Transforming Statics Instruction through the Creation and Evaluation of Efficient and Effective Practice Experiences

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供资金的。这项授予加州大学河滨分校的工程教育研究奖将聘请研究人员系统地探索学生如何学习解决问题的技能并超越肤浅的理解。它将制定明确的原则，设计有效和有效的实践，以发展工程静力学方面的专业知识，这是一门基础工程课程。该项目首先对不同学生群体的背景和准备工作进行了深入分析。该团队将使用廉价的笔式技术进行持续的形成性评估，以获取学生对问题的答案，以及获得解决方案的动态过程，以获得对学生思维过程的重要见解。对于工程专业的学生来说，静力学课程往往是最重要的工程入门课程，特别是对那些最终选择土木工程或机械工程专业的学生来说。在这门课程中学到的解决问题的方法会影响更高级课程的成功，这可能会对学生的记忆力产生很大的影响。这一创新研究的结果将促进对学生如何学习解决复杂问题的总体理解，并将导致工程专业学生在毕业后为工程工作做好更好的准备。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This engineering education research award to the University of California-Riverside will employ researchers to systematically explore how students learn problem solving skills and advance beyond superficial understanding. It will develop well-defined principles for designing efficient and effective practices for the development of expertise in engineering statics, a fundamental engineering course. The project begins with an in-depth analysis of the background and preparation of a diverse student population. The team will conduct continued formative assessment with inexpensive pen-based technology to capture student answers to a problem, as well as the dynamic process by which the solutions were obtained to gain important insights into students' thought processes. A course in statics is often the most substantial introduction to engineering for engineering students, especially for those who ultimately pursue a civil or mechanical engineering major. Problem solving methods learned in this course influence success in more advanced courses, and this can have a strong impact on student retention. The results of this innovative research will advance general understanding of how students learn to solve complex problems and will lead to better preparation of engineering students for engineering jobs after graduation.