Exploring the Strategies Used by Two-year Colleges to Support Academic Continuity in STEM Education During the COVID-19 Crisis

与其他高等教育机构一样，美国的两年制院校通过使用虚拟教学来提供学术连续性来应对新冠肺炎疫情。其中许多机构转而使用数字学习工具，如电子课程、电子学习模拟和实验室以及虚拟现实模块。这一转向在线学习的趋势预计将缓解对技术制造业劳动力的高技能专业人员教育的干扰。项目小组将通过调查数字学习工具的使用情况，特别是由国家科学基金会资助的航空和汽车技术教育中心使用虚拟电子学校(CA2VES)项目开发的电子课程/材料和虚拟现实模拟和实验室，审查两年制机构对“新冠肺炎”危机的直接电子学习反应。该项目的目标是更好地了解两年制院校对新冠肺炎危机的即时电子学习反应，以及这些反应的影响。与南卡罗来纳技术学院系统和国家自主技术中心密切合作，克莱姆森大学的研究团队将进行一项连续的探索性研究，应用弹性工程框架和技术接受模型来解决四个研究问题：1)在疫情的快速应对期间，对两年制大学教育工作者提出了什么要求？2)教育工作者和学生在采用和整合电子学习资源方面遇到了什么障碍？3)在快速过渡期间，管理员、教育工作者和学生采用了什么策略？4)由于新冠肺炎的流行，教育工作者和学生预计在不久的将来会对电子学习做出哪些适应？混合方法研究将调查对教师、学生和管理人员的要求，以了解通过进行实地研究将电子学习资源采用和整合到制造项目中的障碍。在实地研究的基础上，项目组将制定和管理一项全国调查，以记录和审查在快速过渡到在线学习过程中采用的战略的国家情况。研究小组将系统地分析和整合定量和定性数据，为制定循证指导方针提供信息，以加强学术连续性和电子学习生态系统。他们将向广大利益攸关方传播研究成果，以指导在颠覆性条件下有效、快速的教育过渡。该项目由高级技术教育计划资助，该计划专注于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。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。

Like other institutions of higher education, two-year institutions in the United States responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by using virtual instruction to provide academic continuity. Many of these institutions turned to the use of Digital Learning Tools, such as e-curricula, e-learning simulations and laboratories, and virtual reality modules. This pivot to online learning is expected to mitigate the disruption in the education of highly skilled professionals for the technical manufacturing workforce. The project team will examine the immediate e-learning response of two-year institutions to the COVID-19 crisis by investigating the use of Digital Learning Tools, specifically the e-curricula/materials and virtual reality simulations and laboratories developed by the NSF-funded Center for Aviation and Automotive Technological Education Using Virtual E-Schools (CA2VES) project. The goal of the project is to better understand the immediate e-learning responses of two-year institutions to the COVID-19 crisis, as well as the impact of these responses. Working closely with the South Carolina Technical College System and the National Center for Autonomous Technologies, the Clemson University-based research team will conduct a sequential exploratory research study that applies the Resilience Engineering Framework and the Technology Acceptance Model to address four research questions: 1) What demands were placed on two-year college educators during the rapid pandemic response? 2) What barriers to adoption and integration of e-learning resources did educators and students experience? 3) What strategies did administrators, educators, and students employ during the rapid transition? 4) What adaptations to e-learning do educators and students anticipate in the immediate future because of the COVID-19 pandemic? The mixed methods study will investigate the demands placed on instructors, students, and administrators to understand the barriers in adopting and integrating e-learning resources into manufacturing programs by conducting field studies. Based on the field studies, the project team will develop and administer a national survey to document and examine the national landscape for strategies employed in the rapid transition to online learning. The research team will systematically analyze and integrate quantitative and qualitative data to inform the development of evidence-based guidelines to strengthen academic continuity and the e-learning ecosystem. They will disseminate research findings to a broad audience of stakeholders to guide effective rapid educational transitions under disruptive conditions. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.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.