Transforming a Freshman Electrical Engineering Lab Course to Improve Access to Rural Students and to be a Model for Future STEM Distance Lab Courses

参与机构：阿拉斯加大学费尔班克斯（UAF -主校区）阿拉斯加大学东南（UAS -朱诺校区）项目描述该项目通过将介绍性电气工程课程转换为交互式混合教学模式，使用面对面和在线同行/教师指导相结合，扩大了电气和计算机工程的使用范围。本课程包括跨校园合作动手实验室和团队项目经验。该项目正在解决三个非常不同的学生群体的需求：㈠参加阿拉斯加大学费尔班克斯（UAF）主校区的传统工程专业学生; ㈡在朱诺的阿拉斯加东南大学（UAS）校园参加工程预科课程的学生; ㈢参加阿拉斯加农村阿拉斯加土著服务社区校园的学生。在这些社区中的每一个提供示范性的，经济上负责任的工程教育具有独特的挑战，包括教师的成本和可用性，实验室设施的成本和可用性，学生的先前知识和文化经验的多样性，以及学生的学习风格的多样性。该项目有三个目标：目标1：提供一个动手的电气工程实验室课程，以地方绑定预工程和阿拉斯加本地服务的社区校园在阿拉斯加同步提供相同的课程面对面的主要工程校园在UAF。目标2：重组类的实验室组成部分，要求通过数据共享和讨论在动手实验室和团队项目的学生之间的跨校园合作。目标3：通过对学生的参与和学习进行详细的评估和评价，发展工程教育的专业知识，无论是面对面还是通过远程参与。该团队正在研究校园间合作的有效性，以提高三个阿拉斯加社区的保留率和学术成就。这是第一个在阿拉斯加远程交付的动手工程实验室课程;因此，它正在改变该州工程教育的方式。该项目直接影响到阿拉斯加地理上分散的学生群体，特别是阿拉斯加农村的阿拉斯加土著社区的工程课程的可用性。该项目正在为远程实验室课程的开发和评估，特别是为校园间的合作创造一个成功的“蓝图”。这一努力正在改变农村社区中经常孤立、受地方限制的学生的教育经历--通过建立他们的社会资本并将他们与更大的学习社区联系起来。这种校园间的合作正在引起对测量中的变化和异常值的更深入讨论，并提供更能反映全球工作环境的经验。

PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS: University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF - main campus)University of Alaska Southeast (UAS - campus in Juneau)PROJECT DESCRIPTION This project is expanding access to Electrical and Computer Engineering by transforming an introductory electrical engineering course into an interactive hybrid-teaching model, using a combination of face-to-face and online peer/teacher instruction. This course includes both inter-campus collaborative hands-on laboratory and team project experiences. The project is addressing the needs of three very different populations of students: (i) the traditional engineering students attending the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) main campus; (ii) students enrolled in the pre-engineering program at the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) campus in Juneau; and (iii) students attending an Alaska Native serving community campus in rural Alaska. The delivery of an exemplary, financially responsible, engineering education in each of these communities has unique challenges, including cost and availability of an instructor, cost and availability of laboratory facilities, diversity of students' prior knowledge and cultural experiences, and variety of students' learning styles. The project has three goals:Goal 1: Deliver a hands-on electrical engineering lab course to place-bound pre-engineering and Alaska Native serving community campuses in Alaska synchronously with the identical course delivered face-to-face on the main engineering campus at UAF. Goal 2: Restructure the lab component of the class to require inter-campus collaboration between the students through data sharing and discussions in the hands-on laboratories and team projects. Goal 3: Develop expertise in Engineering Education through detailed assessment and evaluation of the engagement and learning of students, both those participating face-to-face and via distance. The team is studying the effectiveness of inter-campus collaboration to improve both retention and academic achievement across three Alaska communities. This is the first hands-on engineering lab course delivered by distance in Alaska; therefore, it is transforming the way engineering education is delivered in the state. BROADER SIGNIFICANCE The project is directly impacting the availability of engineering curriculum for the geographically dispersed student population in Alaska, especially the Alaska Native communities in rural Alaska. The project is creating a successful "blueprint" for development and assessment of distance-delivered laboratory-based courses, particularly for inter-campus collaborations. The effort is transforming the educational experience of the often-isolated, place-bound students in rural communities - through building their social capital and connecting them to a larger learning community. This inter-campus collaboration is generating a deeper discussion of variations and outliers in measurements and providing experiences that are more reflective of the global work environment.