Transforming Instruction in Key Engineering Courses at the University of Texas at Austin

在德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校（UT Austin）的科克雷尔工程学院，保留率的最大损失是在前两年，这种损失不成比例地影响了历史上代表性不足的学生。有证据表明，一年级和二年级学生的学习经验，可以大大提高通过改造关键工程课程的教学实践，包括上下文驱动的，积极的学习经验。 该项目名为“德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校关键工程课程教学改革”，将针对第一和第二年的两类工程课程，以提高学生的成绩。一类是多个工程部门所需的课程（例如，工程静力学）;第二种是基本概念相同的课程，但不同工程学科的课程以不同的方式应用基本原理（例如，热力学）。 课程转型将适用于大学和中学课堂，并可能会影响很大一部分西班牙裔学生，从而提高他们的保留，毕业，并最终，劳动力安置。 在大学一级，调查人员将通过出版物和讲习班等机制传播该项目的成果，特别是针对UT系统机构其他学院和工程学院的同事。西班牙裔或拉丁裔学生占UT系统所有本科生的40%。 由于有针对性的课程是共同的工程课程在全国范围内，实践也可能是感兴趣的其他机构，并将很容易转移。 在中学一级，创建的学习模块将用于补充“工程师你的世界”，这是一个创新的、基于设计和挑战的、为期一年的高中工程课程（在该项目首席研究员的领导下开发），目前在12个州的77所学校中使用。 这将有助于培养高中生对工程设计的兴趣，并为他们提供参与工程设计的机会，从而为下一代未来的工程师做好准备。该项目的具体目标将是：（1）发展教师学习社区，以探索和调整针对特定课程的循证教学实践;（2）对两类课程中的每一类课程中的一个或多个示例执行“概念证明”活动（即，由工程的多个领域的学生采取共同的核心课程，课程涵盖共同的概念，分别在不同的工程部门教授）;和（3）发展变化的理论，将通知广泛实施的教学改革的战略计划。 预期的成果包括提高学生掌握的概念，在有针对性的课程，提高学生的表现和保留，增加和持续使用的循证教学实践，教师学习社区的持续参与，教师的信念，教学和学习，更好地与教育研究，发展和初步验证的变化理论。 将使用混合方法评估成果的实现，这将需要收集和分析反映学生学习改善的数据（例如概念清单，课程通过率，学期间和第一至第二年的保留率等）， 教师参与教学改进（例如，参与学习社区，教师面试，申请内部课程改进赠款的质量和数量），以及学校和教师为转型做好准备。

In the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), the greatest losses in retention are in the first two years and such losses disproportionately affect students from historically underrepresented populations. Evidence indicates that the learning experiences of first and second year students could be greatly enhanced by transforming instructional practices in key engineering courses to include context-driven, active learning experiences. The project entitled "Transforming Instruction in Key Engineering Courses at the University of Texas at Austin" will target two categories of first and second year engineering courses to improve student outcomes. One category is courses required by multiple engineering departments (e.g., Engineering Statics); the second is courses where the underlying concepts are the same, but courses in different engineering disciplines apply the basic principles in different ways (e.g., Thermodynamics). The course transformations will be applicable in both university and secondary classrooms, and will likely impact a large fraction of Hispanic students, thus improving their retention, graduation, and ultimately, workforce placement. At the university level, investigators will disseminate the results of the project through mechanisms such as publications and workshops targeting, in particular, colleagues in other colleges and schools of engineering at UT System institutions. Hispanic or Latino students comprise 40 percent of all undergraduates across the UT System. Because the targeted courses are common to engineering curricula nationwide, the practices will also likely be of interest to other institutions, and will be easily transferable. At the secondary level, the learning modules created will be used to supplement "Engineer Your World," which is an innovative, design- and challenge-based, year-long high school engineering curriculum (developed under the leadership of the Principal Investigator of this project) that is currently in 77 schools in 12 states. This will help foster interest and present opportunities for engagement of high school students in engineering design, thus preparing the next generation of prospective engineers.Specific aims of the project will be to: (1) develop faculty learning communities to explore and adapt evidence-based instructional practices for targeted courses; (2) perform "proof of concept" activities for one or more examples in each of the two categories of courses (i.e., common core courses taken by students in multiple fields of engineering, courses covering common concepts that are taught separately in different engineering departments); and (3) develop a theory of change that will inform a strategic plan for widespread implementation of instructional transformations. Anticipated outcomes include improved student mastery of concepts in targeted courses, improved student performance and retention, increased and sustained use of evidence-based instructional practices, sustained participation in faculty learning communities, faculty beliefs about teaching and learning that are better aligned with educational research, and development and preliminary validation of a theory of change. Attainment of the outcomes will be evaluated using a mixed-methods approach that will entail collection and analysis of data reflective of improved student learning (e.g. concept inventories, course pass rates, semester-to-semester and first-to-second year retention, etc.), faculty engagement in instructional improvement (e.g. participation in learning communities, faculty interviews, quality and quantity of applications for internal curriculum improvement grants), and school and faculty readiness for transformation.