CAREER: Building a Model of Instructional Congruence through Exploring the Role of Language in Introductory Undergraduate Engineering Courses

当基本概念主要通过高度技术性的语言、不熟悉的隐喻和类比以及复杂的抽象来呈现时，工程入门课程可能会使许多本科生感到疏远。当学生的教育背景、以前的经验和语言实践没有反映在工程教师的书面或口头例子和课程材料中时，这种疏离感可能会特别严重。为了对抗这种感觉，本项目的目的是开发一种教学一致性模型，将本科生的语言实践和经验与核心工程概念联系起来。这个项目的重点是那些由于社会经济地位、种族、民族或语言而在工程课程中被边缘化的本科生，包括那些自认为是非裔美国人、黑人、西班牙裔或拉丁裔的人。这个项目是基于这样一个基本假设：当教师鼓励学生使用母语时，语言可以在本科工程入门课程中建立归属感；当他们使用日常语言来建立对复杂学科思想和实践的理解时；当他们通过熟悉的类比、隐喻或例子将学生的经历与基本的工程概念联系起来时。为了探索这一假设，该项目将对五所大学的电气工程入门课程进行研究，其中包括一所西班牙裔服务机构，一所历史上的黑人研究型大学，以及有意开设包容性工程课程的白人占主导地位的机构。该项目将形成一个以经验为基础的、开放获取的、可扩展的、全国传播的模型，供本科工程教师使用，他们希望通过教学一致的方法来培养学生的学科专业知识，并增强他们对工程的归属感。本项目将探讨不同类型的语言如何通过建立熟悉的例子和基本工程概念之间的联系来支持本科生发展学科专业知识。为了实现这一研究目的，将在五所学院或大学的入门工程课程中进行多阶段话语分析，这些课程是有目的地选择的，以确保学生、教师、课程和机构类型的多样性。在此背景下，研究团队将收集大量的数据来源，包括书面课程材料，课堂观察的协议，以及本科生焦点小组前后的成绩单。此外，研究小组将采访教师，以更好地了解他们使用特定类型语言（包括类比和隐喻）的基本原理，以支持学生的学习。对这些数据源的定性内容分析将产生一个教学一致性模型，该模型可广泛地转移到全国各地的机构和项目中。该模型将通过研究出版物、研讨会、网络研讨会和教学人员的研究生课程进行共享。总的来说，这些资源将产生可操作的知识，指导教师如何在本科工程课程中使用语言来培养学科专业知识，同时增强学生对工程的归属感。本项目由美国国家科学基金会EDU核心研究（ECR）项目支持。ECR项目强调在该领域产生基础知识的基础STEM教育研究。投资在至关重要、广泛和持久的关键领域：STEM学习和STEM学习环境，扩大STEM参与，以及STEM劳动力发展。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

Introductory engineering courses may seem alienating to many undergraduates when fundamental concepts are presented primarily through highly technical language, unfamiliar metaphors and analogies, and complex abstractions. This sense of alienation may be particularly acute when students’ educational backgrounds, prior experiences, and linguistic practices are not reflected in engineering instructors’ written or verbal examples and course materials. To counter this sense, the purpose of this project is to develop a model of instructional congruence that connects undergraduates’ linguistic practices and experiences with core engineering concepts. This project focuses on undergraduates that have historically been marginalized in engineering courses due to their socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, or language, including people who identify as African American or Black and Hispanic or Latiné. This project is based on the fundamental assumption that language can function to build a sense of belonging in introductory undergraduate engineering courses when instructors encourage the use of students’ home languages; when they use everyday language to build understandings of complex disciplinary ideas and practices; and when they connect students’ experiences with fundamental engineering concepts through familiar analogies, metaphors, or examples. To explore this assumption, the project will conduct research in introductory electrical engineering courses at five universities, including a Hispanic-Serving Institution, a Historically Black Research University, and Predominantly White Institutions with intentionally inclusive engineering courses. The project will result in an empirically-based, open-access, scalable, and nationally-disseminated model that can be used by undergraduate engineering instructors who seek to build their students’ disciplinary expertise and enhance their sense of belonging in engineering through instructionally congruent approaches. This project will explore how various types of language can support undergraduates in developing disciplinary expertise through building connections between familiar examples and fundamental engineering concepts. To achieve this research purpose, a multi-phase discourse analysis will be performed in introductory engineering courses across five colleges or universities, which were purposively selected to ensure diversity among students, instructors, programs, and institution types. Within this context, the research team will collect numerous data sources, including written course materials, protocols from classroom observations, and transcripts from pre- and post-focus groups with undergraduates. Additionally, the research team will interview the instructors to better understand their rationales behind using specific types of language, including analogies and metaphors, to support student learning. Qualitative content analyses of these data sources will result in a model of instructional congruence that is widely transferrable to institutions and programs across the country. This model will be shared through research publications, workshops, webinars, and a graduate course for instructional faculty. Collectively, these resources will result in actionable knowledge regarding how instructors can use language to foster disciplinary expertise in undergraduate engineering courses, while simultaneously enhancing students’ sense of belonging in engineering. This project is supported by NSF's EDU Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development.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.