Collaborative Research: Understanding Context: Propagation and Effectiveness of the Concept Warehouse in Mechanical Engineering at Five Diverse Institutions and Beyond

科学、技术、工程、数学（STEM）领域毕业生的数量和多样性的增加对国家的竞争力至关重要。基于概念的主动学习策略已被证明可以提高学生的学习成绩，并增加选择留在STEM项目的人数。然而，这些策略有效的科学证据还不足以确保教师在课程中使用它们。理解并找到方法让教师采用经过验证的实践也是必要的。在这个项目中，我们将为机械工程静力学和动力学课程开发新的基于概念的在线材料。项目团队将研究为什么教师决定使用这些材料，以及五种不同类型机构的因素如何影响这些决定。该项目将有助于展示不同院校的环境如何影响教师的采用以及学生的学习和动机。它将有助于提供支持广泛使用循证教学实践的方法。因此，它也将帮助更多的学生留在工程专业并毕业。该项目的目标是在整个本科工程课程中增加基于概念的主动学习的采用。它建立在项目团队之前成功开发基于web的化学工程概念仓库教学资源的基础上。该资源包含数百个简短的问题，以吸引学生以概念为导向的思维，评估他们的概念知识，并提供广泛的基于概念的主动学习工具。该项目将扩展概念仓库，包括机械工程方面的内容。参与机构包括研究密集型和西班牙裔服务机构，以及一所两年制大学。系统方法将用于检查教育环境的要素，如规模和部门文化，如何影响教师的吸收和由此产生的学生学习。混合方法的研究设计将包括使用数据分析、教师访谈、学生焦点小组、观察、课堂视频和前后概念清单分数。该研究计划还将探讨学生背景和人口统计（例如，代表性不足的少数民族；第一代身份）与机构环境相互作用的方式，以影响学生的学习和参与。研讨会和教师社区建设活动将用于促进以证据为基础的强化教学实践的传播。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

An increase in the number and diversity of graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is important for the nation's competitiveness. Concept-based active learning strategies have been shown to improve students' academic performance and increase the number who choose to stay in STEM programs. However, scientific proof that these strategies are effective is not enough to make sure instructors use them in courses. It is also necessary to understand and find ways to get instructors to adopt proven practices. In this project new online concept-based materials for mechanical engineering courses in Statics and Dynamics will be developed. The project team will study why instructors decide to use the materials, and how factors at five different types of institutions affect these decisions. The project will help to show how circumstances at different institutions affect both instructor adoption as well as student learning and motivation. It will help inform ways to support widespread use of the evidence-based instructional practice. Thus, it will also help more students stay in and graduate from engineering programs.The goal of this project is to increase the adoption of concept-based active learning throughout undergraduate engineering programs. It builds upon the project team's previous success in developing the web-based Concept Warehouse instructional resource for chemical engineering. The resource contains hundreds of short questions to engage students in concept-oriented thinking, to assess their conceptual knowledge, and to provide extensive concept-based active learning tools. The project will expand Concept Warehouse to include content in mechanical engineering. Participating institutions include research-intensive and Hispanic-serving institutions, as well as a two-year college. A systems approach will be used to examine how elements of the educational context, such as size and departmental culture, influence instructor uptake and the resulting student learning. A mixed-methods research design will include the use of data analytics, instructor interviews, student focus groups, observations, classroom video, and pre/post concept inventory scores. The research plan will also address ways in which student backgrounds and demographics (e.g., underrepresented minorities; first-generation status) interact with institutional settings to affect student learning and engagement. Workshops and faculty community building activities will be used to promote propagation of the enhanced evidence-based instructional practices.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.