EAGER Proposal for Research in Measurement and Modeling: Dynamic STEM Assessment through Epistemic Network Analysis

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The investigators propose to develop a new method of STEM assessment--epistemic network analysis (ENA)--that focuses not only on whether students master specific scientific facts, math skills, or engineering concepts, but also on whether and how students link the skills, knowledge, identity, values, and epistemology of a STEM practice into a coherent way of thinking about complex STEM problems. The approach links assessment data to modeling using tools similar to social network analysis.The investigators describe ENA as potentially transformational because it is in its early stages, and involves a radically different and interdisciplinary approach to the problems of STEM assessment. The researchers will use data collected from two epistemic games, Digital Zoo (engineering) and Urban Science (urban planning), both funded by a previous NSF award. For each game, the investigators have data from 12 players in Grades 8 and 9 from the Madison, Wisconsin area. These data will serve as proof of concept for the development of the assessment prototype and for the development of the statistical methods that are necessary to make a social networking component possible. Two outcomes of this research can be expected: (1) a proof of concept prototype method for assessing a network of knowledge that students bring to a given problem, and (2) the methods and measurement development that makes such assessment systems possible and potentially useful in other contexts.