CAREER: Learning to solve problems in context-rich environments: A naturalistic study in STEM workplaces, research labs, project-based courses and lab courses

这个职业项目调查了在情境丰富的环境中学习和评估解决问题的能力，如研究实验室、基于项目的课程和STEM工作场所。它包括一项教育计划，重点是将研究成果转化为改善教育。因为这些情境丰富、解决问题的体验更接近于专业工作，它们为STEM劳动力发展提供了重要的场所。然而，与讲座课程相比，这些环境往往是资源和时间密集型的，因此了解它们的独特优势非常重要。“上下文”层次指的是学习目标、工具和应用程序的复杂性。虽然有大量的教育研究与低情境学习有关，例如强调知识、概念和知识获取的讲座课程中的主动学习，但对高情境（“情境丰富”）环境的教育研究较少。比如涉及实践的实验室和实际研究经验。该项目将支持改善情境丰富的体验，以培养科学和工程人才，支持保留和多样性，为STEM教师创建免费和公开的评估，并指导扩大和改善获得研究经验和其他情境丰富环境的政策。该项目满足了国家对研究的需求，这些研究可以为丰富背景环境中学习评估的开发、测试、验证和传播提供信息，并指导教育政策。本研究将研究情境丰富的经历如何为学生的STEM劳动力职业生涯做好准备。研究计划包括描述经验、观察学习证据、比较活动、结果以及开发新的评估方法。概念框架是基于将文化历史活动理论（CHAT）应用于情境丰富的学习环境。CHAT提供了一个视角，将认知置于一个活动系统中，该活动系统将主体、目标和社区联系起来，作为一个实现实际结果的活动系统。数据收集和分析将利用社会认知职业理论（SCCT），特别是了解在情境丰富的问题解决环境中的机制和因素，这些环境支持诸如职业认同、自我效能和持久性等结果的发展。该教育计划包括以项目为基础的一年级物理课程，以及一套可用于评估情境丰富环境中学习情况的有效工具的开发。因此，教育计划与研究活动相结合，将提供当地（特定课程）和可转移（传播）的成果。职业生涯计划是美国国家科学基金会（NSF）的一项全国性活动，旨在为那些通过杰出的研究、优秀的教育以及在其组织使命的背景下将教育和研究结合起来，体现教师学者角色的初级教师提供奖励。本项目由美国国家科学基金会EHR核心研究（ECR）项目支持。ECR支持推进STEM学习和学习环境知识、扩大STEM领域参与和STEM劳动力发展的基础研究。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。

This CAREER project investigates learning and assessment of problem-solving in context-rich settings, such as research laboratories, project-based courses, and STEM workplaces. It includes an education plan focused on transferring the research to improve education. Because these context-rich, problem-solving experiences more closely mimic professional work, they offer important venues for STEM workforce development. However, these environments tend to be resource and time-intensive compared to lecture courses, so it is important to understand their unique benefits. The level of "context" refers to the complexity of the goals, tools, and applications for learning. While there is a substantial amount of education research related to lower-context learning, such as active learning in lecture courses emphasizing knowing, concepts, and the acquisition of knowledge, there has been less education research on high context ("context-rich") environments. such as laboratories and actual research experiences that involve practice. The project will support the improvement of context-rich experiences that develop the science and engineering workforce, support retention and diversity, create free and publicly available assessments for STEM faculty, and guide policies on expanding and improving access to research experiences and other context-rich environments. The project addresses a national need for research that can inform the development, testing, validation, and dissemination of assessments of learning in context-rich environments and guide education policy.This research will examine how context-rich experiences prepare students for STEM workforce careers. The research plan involves describing the experience, observing evidence for learning, comparisons of activities, outcomes, and the development of new assessments. The conceptual framework is based on applying Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to learning in context-rich settings. CHAT provides a perspective that situates cognition within an activity system that relates a subject, an objective, and a community as an activity system that accomplishes practical outcomes. Data collection and analysis will utilize Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), particularly to understand mechanisms and factors within context-rich problem-solving environments that support outcomes such as development of professional identity, self-efficacy, and persistence. The education plan involves a project based first-year physics course, as well as the development of a set of validated tools that could be used for the assessment of learning in context-rich environments. Thus, the education plan is integrated with the research activities and would provide both local (course-specific) and transferable (disseminated) outcomes. The CAREER program is a National Science Foundation (NSF)-wide activity that offers awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. This project is supported by NSF's EHR Core Research (ECR) program. ECR supports fundamental research that advances knowledge on STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM fields, and STEM workforce development.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.