The Math You Need, When You Need It: Modular Student Resources to Promote Successful Integration of Quantitative Concepts in Introductory Economics Courses

当你需要时，你需要的数学：模块化的学生资源，以促进定量概念在经济学入门课程中的成功整合

• 批准号: 1245802
• 负责人: Scott Simkins
• 金额: $ 24.79万
• 依托单位: North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-09-01 至 2017-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1245802&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Math; Need; When; Modular; Student

This project addresses previously-identified widespread student difficulties within mathematics and related quantitative skills preventing successful completion of introductory economics courses by large numbers of students. The approach taken is adaptation for economics of proven web-based student quantitative skills tutorials and assessment framework developed for the Geosciences: The Math You Need (TMYN), When You Need It, developed by Wenner, Baer, & Burn in a succession of three NSF (DUE) awards. Deployment of this framework has led to improved student learning in a variety of instructional settings. Intellectual merit: The importance of learning in context is particularly applicable to students in introductory economics courses, where research has shown that many students are not able to transfer previously-studied general mathematics concepts to their application in economics. The focus is on ten core math concepts highlighted in the economics education literature as frequent obstacles to student learning. For each of these concepts, an online TMYN-Economics module is being developed using the research-based TMYN design that has succeeded in the Geosciences. Each module includes: (1) a Foundation page for students that includes information on the mathematics concept and why and how it is used in the discipline; (2) a Sample Problems page that gives students the opportunity to practice the math concept in the context of economics before taking an embedded online quiz to assess their learning; and (3) an Instructor Page that explains why that module's mathematics concept is difficult for students to apply in the discipline and provides additional resources for teaching the module's mathematics concept in context. Broader impact: After initial testing at twelve varied institutions (including an HBCU and six community colleges), ten learning modules will be available through Starting Point: Teaching and Learning Economics, co-located with sixteen pedagogical modules already developed and used extensively by economics instructors. Adoption at community colleges is an important focus of this project. This will be promoted through resources developed by adapting Effective Outreach and Workshop Practices to Improve Community College Economics Instruction. Recommendations from twelve field-testers and the advisory board will be used to improve TMYN-Economics modules before they are publicly disseminated. The embedded online module quizzes will generate a new, large dataset on student learning based on students' module quiz performance. These data will facilitate further investigation of student learning of math skills in economic contexts. An international leader on improvement of student learning through innovation and knowledge sharing has agreed to provide external review of these assessments and overall project impact. Both the assessment data and the modules will become a permanent resource at the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) within the Starting Point: Teaching and Learning Economics web site, with ongoing maintenance and oversight by SERC staff.

该项目解决了先前发现的数学和相关定量技能方面普遍存在的学生困难，这些困难阻碍了大量学生成功完成入门经济学课程。所采用的方法是针对地球科学开发的经过验证的基于网络的学生定量技能教程和评估框架的经济学改编：您需要的数学 (TMYN)、当您需要它时，由 Wenner、Baer 和 Burn 开发，连续获得三个 NSF (DUE) 奖项。该框架的部署改善了学生在各种教学环境中的学习。智力优势：在上下文中学习的重要性尤其适用于经济学入门课程的学生，研究表明许多学生无法将以前学习的一般数学概念转移到经济学中的应用。 重点是经济学教育文献中强调的十个核心数学概念，这些概念是学生学习的常见障碍。 对于每个概念，我们正在使用在地球科学领域取得成功的基于研究的 TMYN 设计开发在线 TMYN 经济学模块。 每个模块包括：（1）供学生使用的基础页面，其中包括有关数学概念以及数学概念在学科中使用的原因和方式的信息； (2) 示例问题页面，让学生有机会在经济学背景下练习数学概念，然后进行嵌入式在线测验来评估他们的学习情况； (3) 教师页面，解释为什么该模块的数学概念对学生来说很难应用到学科中，并为在上下文中教授该模块的数学概念提供额外的资源。 更广泛的影响：在 12 个不同的机构（包括 HBCU 和 6 个社区学院）进行初步测试后，将通过“起点：经济学教学”提供 10 个学习模块，与经济学教师已经开发和广泛使用的 16 个教学模块位于同一地点。 社区大学的收养是该项目的一个重要重点。 这将通过采用有效的外展和研讨会实践来改进社区大学经济学教学而开发的资源来促进。 十二位现场测试人员和顾问委员会的建议将用于在公开传播之前改进 TMYN-Economics 模块。嵌入式在线模块测验将根据学生的模块测验表现生成一个关于学生学习的新的大型数据集。这些数据将有助于进一步调查学生在经济背景下学习数学技能的情况。通过创新和知识共享改善学生学习的国际领导者已同意对这些评估和总体项目影响进行外部审查。 评估数据和模块都将成为起点：经济学教学网站内科学教育资源中心 (SERC) 的永久资源，并由 SERC 工作人员持续维护和监督。