盛顿大学大气科学计划中使用新的建模工具；3)评估这种方法对学生对科学和工程中的非线性系统动力学的概念性理解的影响；以及4)向更广泛的社区传播这些新的学习工具。目标1和目标2包括编写新的课程材料以加强学生的学习。大气化学和气溶胶过程的高质量研究模型已经可用，但它们的接口通常需要比本科生期望的更多的专业知识。正在为这些模型建立新的基于网络的界面，以使学生在入门课程中更容易接触到这些界面。正在为大气化学课程的其他七门课程开发使用这些工具的探究式学习模块，其中包括预科本科生和研究生的课程。对学生学习项目活动有效性的评估采用了多种方法，包括临床演示访谈、对学生的课堂观察、对学生工作的分析以及前后测试。评估方法的结合应允许反复改进学习单元，使其成为更有效的课堂工具，并为增加STEM教育知识库提供有用的数据。预计引入探究式学习模块的框架将被华盛顿大学内外的其他方案所采用。作为该项目的一部分开发的建模工具和学习模块正在因特网上免费分发。拟议的工作还通过让一名研究生参与教育研究和学习成果评估以及两名本科生暑期研究人员参与开发和测试学生可用的建模工具来支持国家科学基金会的学生培训目标。

Atmospheric Sciences (41)This project is improving students' understanding of what it means to do science by introducing inquiry-based learning modules into several courses offered within Washington State University's (WSU) atmospheric chemistry program and is part of a comprehensive strategic effort to improve WSU's atmospheric research and air quality engineering program. The specific objectives of the project include: 1) developing student-accessible modeling tools for atmospheric chemistry; 2) creating and implementing inquiry-based learning modules for using the new modeling tools throughout the atmospheric science program at WSU; 3) assessing the impact of this approach on student conceptual understanding of non-linear system dynamics in science and engineering; and 4) dissemination of these new learning tools to the broader community. Objectives 1 and 2 include producing new course materials to enhance student learning. High quality research models for atmospheric chemistry and aerosol processes already are available, but their interfaces often require more expertise than can be expected of undergraduates. New web-based interfaces for these models are being built to make the interfaces more accessible to students in introductory courses. Inquiry-based learning modules using these tools are being developed for seven other courses that span the atmospheric chemistry program, including courses taken by advance undergraduates and graduate students. The assessment of the effectiveness of the project activities on student learning uses a combination of approaches, including clinical demonstration interviews, in-class observations of students, analyses of student work, and pre- and post-testing. The combination of evaluation approaches should allow the learning modules to be iteratively improved to make them more effective classroom tools and yield useful data for increasing the STEM education knowledge base. It is anticipated that the framework for introducing inquiry-based learning modules will be adapted by other programs within and outside of WSU. The modeling tools and learning modules developed as part of this project are being distributed freely over the Internet. The proposed work also is supporting the student training goals of NSF by involving a graduate student in the educational research and learning outcomes assessment and the participation of two undergraduate summer researchers in the development and testing of the student-accessible modeling tools.