Best Practices on a Budget: Revamping Undergraduate Laboratory Sections to Stimulate Empirically-Based Learning and Foster Modern Research Skills

来自政府和行业的许多报告都呼吁高校培养更多、更有能力的STEM毕业生。本项目在物理背景下解决了这一需求。研究人员将开发一种教授入门物理实验室（IPL）部分的方法，鼓励学生不仅像科学家一样思考，而且要获得与stem相关的技术技能。特别是，研究人员将开发一种新的实验练习，这种练习的形式不会为学生提供一步一步的指导。这种方法将培养学生之间真正的科学思维和高质量的互动。开源硬件和3D打印机等新技术将成为实验室不可或缺的一部分。在两个学期的IPL课程中，学生将获得将概念知识和技术技能转化为科学实验的设计和实施的亲密经验。学生在入门课程（如ipl）上的经验在STEM专业的招聘和保留中起着重要作用。在这方面，该项目旨在消除学生在入门实验室中往往会经历的一些苦差事，并将其转变为令人兴奋的学习环境，从而促进创造力并提供成就感。该项目的方法以经过验证的教学技术为蓝本，例如同伴指导和积极参与，它将特别建立在研究性科学学习环境（ISLE）项目的基础上。许多学院和大学无法以最好地实现这些技术的方式来操作同一门导论课程的多个部分。由于实验室部分通常被限制在相对较小的规模，以确保适当的学生与教师的互动，研究人员选择在实验室环境中实施有效的教学技术。这种方法将具有成本效益（“预算上的最佳实践”）。这些实验室将基于开源软件/硬件，以便其他希望采用这种方法的机构可以以合理的成本这样做。研究人员还将采用一些新的评估方法来评估重新设计的实验室对学生的影响。例如，由于他们将把基于代数和基于微积分的物理入门课程的学生结合在一个单一的IPL课程中，他们将能够研究学生结对工作的互动，并确定智力结对学生是否是一种有益的方法。此外，他们将调查内在的成长机会是否是科学教育的有益特征。

Numerous reports from government and industry have called for colleges and universities to produce more -- and more capable -- STEM graduates. This project addresses this need in the context of physics. The investigators will develop a method of teaching introductory physics laboratory (IPL) sections that encourages students not only to think like scientists but also to acquire STEM-relevant technical skills. In particular, the investigators will develop new lab exercises in a format that does not provide students with step-by-step guidance. This approach will foster authentic scientific thinking as well as quality interactions among the students. New technologies such as open-source hardware and 3D printers will be an integral part of the labs. During a two-semester IPL sequence, students will gain intimate experience translating conceptual knowledge and technical skills into the design and implementation of scientific experiments. A student's experience in introductory courses (such as IPLs) plays an important role in the recruitment and retention of STEM majors. In this regard, the project aims to remove some of the drudgery that students tend to experience in introductory labs and to transform them into exciting learning environments that promote creativity and provide a sense of accomplishment.The project's approach is modeled on proven pedagogical techniques, such as peer instruction and active engagement, and it will build on the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) project, in particular. Many colleges and universities cannot afford to operate multiple sections of the same introductory lecture course in a manner that best implements these techniques. Because laboratory sections are usually capped at a relatively small size to ensure appropriate student-instructor interaction, the investigators have chosen to implement the effective pedagogical techniques in the lab setting. This approach will be cost-effective ("Best Practices on a Budget"). The labs will be based on open-source software/hardware so that other institutions that wish to adopt the approach can do so at reasonable cost. The investigators will also employ some novel assessment methods to gauge the effects of the redesigned labs on students. For example, because they will combine students from algebra-based and calculus-based introductory physics courses in a single IPL course, they will be able to study student pair-work interactions and determine whether intellectually pairing students is a beneficial methodology. Additionally, they will investigate whether built-in growth opportunities are a beneficial feature in science education.