Excellence in Research: Tolerance of Ambiguity and Academic Success

塔斯基吉大学的研究人员建议对工程、非工程和非STEM学生进行一项横向纵向研究，以研究对模糊性的容忍对学术成功的影响。研究文献证明，工程身份是代表性不足的少数民族坚持和学术成功的重要因素。然而，有有限的研究影响因素的认知发展的工程身份。这项研究预计将确定教学技术，这将有助于提高STEM学生的学术成功的概率，通过测量当前课程的影响，在结构的模糊性的宽容，智力心理模型和工程身份的背景下。该项目小组还将重新设计一门航空航天工程入门课程和一门微积分课程，以提供一个学习环境，促进向促进容忍歧义的相对论认知模型发展。拟议的研究结果预计将告知一个数据支持的课程改进计划的学习环境，将促进学生的预期成果。该项目是基于身份发展的理论，模糊的容忍度，和智力发展。该假设是，基于经验的理解的影响的影响，容忍的模糊性和工程身份的形成将通知课程创新，这将积极影响学术成功，保留，并坚持学生在工程和其他STEM学科。研究人员将使用准实验设计来解决五个研究问题：（1）模糊容忍度与工程问题空间的智能模型之间是否存在相关性？(2)对模糊性的容忍度是STEM学生学业成功的有力指标吗？(3)STEM和非STEM学生的认知模型发展之间是否存在差异？(4)职业认同和对模糊的容忍度之间是否存在相关性？（5）性别对歧义容忍度有影响吗？ 修订后的Rydell-Rosen AT量表将用于确定模糊性的容忍度，工程身份将使用捕获三维的仪器进行测量。数据分析将包括描述性和推断性统计。 该项目将指导有效的结构和教学策略的发展，以增加保留，持久性，并在工程和其他STEM学科的代表性不足的学生的学术成功。该奖项由改善本科STEM教育：教育和人力资源（IUSE）：EHR计划（NSF 17-590）资助。IUSE支持旨在通过开发新的课程材料和教学方法以及开发新的评估工具来衡量学生学习的项目。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

Researchers at Tuskegee University propose to conduct a cross-sectional longitudinal study of engineering, non-engineering, and non-STEM students to examine the impact of tolerance of ambiguity on academic success. The research literature documents engineering identity as an important factor for persistence and academic success for underrepresented minorities. However, there is limited research on the factors that influence the cognitive development of an engineering identity. This research is expected to identify pedagogical techniques that will help increase the probability of academic success of STEM students by measuring the influence of the current curriculum in the context of constructs of ambiguity of tolerance, intellectual mental models and engineering identity. The project team also will redesign one introductory aerospace engineering course and one calculus course to provide a learning environment that will facilitate movement towards relativistic cognitive models promoting tolerance of ambiguity. The findings of the proposed research are expected to inform a data-supported curriculum improvement plan for a learning environment that will facilitate the desired student outcomes.The project is grounded in theories of identity development, tolerance of ambiguity, and intellectual development. The hypothesis is that an empirically based understanding of the impact of the impact of tolerance of ambiguity and the formation of engineering identity will inform curriculum innovations that will positively impact academic success, retention, and persistence of students in engineering and other STEM disciplines. The researchers will use a quasi-experimental design to address five research questions: (1) Is there a correlation between tolerance of ambiguity and intellectual models of the engineering problem space? (2) Is tolerance of ambiguity a robust indicator of academic success of STEM students? (3) Is there a difference between the development of cognitive models of STEM and non-STEM students? (4) Is there a correlation between professional identity and tolerance for ambiguity? and (5) Does gender have an influence on tolerance for ambiguity? The revised Rydell-Rosen AT scale will be used to determine the tolerance for ambiguity, and engineering identity will be measured using an instrument that captures the three dimensions. The data analysis will consist of descriptive and inferential statistics. The project will guide the development of effective structural and pedagogical strategies to increase the retention, persistence, and academic success of underrepresented students in engineering and other STEM disciplines.This award is funded by the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education and Human Resources (IUSE): EHR Program (NSF 17-590). IUSE supports projects that are designed to improve student learning through development of new curricular materials and methods of instruction and development of new assessment tools to measure student learning.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.