Enhancing Equity and Access Via Digitally-mediated Collaborative Learning Experiences

该项目旨在通过建立最佳做法，为所有学生，无论他们住在哪里，增加获得高质量教育的机会，从而服务于国家利益。研究表明，让学生参与协作活动与提高学生的毅力、改善学生的学习成果和保持能力有关。开发和测试了不同的教学方法和资源，以加强面对面教学中的协作。然而，在在线环境中，缺乏最大限度地实现同步协作学习的循证做法。新冠肺炎透露，需要通过使用视频会议和其他技术工具，调整协作学习活动，以适应各种交付模式。然而，需要提供高质量的在线和协作体验，这可能是增加未来公平和普遍获得教育机会的重要战略，特别是对寻求STEM教育的日益多样化的学生群体而言。该项目将增进对在线学习、公平和获取之间相互联系的理解。同步的在线协作学习活动有可能扩大数字公平差距，影响来自低社会经济群体或不同时区的学生。另一方面，这些活动增加了人们对“真实交互”的看法，而对电子邮件、在线论坛和聊天消息系统的依赖会对“真实交互”产生负面影响。本项目的第一部分将调查学生选择同步或异步课程对他们的学习目标、归属感和满足感的影响。本项目的第二部分将开发基于证据的面对面促进策略的在线协作学习策略，包括使用群体意识工具和指定的团队角色。为了更好地了解在线协作学习如何增强公平性，并在学生努力应对学习挑战时为他们提供关键的社会支持，该项目将回答以下研究问题：1)同步计算机支持的协作学习活动的时间表如何影响获取和公平？以及2)如何调整面对面促进策略以用于在线环境，特别是增强公平和获取？为了回答第一个问题，学生将被分成两部分，这两部分将决定他们将如何完成协作学习活动，要么遵循指定的大学时间表时间，要么选择他们选择的时间。将收集绩效和参与数据，以衡量干预的影响，以及班级观察、归属感和满意度调查。对于第二个研究问题，本研究项目将开发在线工具，以纳入在线协作学习活动的促进策略。作为这项研究的一部分，将对新工具进行测试，并将使用几个指标来衡量其有效性。为该项目开发的所有在线工具都将是目前许多大学广泛采用的开源软件的一部分。NSF IUSE：EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生的STEM教育的有效性。通过参与的学生学习路径，该计划支持有前景的实践和工具的创建、探索和实施。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。

This project aims to serve the national interest by establishing best practices to increase access to high-quality education for all students regardless of where they live. Research indicates that engaging students in collaborative activities is associated with increased student persistence and improved student learning outcomes and retention. Different teaching methods and resources have been developed and tested to improve collaboration during face-to-face instruction. However, there is a lack of evidence-based practices to maximize synchronous collaborative learning in online environments. COVID-19 exposed the need to adapt collaborative learning activities to fit a variety of delivery modes, with the use of video conferences and other technology tools. However, the need to provide high quality online and collaborative experiences may be a vital strategy for increasing future equity and access to education in general, especially to the increasingly diverse population of students who seek STEM education. This project will advance understanding about the interconnections between online learning, equity and access. Synchronous online collaborative learning activities have the potential to widen the digital equity gap, affecting students from low socioeconomic groups, or across different time zones. On the other hand, these activities increase the perception of “real interactions,” which are negatively impacted by reliance on e-mails, online forums, and chat messaging systems. The first part of this project will investigate the impact of students’ choice of synchronous or asynchronous classes on their learning goals, sense of belonging and satisfaction. The second part of this project will develop online strategies for collaborative learning that are adapted from the evidence-based face-to-face facilitation strategies, including the use of group awareness tools and designated team roles.To better understand how online collaborative learning can bolster equity and provide critical social support for students as they wrestle through the challenges of learning, the project will answer the following research questions: 1) How does the schedule of synchronous computer-supported collaborative learning activities affect access and equity?; and 2) How face-to-face facilitation strategies can be adapted for use in online environments, especially to enhance equity and access? To address the first question, students will be split into two sections which will determine how they will complete the collaborative learning activities, either following the designated university schedule time, or a time of their choosing. Performance and participation data will be collected to measure the impact of the intervention, as well as class observations, and sense of belonging and satisfaction surveys. For the second research question, this research project will develop online tools to incorporate facilitation strategies for online collaborative learning activities. As part of this research, the new tools will be tested, and several metrics will be used to measure its effectiveness. All the online tools developed for this project will be part of an open-source software that is currently widely adopted in many universities. 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.