Increasing Student Engagement by Improving Social-cognitive Bias Education

培养和保持优秀的STEM工作者对美国的全球竞争力至关重要。当资源未被利用时，创新是有限的。在整个美国，有一个工程师和科学家谁是训练有素，装备精良的今天的STEM劳动力，包括工程教授的需求很大。该项目旨在设计，实施和研究教师发展计划，解决两个主要因素影响学生的保留：（一）减少“冷冰冰的的气候”，代表工程专业学生的经验和（B）增加主动学习的机会，在工程课堂。通过专业阅读，研讨会和小组讨论和活动的使用，参与工程学院将提供支持，积极学习教学实践和创造一个包容性的学习环境，为来自不同背景的学生。该资助项目与美国国家科学基金会扩大参与工程计划的当前优先事项密切相关。通过加强教学和改善工程课堂氛围，工程系教师可能会创造更具包容性的学习环境，这可能会增加追求工程的学生人数。调查人员声称为工程系教师制定一项培训计划，使他们掌握减少社会认知偏见的策略和技能，以及这些偏见对学生成功结果的影响，尤其是代表性不足的学生群体。使用混合方法的研究设计，教师发展计划的结果将在多个层面进行分析，以确定该项目对工程专业学生和教师的影响。如果成功，它具有巨大的潜力，以改善工程教学和课堂气氛在全国高等教育。为此，所有的数据收集将集中在以下方面：（1）教师对该计划的反应，（2）教学实践中观察到的变化，（3）学生对课堂气氛的体验，（4）学生在课堂上的参与，（5）学生在后续课程中的参与，（6）学生在工程课程中的保留率。该项目的目标是通过确定存在的限制和扩大努力所需的资源，可以很容易地被其他人适应的努力的组成部分。将创建一个网站，向社区提供项目信息，并计划为工程系主任理事会和SEC的会议举办研讨会。该项目还将利用先进的实施导师网络与代表机构建立联系，并进一步鼓励调整该努力的战略和材料。

Developing and maintaining outstanding STEM workers is critical to America's global competitiveness. Innovation is limited when resources are untapped. Throughout the United States, there is a great demand for engineers and scientists who are well-trained and well-equipped for today's STEM workforce, including the engineering professoriate. This project seeks to design, implement, and study a faculty development program that addresses two major factors influencing student retention: (a) reducing the "chilly climate" that underrepresented engineering students' experience and (b) increasing active learning opportunities in the engineering classroom. Through the use of specialized readings, workshops, and small group discussions and activities, participating engineering faculty will be offered support on active learning instructional practices and on creating an inclusive learning environment for students from diverse backgrounds. This grant project is closely linked with current priorities of the National Science Foundation's Broadening Participation in Engineering program. By enhancing instruction and improving the engineering classroom climate, engineering faculty are likely to create more inclusive learning environments that may increase the number of underrepresented students who pursue engineering.The investigators purport to develop a training program for engineering faculty that equip them with strategies and skills to reduce their social cognitive biases and the effects of such biases have on success outcomes for students, especially underrepresented student groups. Using a mixed-method research design, the results of the faculty development program will be analyzed at multiple levels to determine the impact the project had on engineering students and faculty. If successful, it has immense potential to improve engineering instruction and classroom climate in higher education across the country. To this end, all data collections will focus on the following:(1) Faculty reactions to the program,(2) Observed changes in instructional practice,(3) Student experiences of the classroom climate,(4) Student engagement in the classroom,(5) Student engagement in subsequent courses, and(6) Student retention in the engineering curriculum.The project is targeting components of the effort that can be easily adapted by others, by identifying the limitations that exist and the resources that are needed to scale the effort. A website will be created to provide program information to the community and workshops are planned for meetings of the Engineering Deans Council and the SEC. The project will also leverage the ADVANCE Implementation Mentors (AIM) Network to connect with the representative institutions and further encourage adaptation of the effort's strategies and materials.