Collaborative Research: Advancing Scientific Reasoning in Online and In-Person Introductory Physics Labs

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This project aims to serve the national interest by analyzing and improving undergraduate students' skills in scientific reasoning. This collaborative project involves investigators at the University of Cincinnati (Award DUE-2110334) and Ohio State University (Award DUE-2110343). "Scientific reasoning" is often used a label for the set of skills that support critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving. Goals in modern education have shifted toward fostering those high-end skills, which are necessary for the 21st century workforce, but college science courses often do not significantly impact students in those areas. In the context of an introductory physics lab course, the investigators plan to develop lab modules and assessments designed around specific scientific reasoning skills and to study how the modules impact college students' development of the targeted skills.The project intends to focus on the cognitive strand of skills that support critical thinking, problem-solving, and systems thinking in undergraduate STEM education. The targeted skills include Control of Variables (COV) reasoning, data analytics, and causal decision-making, all of which are essential to the process of coordinating theory and evidence, which in turn is integral to scientific inquiry. Building on their prior work, the investigators plan to develop and refine a first-semester physics lab curriculum for in-person or online delivery, assessment tools for measuring targeted scientific reasoning skills, and a suite of associated resources for instructors. They intend to study the impact of certain pieces of the curriculum on students' development of the targeted skills; differences, if any, in skill development by different populations of students (including women and underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities); differences, if any, in skill development in online versus in-person instructional settings; and best practices for disseminating and implementing the curriculum in different settings, including online, to optimize learning and promote use. The curriculum will be tested at a variety of institutions, including universities, a liberal arts college, and two-year colleges. 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.