Collaborative Research: Writing Assignment Tutor Training in STEM, an Interdisciplinary Approach to Enhance Student Writing in Engineering Fields

本项目旨在通过提高本科工科学生通过写作进行有效沟通的能力来服务于国家利益。 工科本科生需要更多的帮助来培养高质量的写作技能。 然而，解决这一需求是具有挑战性的，由于工程课程的时间有限，工程教师对写作的重视有限。 此外，许多工程专业的学生低估了写作技巧，低估了在工程职业中取得成功所需的写作量。该项目旨在通过分发和测试先前开发的用于培训同行STEM写作导师的过程来提高工程专业学生在其特定学科中的写作。这个过程涉及写作中心导师和STEM讲师的主管之间的伙伴关系。他们一起设计了一个小时的培训体验，在此期间，写作导师学习STEM作业内容，词汇和期望。 有了这些知识，导师可以在辅导课程中更好地支持学生，以提高他们的具体写作任务。该项目将进行多机构研究，以确定导师培训过程中最具影响力的要素，以及该过程可用于增加工程讲师和校园写作中心之间合作的程度。预计培训将导致辅导效果和学生对写作的态度的改善，最终支持本科工程专业学生的写作技能的提高。该项目包括宾夕法尼亚州立大学贝伦德分校、印第安纳州普渡大学印第安纳波利斯分校、印第安纳州普渡大学哥伦布分校和德克萨斯大学格兰德河谷分校（一所为少数民族服务的机构）之间的合作。 在这些校园的写作作业导师培训过程的评估将包括对学生的影响，同侪导师，工程导师，写作中心，和写作导师主管检查。数据收集方法将包括培训前和培训后调查、访谈和焦点小组。此外，学生写作样本从前和辅导后将进行调查。研究人员将分析这些数据，并使用结果来指导开发一个可复制的，可持续的模型，以便将来将写作作业导师培训方法扩展到其他机构和STEM领域。这种方法可以作为其他机构利用现有基础设施和资源（如写作中心和同侪导师）的模式，以实现对本科STEM写作的大规模改进，同时增加STEM与其他学科之间的合作。NSF IUSE：EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。该奖项反映了NSF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 project aims to serve the national interest by improving undergraduate engineering students’ ability to communicate effectively through writing. Undergraduate engineering students need more help to develop high-quality writing skills. However, addressing this need is challenging due to limited time in engineering curricula and the limited emphasis engineering faculty members place on writing. In addition, many engineering students devalue writing skills and underestimate the amount of writing needed to be successful in engineering careers. This project intends to improve engineering student writing in their specific disciplines through distribution and testing of a previously developed process for training peer STEM writing tutors. This process involves a partnership between the supervisor of writing center tutors and the STEM instructor. Together, they design a one-hour training experience during which writing tutors learn about the STEM assignment content, vocabulary, and expectations. With this knowledge, the tutors can better support students during tutoring sessions to improve their specific writing assignment. This project will undertake a multi-institutional study to identify the elements of the tutor training process that have the most impact and the extent to which the process can be used to increase collaboration between engineering instructors and campus writing centers. It is expected that the training will lead to improvements in both tutoring effectiveness and student attitudes toward writing, ultimately supporting improvements in the writing skills of undergraduate engineering students. This project includes a collaboration between Penn State Behrend, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Indiana University Purdue University Columbus, and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, a minority-serving institution. Evaluation of the Writing Assignment Tutor Training process on these campuses will include examination of impacts on students, peer tutors, engineering instructors, writing centers, and writing tutor supervisors. Data collection methods will include pre- and post-training surveys, interviews, and focus groups. In addition, student writing samples from pre-and post-tutoring will be investigated. The investigators will analyze these data and use the results to guide development of a replicable, sustainable model for future expansion of the Writing Assignment Tutor Training approach to other institutions and STEM fields. This approach may serve as a model for other institutions to capitalize on existing infrastructure and resources, such as writing centers and peer tutors, to achieve large-scale improvements to undergraduate STEM writing while increasing collaboration between STEM and other disciplines. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.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.