Collaborative Research/Research Initiation: What Practice Makes Perfect

实践在培养对几乎任何事业有用的能力方面发挥着重要作用。虽然实践在竞技体育和音乐表演中得到了广泛的研究，但在工程教育中却没有得到充分的研究。随着训练和练习策略的进步，运动员和音乐家不断创造新的纪录。实践的黄金标准被发现为“刻意实践”，它非常强调实践的特殊性。为了取得优异的表现，优秀的表演者必须针对具体的技能缺陷进行量身定做的练习，就像他们作为初学者练习如何获得快速进步一样。相比之下，工科学生很少有这么具体的练习。例如，学生通常练习的课本问题可能会超出他们目前的技能水平。这种做法将导致没有进展或进展甚微，并降低信心。让学生参与有效的练习以提高学习效率是至关重要的。这项拟议的研究将检验在门户工程力学课程(即静力学和动力学)中量身定做的练习策略的有效性，这些课程对工科学生的留住有很大影响。我们将特别注重探索哪些类型的刻意练习可以更有效地帮助学生在最初的学习阶段以及以后的保留阶段。此外，这项研究还将探索实践策略，使工程学教师获得进行工程教育研究的知识和技能。这项研究的结果和见解将扩大工程教育研究人员的社区，并加快采用循证教学策略。这项研究将在恩布里-里德尔航空大学进行。三种策略(即倒退练习、模块练习和间隔练习)在发展和巩固问题解决技能方面的效果将在入门课程中进行调查。将使用混合方法。多变量和单变量统计模型将被用来分析从平衡研究设计中收集的数据，以控制混杂因素。将收集定量数据来分析学习成绩，定性数据将用于将量化结果与背景联系起来，并改进实践。该项目的智力优势体现在以下方面：提高了力学课程和其他课程的实践设计知识，产生了更详细的信息，通过实践改变了学生对力学的概念和程序知识，并为扩大工程教育研究社区提供了见解。该项目的广泛影响是研究本身固有的，因为该项目的发现不仅将影响490名工科本科生并增强学习力学，而且还有可能改善其他以实践为主要学习机制的适用科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)领域的学习。随着安布里-里德尔航空大学在STEM项目中招募女性、残疾人和代表性不足的少数族裔的努力越来越多，该项目将有助于STEM劳动力的多样化。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Practice plays an important role in developing useful abilities for almost any undertaking. Although practice has been studied extensively in competitive sports and musical performance, it is understudied within engineering education. With advancements in training and practice strategies, athletes and musicians have kept setting new records. The gold standard for practice has been discovered as "deliberate practice" which puts great emphasis on practice specificity. To achieve superior performance, elite performers must practice with tailored drills focused on specific skill deficiencies just as how they practiced as beginners to gain rapid progress. In contrast, engineering students rarely practice with such specificity. For example, students usually practice with textbook problems which might exceed their current skill level. Such practice will result in no or little progress and reduced confidence. It is critical to engage students with effective practice to enhance learning efficiency. The proposed study will examine the effectiveness of tailored practice strategies in the gateway engineering mechanics courses (i.e., Statics and Dynamics) which have a high impact on engineering student retention. Special focus will be given to exploring what types of deliberate practice can help students more effectively in the initial learning stage as well as in the later retention phase. Additionally, this research initiation will also investigate practice strategies which benefit engineering faculty in acquiring knowledge and skills for conducting engineering education research. Findings and insights gained from this research will expand the community of engineering education researchers and expedite the adoption of evidence-based instructional strategies.The study will be conducted at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The effects of three strategies (i.e., backwards faded practice, modular practice, and spaced practice) on developing and consolidating problem solving skills will be investigated in the gateway courses. Mixed-methods will be used. Multivariate and univariate statistical models will be utilized to analyze data collected from the counterbalanced research design with the benefit of controlling confounding factors. Quantitative data will be collected to analyze learning performance and qualitative data will be used to contextualize quantitative findings as well as refine practice. The intellectual merits of the project are manifested by advancing knowledge of practice design for mechanics courses and beyond, generating information in greater detail about changes to students' conceptual and procedure knowledge of mechanics through practice, as well as providing insights on expanding the engineering education research community. The broad impacts of the project are intrinsic to the research itself because the findings from this project will not only impact 490 undergraduate engineering students and enhance learning mechanics, but also have the potential to improve learning in other applicable science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas in which practice serves as a major learning mechanism. With Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's increasing effort on recruiting women, people with disabilities, and underrepresented minorities in the STEM programs, the project will contribute in diversifying the STEM workforce.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.