Research Initiation: Improving engineering mechanics self-efficacy by focusing on abstracting the physical world as a precursor to analysis.

这个项目将通过帮助工程专业本科生在二年级的机械课程和他们生活和工作的现实世界之间建立直接联系，来提高工科学生在本科课程中的留用率。由于典型课程教学的抽象性，二年级的力学课程往往是学生离开工程专业的最大原因之一。该团队将开发一门基于实验室的力学课程，让学生与现实世界工程结构的物理模型互动，并学习如何将这些物理对象抽象为工程模型。在现实世界和抽象力学模型之间建立这种直接联系，将使学生看到他们学习的价值，并提高他们继续从事所选职业的动力。留住更多来自不同背景的工程专业学生，将有助于建设美国的STEM劳动力。研究小组将开发一门二年级的力学课程，颠覆传统的方法，从物理世界的应用开始，培养学生开发物理系统的工程模型的能力，即将物理世界抽象为数学/工程模型。提出的研究假设是，通过从抽象开始，学生将在物理世界和力学建模之间建立更强的联系。反过来，这将提高学生对他们解决工程力学问题的能力和他们未来成为工程师的动机的认识。我们试图回答的具体研究问题是：(1)在基础力学课程中，教授学生如何抽象物理世界会以何种方式影响他们的自我效能感，以及学生在多大程度上将他们生活的物理世界与他们将在学习中使用的力学模型建立直接联系？(2)向学生展示如何将物理世界抽象为可处理的工程科学问题，在哪些方面影响了他们面向未来的动机，以及学生在多大程度上将他们正在学习的东西与毕业后将要工作的物理世界联系起来？研究小组将以开放获取的方式在网上发布课程材料，使其他机构的教师能够采用拟议的教学方法。这将包括模型设计、课堂活动、作业和评估工具。该研究计划将培养工程教育研究方面的PI和研究生，并将增加实践性研究人员的群体。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。

This project will improve the retention of engineering students in undergraduate programs by helping them make direct connections between their second-year mechanics classes and the real world in which they live and will work. Second-year mechanics classes are often one of the biggest reasons for students to leave engineering because of the abstract nature of typical course instruction. The team will develop a lab-based mechanics class where students interact with physical models of real-world engineered structures and learn how to abstract these physical objects into engineering models. Making this direct connection between the real world and abstract mechanics models will enable students to see the value of their studies and improve their motivation to continue in their chosen profession. Retaining more students in engineering, from a diversity of backgrounds, will help build the U.S. STEM workforce.The research team will develop a second-year mechanics class that flips the traditional approach by starting with the physical world application and building students’ ability to develop engineering models of physical systems, i.e., abstracting the physical world into mathematical/engineering models. The hypothesis of the proposed research is that, by starting with abstraction, students will build a stronger connection between the physical world and mechanics modeling. In turn, this will improve students’ perceptions about their ability to solve engineering mechanics problems and their future-oriented motivation to be engineers. The specific research questions we seek to answer are: (1) In what ways does teaching students how to abstract the physical world affect their self-efficacy in basic mechanics classes, and to what extent do students build direct connections between the physical world they live in with the mechanics models they will use in their studies? (2) In what ways does showing students how to abstract the physical world into tractable engineering science problems affect their future-oriented motivation, and to what extent do students make connections between what they are learning and the physical world they will work in upon graduation? The research team will publish the class materials online with open access, enabling instructors at other institutions to adopt the proposed pedagogical approach. This will include the model designs, class activities, assignments, and assessment tools. The research program will train the PI and graduate student in engineering education research and will increase the community of practitioner researchers.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.