MATH: EAGER Building a mathematical toolkit and motivation for success in the physical and quantitative sciences

该项目针对数学准备差距，这往往是导致STEM入门课程成功率低的原因。弗吉尼亚理工大学量化工具工作组（QTWG）项目将汇集教师和学生团队，他们将共同努力开发有效的学习活动，帮助学生保留和应用STEM专业的关键数学技能。QTWG项目将通过综合三个创新STEM项目的工作来解决数学准备差距，这些项目的目标是提高本科STEM专业的成功率和保留率：1)针对代表性不足的物理和定量科学专业的NSF STEP夏季桥梁项目；2)综合科学课程（ISC），本科生通过跨学科的问题为基础的课程学习基础科学和数学，以及3)物理第一年体验（FYE），帮助新生磨练解决问题的技能。所有这三个项目的目标学生都是那些进入他们的专业有很大的动力和数学准备，但在基础STEM课程，特别是数学方面表现不佳的学生。QTWG将：1)建立一个定量工具包（QToolkit），其中包含针对特定数学技能的有效学习活动；2)确定并实证验证促进物理和定量科学的保留和动机的教学方法；3)制定战略，使STEM教师能够领导课程改革。QTWG项目将通过应用程序生成关于数学技能教学有效性的丰富数据集。研究人员将对物理和定量科学专业学生的数学技能进行分类，绘制出这些技能在三个项目中的学习情况，并确定解决这些技能的学习策略的有效性。这项工作将以基于关注的采用模型（CBAM）变革理论为基础，并采用“教师工作即学习”的框架来建立单个教师的支持。它具有确定活动的潜力，使教师和学生成为课程变革的推动者，同时提高STEM本科生的数学技能。

This project targets the mathematics preparation gap which often contributes to the low success rate in introductory STEM courses. The Virginia Tech Quantitative Tools Working Group (QTWG) project will bring together teams of faculty and students who will work collaboratively to develop effective learning activities to help students retain and apply critical math skills for their STEM majors. The QTWG project will address the mathematics preparation gap by synthesizing the work of three innovative STEM programs that share the goal of improving success and retention in undergraduate STEM majors: 1) an NSF STEP Summer Bridge Program targeting underrepresented physical and quantitative science majors; 2) an Integrated Science Curriculum (ISC) where undergraduates learn foundational science and mathematics through an interdisciplinary problem-based curriculum, and 3) a Physics First-Year Experience (FYE) that helps freshmen hone problem-solving skills. All three programs target students who enter their majors with significant motivation and mathematics preparation, but nonetheless demonstrate low success in foundational STEM courses, particularly mathematics. The QTWG will: 1) build a quantitative tool kit (QToolkit) filled with effective learning activities mapped to particular mathematical skills, 2) identify and empirically validate pedagogical approaches that promote retention and motivation in the physical and quantitative sciences, and 3) develop strategies that equip STEM faculty to lead curricular reform. The QTWG project will generate a rich data set regarding the effectiveness of teaching mathematical skills through application. Investigators will catalog which math skills are most problematic for physical and quantitative science majors, map the learning of these skills across the three programs, and identify the effectiveness of learning strategies addressing these skills. This work will be grounded in the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) theory-of-change and employ a "faculty work as learning" framework to build buy-in by individual faculty members. It holds the potential to identify activities that empower faculty members and students to become agents of curricular change while improving the mathematical skills of STEM undergraduates.