Collaborative Research: Mentoring You is Learning for Me: Peer Mentor Preparation and Mentoring of Undergraduate Engineering Student Learning in Makerspaces

该项目旨在通过探讨课程的影响来服务于国家利益，该课程旨在加强同伴导师的能力，以促进在以空间为基础的课程中的学习。Makerspace是一种非传统的学习环境，学生在这里学习“修修补补”和制作东西，以了解它们是如何工作的。基于实践项目的学习--典型的创客空间--可以帮助学生将抽象的概念可视化，将现实世界的含义揭示出来，并使学习更加有趣。同行导师通常在makerspace中扮演监督角色，并对设计和原型制作的技术方面了如指掌。然而，同伴导师的教学准备通常很少，因此限制了他们促进学生学习的能力。该项目将设计、实施和调查同伴导师教学准备对他们在Makerspace中促进学习的能力的影响。该课程将利用角色扮演、观察报告、反思和跟踪等多种高影响力的做法，显著提高同伴导师的能力，以促进学生的学习。计划中的研究旨在调查同伴导师教学准备课程对同伴导师和被辅导者的影响。在导师方面，将评估对导师职业认同感、自我效能感、领导认同感和指导有效性的影响。在被辅导者方面，将调查工程师身份、归属感、成功和团队功能。导师准备课程将包括培训模块，重点放在一系列主题上，如人们如何学习、教育方法基础、学习者的多样性、培养成长心态、有效的课堂观察、社会归属感、包容性、学生身份、促进团队合作和解决群体冲突。培训模块将以开放源代码的方式在线提供，供其他机构免费使用。干预影响的评估将通过混合方法研究中要调查的研究问题来完成。将利用调查、观察、访谈和反思来收集定量和定性数据，这些数据将有助于确定干预措施对导师和学员的影响。NSF IUSE：EDU计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生的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 exploring the impact of a course designed to enhance peer mentors' capacity to facilitate learning in a makerspace-based course. Makerspaces are non-traditional learning environments where students learn to “tinker” and make things for the purpose of understanding how they work. Hands-on project-based learning – typical of makerspaces - can help students visualize abstract concepts bringing real world implications to light and making learning more interesting. Peer mentors often play a supervisory role in makerspaces and are knowledgeable about technical aspects of designing and prototyping. However, peer mentors' teaching preparation is usually minimal,thus limiting their capacity to facilitate student learning. This track 1 Engaged Student Learning IUSE project will design, implement and investigate the impact of peer mentor teaching preparation on their ability to facilitate learning in makerspaces. A variety of high impact practices, including role-playing, observation reporting, reflection and shadowing will be leveraged in a course specifically designed to significantly enhance peer mentors’ ability to facilitate student learning.The research planned intends to investigate the impact of the peer mentor teaching preparation course on both the peer mentor and the mentee. On the mentor side, impact on mentor professional identity, self-efficacy, leadership identity, and mentoring effectiveness will be evaluated. On the mentee side, engineering identity, sense of belonging, success, and team function will be investigated. The mentor preparation course will comprise training modules focused on a range of topics such as How People Learn, Education Methods Fundamentals, Diversity of Learners, Fostering a Growth Mindset, Effective Classroom Observation, Social Belonging, Inclusion, Student Identity, Fostering Teamwork, and Group Conflict Resolution. Training modules will be available online on an open-source basis, free for use by other institutions. Evaluation of the impact of the intervention will be accomplished through research questions to be investigated in a mixed methods study. Surveys, observations, interviews and reflections will be utilized to gather quantitative and qualitative data that will help determine the impact of the intervention on both the mentors and mentees. The NSF IUSE: EDU 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.