Collaborative Research: New to IUSE: EDU DCL:Diversifying Economics Education through Plug and Play Video Modules with Diverse Role Models, Relevant Research, and Active Learning

该项目旨在通过改善本科课程中的经济学教育来服务于国家利益。经济学导论课程（由相当数量的本科生选修）往往由于过时的教学方法、不具包容性的课堂实践以及缺乏多样化的榜样而无法发挥其潜力。与其他STEM领域相比，经济学在开发和采用创新的教学方法方面取得了长足的进步，欢迎不同的观点，经济学已经落后了。因此，经济学为解决社会问题做出贡献的能力受到了损害。缺乏多样性不仅影响了研究的主题，而且限制了课堂上不同思想的交流，阻碍了更广泛的社会进步。该项目旨在通过使用STEM教育文献中的循证方法开发和评估课堂干预来解决这些问题，其目标是扩大对经济学的认识，增强学生的归属感，并增加该领域的多样性和保留率。拟议的干预措施包括一系列模块，教师可以很容易地插入经济学入门课程，旨在通过专业制作的视频，让学生接触到各种角色模型和一系列令人兴奋的相关主题。配套的课程材料，以实证为基础的主动学习原则为基础，将加深学生的参与和学习。该项目假设，这种干预将积极影响学生对经济学的看法，加强他们对经济学的归属感和对自己能力的信心，并改善学习，坚持和保留，特别是在不同的学生中。这些模块还将为经济学教师提供专业发展机会，使他们能够在课堂上实施最佳做法。通过汇集这些基于证据的方法，并将其提供给经济学入门课堂，这个一级项目与IUSE：EDU计划的学生学习轨道保持一致，旨在改善经济学教育，通过创新和包容性实践吸引学生，增强多样性，并为学生全面了解经济学原理及其应用做好准备。该项目还通过扩大STEM教育的知识和提高美国在经济学（STEM的一个重要领域）的研究能力来进一步推进NSF的使命。该项目采用混合方法研究方法，将焦点小组的投入纳入项目模块的开发以及影响评估的定量和定性方法。项目小组计划与教员合作，在各类机构的课堂上采用这些单元。每位教师将有一个“控制”学期，其中他们不使用模块和一个“治疗”学期，其中他们进行了前和后调查，将用于收集有关结构的数据，如STEM身份，自我效能，连通性和归属感，以及对经济学持久性的看法。将这些数据与机构数据相结合，项目团队将进行差异中的差异回归，以分析项目影响。这个项目的智力价值在于利用现有的证据主动学习和榜样，创造一套新的模块，结合不同的榜样，政策的相关性，和主动学习技术，以塑造不同的学生的看法，身份和持久性。这些模块旨在适应广泛的机构，促进其轻松融入经济学入门课堂。这个项目的更广泛的目标始于课堂，但延伸到课堂之外，旨在创造一个欢迎来自各种背景的经济学家来应对社会挑战的职业。该项目创建的模块应积极影响学生在经济学教育中的经验，使经济学学生的管道多样化，为教师提供专业发展机会，并拓宽经济学中所代表的声音和观点。NSF IUSE：EDU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。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力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 aims to serve the national interest by improving economics education in undergraduate programs. Introductory economics courses (taken by a significant number of undergraduate students) often fall short of their potential due to outdated teaching methods, classroom practices that are not inclusive, and a paucity of diverse role models. In comparison to other STEM fields that have made strides in developing and adopting innovative teaching approaches that welcome diverse perspectives, economics has lagged behind. Consequently, the ability of economics to contribute to solving societal problems is compromised. The lack of diversity not only affects the topics studied but also limits the exchange of diverse ideas in the classroom, hindering broader societal progress. This project seeks to address these issues by developing and evaluating a classroom intervention using evidence-based methods from STEM education literature, with the goal of broadening perceptions of economics, enhancing student sense of belonging, and increasing diversity and retention in the field. The proposed intervention consists of a series of modules instructors can easily plug into introductory economics courses designed to expose students to diverse role models and a range of exciting and relevant topics through professionally produced videos. Accompanying curricular materials, grounded in evidence-based active learning principles, will deepen student engagement and learning. The project hypothesizes that this intervention will positively influence students' perceptions about economics, strengthen their sense of belonging in economics and their belief in their own abilities, and improve learning, persistence, and retention, particularly among diverse students. The modules will also provide professional development opportunities for economics instructors, enabling them to implement best practices in their classrooms. By bringing together these evidence-based approaches and delivering them to the introductory economics classroom, this Tier 1 project aligns with the IUSE: EDU Program's Engaged Student Learning track, aiming to improve economics education, engage students through innovative and inclusive practices, enhance diversity, and prepare students with a comprehensive understanding of economic principles and their applications. The project also furthers the NSF mission by expanding knowledge on STEM education and increasing the capacity of the US to conduct research in economics, a crucial STEM field, by contributing to a more vibrant and diverse economics workforce.This project uses a mixed methods research approach by incorporating focus group input into the development of the project modules and quantitative and qualitative methods for impact evaluation. The project team plans to deploy the modules in classes at varied types of institutions in collaboration with instructors. Each instructor will have a “control” semester in which they do not use the modules and a “treatment” semester in which they conduct the pre- and post-surveys that will be used to collect data on constructs such as STEM identity, self-efficacy, connectedness and belonging, and perceptions of persistence in economics. Combining that data with institutional data, the project team will perform difference-in-differences regressions to analyze project impacts. The intellectual merit of this project lies in leveraging the existing evidence about active learning and role models to create a novel set of modules, combining diverse role models, policy relevance, and active learning techniques to shape diverse students' perceptions, identity, and persistence. The modules are designed to be adaptable to a wide range of institutions, facilitating their easy integration into introductory economics classrooms. The broader goals of this project start in the classroom but extend beyond it, aiming to create a profession that welcomes economists from all backgrounds to address society's challenges. The modules this project creates should positively influence students' experiences in economics education, diversify the pipeline of economics students, provide professional development opportunities for instructors, and broaden the voices and perspectives represented in economics. 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 and to advance our understanding of persistence in economics.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.