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

研究启动：通过专注于抽象物理世界作为分析的先驱来提高工程力学的自我效能。

• 批准号: 2306156
• 负责人: Nigel Kaye
• 金额: $ 20万
• 依托单位: Clemson University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-07-01 至 2025-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2306156&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Research; Initiation; Improving; engineering; mechanics

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.

这个项目将通过帮助他们在二年级的力学课程和他们生活和工作的现实世界之间建立直接的联系，来提高工程专业学生在本科课程中的留存率。由于典型课程教学的抽象性，二年级的力学课往往是学生离开工程学的最大原因之一。该团队将开发一门以实验室为基础的力学课程，在该课程中，学生与真实世界工程结构的物理模型进行互动，并学习如何将这些物理对象抽象为工程模型。在真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，并增强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学学生，将有助于建立美国STEM工作队伍。研究团队将开发一门二年级力学课程，通过从物理世界应用程序开始，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，从而颠覆传统的方法。这项研究的假设是，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的看法，以及他们面向未来成为工程师的动机。我们试图回答的具体研究问题是：(1)在基础力学课上，教授学生如何抽象物理世界对他们的自我效能感有什么影响？学生在多大程度上建立了他们生活的物理世界与他们将在学习中使用的力学模型之间的直接联系？(2)向学生展示如何将物理世界抽象为易于处理的工程科学问题会以什么方式影响他们面向未来的动机？学生在多大程度上将他们正在学习的东西与他们毕业后将工作的物理世界联系起来？研究小组将在网上发布开放获取的课程材料，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。该研究计划将培训PI和研究生进行工程教育研究，并将增加实践研究人员社区。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。