Preparing Early Engineers through Context, Connections and Community (PEEC3)

该奖项全部或部分根据2021年美国救援计划法案（公法117-2）资助。该项目旨在通过改善进入工程专业学生的学术准备，并最终增加工程专业毕业生的数量和多样性，为国家利益服务。学生进入社区大学的准备程度各不相同，特别是在科学和数学方面。 COVID-19大流行可能增加了这种可变性，原因是学业中断和社会隔离。为了克服这些挑战，该项目打算开发一个两个季度，综合学习社区，以帮助学生准备学习工程和转移到四年制院校。 计划包括制定一个基于地方的课程，其中包括一个全面的学术准备模式。该项目将包括工程，数学，物理，英语和历史教师的跨学科合作，共同设计，实施和评估新课程。一旦课程开发完成，将招募24名学生完成三个紧密结合和团队授课的课程的四分之二序列。第一季度将结合联合收割机课程的工程，微积分和太平洋西北部的历史和文化。第二季度将结合联合收割机介绍设计和计算，额外的预演算，和英语作文。综合的两个季度的经验将模糊传统的学科界限，并纳入多种高影响力的做法，包括情境化的数学和英语，服务学习，以及基于课程的本科研究经验。这种方法应该提高学习成果的参与学生相比，目前的点菜模式的课程，并推进学生的进步沿着因素，如内在动机，自我效能感，归属感是至关重要的学生成功的工程专业。该项目旨在：（1）使用整体方法解决社区大学学生在学术，社会和情感上为工程专业做准备的差异;（2）加速参与学生在现有课程，社区和支持系统中的参与;（3）提高课程成功率，提高课程保留率，并减少工程转移准备和副学士学位完成的公平差距。计划成果将采用混合方法进行评估，包括学生调查，焦点小组访谈，以及将成果数据与同时通过现有早期工程课程进行人口统计学匹配的学生样本进行比较。此外，通过工程教育界在区域和国家会议上传播项目成果，该项目旨在制作可在个别课程中实施的模块课程产品。最后，将进行详细的财务可持续性分析，以确定是否保留收益归因于该计划证明前期成本的这种密集的课程干预。NSF关于在两年制高等教育机构中推进本科STEM教育的创新和影响的项目描述支持在两年制大学中推进STEM教育计划的项目。该项目旨在促进两年制大学本科STEM教育的创新和循证实践。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 award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). This project aims to serve the national interest by improving the academic preparation of entering engineering students and ultimately increasing the number and diversity of engineering graduates. Students enter community college with varied levels of preparation, particularly in science and mathematics. The COVID-19 pandemic has likely increased this variability, due to academic interruptions and social isolation. To overcome these challenges, this project intends to develop a two-quarter, integrated learning community to help prepare students to study engineering and to transfer to four-year institutions. Plans include developing a place-based curriculum that embraces a holistic model for academic preparation. The project will feature cross-disciplinary collaboration of faculty in engineering, math, physics, English and history working together to design, implement, and assess the new curriculum. Once the curriculum is developed, a 24-student cohort will be recruited to complete a two-quarter sequence of three tightly integrated and team-taught courses. Quarter one will combine courses in engineering, pre-calculus, and Pacific Northwest history and culture. Quarter two will combine introductory design and computing, additional pre-calculus, and English composition. The integrated two-quarter experience will blur traditional disciplinary boundaries and incorporate multiple high-impact practices including contextualized mathematics and English, service-learning, and a course-based undergraduate research experience. This approach should improve learning outcomes for participating students compared to the current a la carte model of course offerings, and advance student progress along factors such as intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and sense of belonging that are vital to student success as engineering majors. The project is intended to: (1) address disparities in community college students’ academic, social, and emotional preparation for an engineering major using a holistic approach; (2) accelerate engagement of participating students within existing curriculum, community, and support systems; and (3) increase course success rates, improve program retention, and reduce equity gaps in engineering transfer preparation and associate degree completion. Program outcomes will be assessed using a mixed methods approach consisting of student surveys, focus group interviews, and comparison of outcomes data to demographically matched samples of students simultaneously progressing through the existing early engineering curriculum. In addition, disseminating project results through the engineering education community at regional and national conferences, the project aims to produce modular curriculum products that could be implemented in individual courses. Lastly, a detailed financial sustainability analysis will be conducted to determine if retention gains attributable to the program justify the up- front cost of this intensive curriculum intervention. The NSF program description on Advancing Innovation and Impact in Undergraduate STEM Education at Two-year Institutions of Higher Education supports projects that advance STEM education initiatives at two-year colleges. The program description promotes innovative and evidence-based practices in undergraduate STEM education at two-year colleges.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.