Predictors of Dissemination Success of STEM Learning Innovations: An Empirical Investigation

STEM 学习创新传播成功的预测因素：实证研究

• 批准号: 1140542
• 负责人: Chetan Sankar
• 金额: $ 20万
• 依托单位: Auburn University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-06-01 至 2015-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1140542&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Predictors; Dissemination; Success; STEM; Learning

NSF and other federal agencies have supported numerous projects to improve STEM education for more than two decades. However, the success of efforts to disseminate the advances developed in these projects (i.e. the extent they are being used by other STEM faculty members in their classrooms and laboratories) has not been carefully researched. Thus, an evidence-based, comprehensive listing of the factors that lead to dissemination success does not exist. Without such a listing, educators and researchers are hampered in understanding how to best design pedagogical innovations for maximum effectiveness. This research aims to fill this void by empirically determining which factors are the most important in success of efforts to disseminate STEM learning innovations. A pilot study conducted at the 2011 TUES PI conference identified several important factors and this knowledge has been used to begin making recommendations to developers, implementers, administrators, and funders. However, the pilot study was limited in scope. This study is being guided by the following research questions, with an emphasis on the first two:1. How do the factors described in the published literature on the diffusion (or propagation) of innovation affect the success of dissemination of STEM education improvements?2. How do the predictors of dissemination success in the STEM areas vary by the type of innovation? (Possible types of innovation are instructional materials, instructional strategies, developing faculty expertise, and curriculum development.) 3. Do the predictors of dissemination success for a given type of STEM education improvement differ by academic discipline (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)?4. Do the predictors of dissemination success for a given type of STEM education improvement differ by the target stakeholder group involved? Possible stakeholders include faculty members, material developers, students, publishers, and grant providers.5. How does the level of awareness of the stakeholder affect the intention to adopt?In order to rigorously examine these research questions, a research model based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), a widely-used, theoretical paradigm in the discipline of information systems, was developed. The variables in this model are being tested using a mixed methods approach utilizing three complementary methodologies: (1) Content analysis of published results is being used to study current published work in order to identify possible additional factors, (2) Delphi methods are being employed to rate the perceived importance of the factors known (or suspected) to influence diffusion, and to identify additional factors, and (3) a survey methodology is being developed and administered that includes a detailed measurement study to develop psychometrically sound measures for each of the independent factors and the two outcome factors. The survey questionnaire is designed for distribution to a sample of stakeholders in the selected STEM disciplines. It is planned to use a synthesis of the survey results to refine the research model.

二十多年来，NSF和其他联邦机构支持了许多改善STEM教育的项目。 然而，传播这些项目中取得的进展的努力的成功（即其他STEM教师在教室和实验室中使用它们的程度）尚未得到仔细研究。因此，没有一个基于证据的，全面的因素，导致传播成功的清单。如果没有这样一个清单，教育工作者和研究人员在理解如何最好地设计教学创新以实现最大效益方面就会受到阻碍。这项研究旨在通过实证确定哪些因素是传播STEM学习创新的努力取得成功的最重要因素来填补这一空白。 在2011年TUES PI会议上进行的一项试点研究确定了几个重要因素，这些知识已被用于开始向开发人员，实施者，管理员和资助者提出建议。 然而，试点研究的范围有限。 本研究以下列研究问题为指导，重点是前两个问题：1。关于创新传播（或传播）的已发表文献中描述的因素如何影响STEM教育改进传播的成功？2. STEM领域传播成功的预测因素如何因创新类型而异？（可能的创新类型是教学材料，教学策略，发展教师专业知识和课程开发。3.对于一种特定类型的STEM教育改进，传播成功的预测因素是否因学科（科学、技术、工程和数学）而异？4.对于特定类型的STEM教育改进，传播成功的预测因素是否因所涉及的目标利益相关者群体而异？ 可能的利益相关者包括教职员工、材料开发人员、学生、出版商和赠款提供者。利益相关者的意识水平如何影响采用的意图？为了严格审查这些研究问题，技术接受模型（TAM），一个广泛使用的，在信息系统学科的理论范式的基础上，研究模型的开发。 该模型中的变量正在使用混合方法进行测试，该方法利用三种互补方法：（1）对已发表结果的内容分析被用于研究当前已发表的工作，以确定可能的其他因素，（2）德尔菲方法被用于评价已知因素的感知重要性（3）正在制定和实施一种调查方法，其中包括一项详细的测量研究，以便为每一个独立因素和两个结果因素制定心理测量上合理的措施。该调查问卷旨在分发给选定STEM学科的利益相关者样本。计划综合利用调查结果来完善研究模式。