Collaborative: Student Engagement in a Community-based, Blended Learning Environment: Perspectives from a Minority Serving Institution

关于在STEM中保留代表性不足的群体，已经进行了大量讨论，主要关注的是如何确保这些人成功地通过STEM管道的每个节点过渡。此外，有大量的工作描述了在STEM学习环境中挣扎的有色人种学生的缺陷，而不太关注他们对成功的叙述。该项目旨在创造性地解决教育研究文献中的这一差距，提供经验数据，描述影响少数民族学生在混合学习环境中取得成功的因素。 据设想，这项工作将导致更好地了解少数民族女学生作为自己成功的代理人和斯佩尔曼的学习环境作为一个培育和鼓励这种机构。在少数民族服务机构中很少进行这种性质的研究。基于先前的NSF资助，PI成功地将基于社区的元素与Spelman的普通和有机化学课程中的混合学习环境相结合。在拟议的工作中，他们计划记录在这种学习环境中发生的事情，涉及参与（元认知，认知，行为和关系）和情感特征，包括学生的代理感（动机，效能，努力和心态）。PI为他们的调查构建了一个坚实的精心构思的理论框架。他们从三个不同的角度：能动性、元认知和“探究社区”（CoI）来考察学生所表现出的自我调节学习的本质。使用混合方法的方法，以获得信息的“成功的叙述”的环境中，该项目需要从一个完善的和控制的设置在斯佩尔曼学院的数据提取。该项目有可能补充全国各地的努力，以创建课程和学习环境，将学生，特别是少数群体妇女，转变为有效的学习者。

There has been significant discussion regarding the retention of underrepresented groups in STEM, with the primary focus being on what works to ensure that these individuals successfully transition through each juncture of the STEM pipeline. Additionally, there is a significant body of work characterizing the deficits of students of color who struggle in STEM learning environments, with less focus on their narratives of success. This project seeks to creatively address this gap in the educational research literature by providing empirical data that describes factors that influence minority student success in blended learning environments. It is envisioned that the work will lead to a better understanding of minority female students as agents of their own success and Spelman's learning environment as one which nurtures and encourages such agency. Few studies of this nature have been conducted at minority serving institutions. Based on prior NSF funding, the PIs successfully merged a community-based element with a blended learning environment in Spelman's general and organic chemistry courses. In the proposed work, they plan to document what is occurring in this learning environment with respect to engagement (metacognitive, cognitive, behavioral, and relational) and affective traits that comprise a student's sense of agency (motivation, efficacy, effort, and mindset). The PIs have constructed a solid well-conceived theoretical framework for their investigations. They are taking three different perspectives: agency, metacognition, and "Community of Inquiry" (CoI) and using them to examine the nature of the self-regulated learning exhibited by the students. Using a mixed methods approach to get information on "narratives of success" within the environment, the project entails the extraction of data from a well-established and controlled setting at Spelman College. The project has the potential to complement efforts around the country to create curricula and learning environments that transform students, particularly minority women, into effective learners.