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

本项目旨在通过提高工科本科学生有效的写作沟通能力，服务于国家利益。工科本科学生需要更多的帮助来培养高质量的写作技巧。然而，由于工程课程的时间有限，以及工程教师对写作的重视程度有限，解决这一需求是具有挑战性的。此外，许多工科学生贬低了写作技巧，低估了在工程职业生涯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培训同行STEM写作导师的流程，提高工程专业学生在其特定学科的写作水平。这个过程涉及到写作中心导师的导师和STEM讲师之间的合作关系。他们一起设计了一个一小时的培训体验，在此期间，写作导师了解STEM作业的内容、词汇和期望。有了这些知识，导师可以在辅导期间更好地支持学生，以提高他们的具体写作作业。该项目将进行一项多机构研究，以确定导师培训过程中影响最大的因素，以及该过程可用于增加工程教师和校园写作中心之间合作的程度。预期训练将导致辅导效果和学生对写作的态度的改善，最终支持工程本科学生写作技能的提高。该项目包括宾夕法尼亚州立大学贝伦德分校、印第安纳大学普渡大学印第安纳波利斯分校、印第安纳大学普渡大学哥伦布分校和德克萨斯大学格兰德山谷分校（一所少数族裔服务机构）之间的合作。这些学校的培训过程将包括对学生、同伴导师、工程导师、写作中心和写作导师主管的影响进行检查。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，还将调查学生在辅导前后的写作样本。研究人员将分析这些数据，并使用结果来指导可复制、可持续模式的开发，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（如写作中心和同伴导师）的模式，在增加STEM与其他学科之间的合作的同时，实现对本科生STEM写作的大规模改进。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。通过参与学生学习轨道，该计划支持有前途的实践和工具的创建，探索和实施。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 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.