The Impact of Peer-Led Learning on Non-Traditional Students in Online Engineering Courses

该项目旨在通过确定最佳做法来提高攻读在线工程学位的成人和退伍军人学生的毅力和进步，从而服务于国家利益。通过引入同伴领袖和同步复习课程，学生将获得在线形式传统上提供的额外支持。此外，同伴主导的团队学习环境创造了安全的避风港，在那里，基本的数学和工程原理可以在教师-学生的等级结构之外进行探索。向最近完成课程的同学学习可以为本科生提供动力、背景和榜样，特别是那些来自成人和退伍军人群体的学生，他们可能不喜欢在线学习，或者可能已经离开正式的学术环境一段时间了。这项研究的目的是告知教学实践，其他机构可以利用来更好地支持在线项目中的非传统学生。该项目将为包括静力学、空气动力学和数字电路在内的入门工程课程提供同行领导培训课程和同行领导的团队学习活动。在确定学生在同伴主导的团队学习中的经验能够产生更好的学术成果的社会和学术因素方面，该项目希望为更多的代表性不足的人群推进教学方法，并为在线教育社区增加知识广度做出贡献。同行领导的团队学习在面对面的课堂环境中被证明是有效的。目前项目的范围是通过开发可转让给其他机构的可持续在线模式，实施类似的结构和教学做法。该项目的目标包括增加对在线工程途径的承诺，提高学生在在线工程课程中的坚持性和进步性，以及确定和减轻与非传统学生群体相关的文化和结构性障碍。这项研究的证据将从工程入门课程的多个部分注册的学生中收集，并在制定一套全面的最佳实践时与对照部分进行评估。研究结果将加深我们对同辈领导的团队学习活动的理解，这些活动能够在非传统学生的学业表现和作为工程界一部分的身份发展方面产生统计上显着和显著的更大收益。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 identifying best practices for improving the persistence and advancement of adult and veteran students pursuing online engineering degrees. Through the introduction of peer leaders and synchronous recitation sessions, students will receive additional support beyond what is traditionally offered in online modalities. Moreover, peer-led team learning environments create safe havens where foundational math and engineering principles may be explored outside the instructor-student hierarchical structure. Learning from fellow students who recently completed the course can provide motivation, context, and example for undergraduate students, especially those from adult and veteran populations who may not be comfortable with online learning or perhaps have been out of the formal academic environment for some time. The intent of the study is to inform instructional practice that other institutions can leverage to better support non-traditional students in online programs. The project will produce a peer leader training curriculum and peer-led team learning activities for introductory engineering courses including statics, aerodynamics, and digital circuits. In identifying social and academic factors under which students’ experiences in peer-led team learning produce better academic outcomes, this project hopes to advance pedagogical approaches for additional underrepresented populations and contribute to the increasing breadth of knowledge for the online education community.Peer-led team learning has proven to be effective in face-to-face classroom settings. The scope of the current project is to implement similar structural and pedagogical practices through development of a sustainable online model that is transferable to other institutions. Goals for this project include increasing commitment to online engineering pathways, improving student persistence and advancement in online engineering programs, and identifying and mitigating cultural and structural barriers associated with non-traditional student populations. Evidence from the study will be collected from students enrolled across multiple sections of introductory engineering courses and evaluated against control sections in developing a comprehensive set of best practices. Results will advance our understanding of peer-led team learning activities’ ability to produce both statistically significant and substantially greater gains in non-traditional students’ academic performance and identity development as part of the engineering community. The 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.