Learning from the Best: How Award Winning Courseware has Impacted Engineering Education

该项目正在探索指标的存在，这些指标是国家STEM数字图书馆(NSDL)改善学生学习的证据。特别是，它正在研究将重点放在一个特定的图书馆藏书上，并使用多种方法衡量影响，这是否将为改进图书馆的设计提供见解。很难找到学生受影响的证据。这是2009年1月发表在《科学》杂志上的一篇文章《NSF反思其数字图书馆》的结论。这篇文章指出，到目前为止，没有证据表明NSDL改善了学生的学习。尽管得出了这样的结论，但该项目的研究团队成员在参与NSDL项目时积累了对学生学习产生积极影响的轶事证据，他们的研究主题是：“我们从哪里来，我们要去哪里？从NSDL的项目中吸取教训，传播模范实践。”这项研究考察了NSDL的一个连贯的部分，NSDL是由NSDL Engineering Path赞助的“卓越工程教育课程奖”。采用案例研究的研究方法。这种方法的基本原理是把重点放在一个很有可能提供关于学生影响的数据的集合上，而且，这可能会为学生学习的影响提供一些有用的见解。在过去的12年里，总理奖竞赛及其前身(Need)审查了100件提交的课件，并选出了21件获奖课件作品和8名入围决赛的候选人。获奖的课件得到了广泛传播。高级获奖材料是需求/工程途径网站上下载频率最高的材料。已分发了20,000多张总理奖光盘，并为工程教育工作者举办了工作坊和研讨会。因此，Premier奖的案例研究具有发现大量用户群体的潜力。总体而言，识别教师用户一直是NSDL研究的一个重大挑战。总理奖提供了一个接触到大量用户并向他们学习的机会。这项研究解决了以下问题：1.获得Premier奖对获奖者的职业道路有什么影响？为什么？2.提交的课件的质量随着时间的推移发生了怎样的变化？3.获奖的课件如何影响或影响学生的学习？该项目正在研究使用通过NSDL(通过需求/工程途径)提供的课程的教职员工人数。这项研究的结果将为未来深入、纵向研究对科学、技术、工程和数学领域的教与学的影响奠定基础。

This project is exploring the existence of indicators that are evidence of improved student learning resulting from the National STEM Digital Library (NSDL). In particular it is studying whether focusing on a particular Library collection and using multiple methods to measure impact will provide insight into improving the design of the Library. Evidence of student impact is difficult to develop. This was the conclusion of a January 2009 "Science" article, "NSF Rethinks Its Digital Library." This article stated that there is no evidence to date that the NSDL has improved student learning. Despite this conclusion, members of this project's study team accumulated anecdotal evidence of positive impact on student learning while working with the NSDL project, "Where Have We Come From and Where Are We Going? Learning the Lessons and Disseminating Exemplary Practices from the Projects of the NSDL." This study is examining a coherent section of the NSDL, the "Premier Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Courseware," sponsored by the NSDL Engineering Pathway. It is employing the case study research method. The rationale for this approach is to focus on a collection that has a high possibility of providing data on student impact and, further, that may provide some useful insight into effects on student learning. Over the last 12 years, the Premier Award competition, and its precursor (NEEDS), reviewed 100 courseware submissions and selected 21 award winning courseware creations and eight finalist candidates. The award winning courseware has been disseminated widely. Premier Award winning materials have been the most frequently downloaded materials on the NEEDS/Engineering Pathway website. Over 20,000 Premier Award CDs have been distributed and workshops and seminars for engineering educators have been held. Hence the case study of the Premier Award has the potential of discovering a large user population. In general, identifying faculty users has been a significant challenge for NSDL research. The Premier Award provides an opportunity to reach a population of users and learn from them. The research is addressing the following questions: 1. How has receipt of the Premier Award impacted the awardees' career paths and why? 2. How has the quality of the courseware submitted changed over time? 3. How has the award winning courseware affected or impacted student learning? The project is studying the population of faculty that is using courseware available through NSDL (via the NEEDS/Engineering Pathway). The findings from this research will lay the groundwork for future in-depth, longitudinal studies of impact on teaching and learning that reach across the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics.