Enhancing Science Learning and Collaboration through Social Metacognition

该项目旨在通过加强生物和生物化学本科生的科学学习和合作来服务于国家利益。国家保持在科学发展的领先优势的能力取决于一支拥有良好合作技能的STEM劳动力队伍。一些证据表明，成功的合作依赖于社会元认知，或对他人思维的意识和调节。当一个人刺激另一个人的元认知时，社会元认知就会发生。当一个人大声地监测或评估自己或另一个人的理解，让别人听到时，就会发生这种情况。这个项目将使用定性和定量的方法来分析大学生物实验室和生物化学课堂上的音频和视频数据，以确定社会元认知和学生对社会元认知的认知如何影响这些背景下的合作。该项目将导致对社交元认知如何影响协作的基础知识和理解。此外，该项目将允许首席调查员(PI)通过指导和正式学习机会发展基础STEM教育研究的技能。该项目的目标是产生关于社会元认知对协作的影响的基础知识，并在PI中建立能力，以进行高质量的STEM教育研究。为了实现这些目标，这个混合方法项目将1)表征跨科学背景下发生的社会元认知及其对协作的影响，以及2)确定学生对自然发生的社会元认知的认知如何在不同的科学背景下变化。为了实现第一个目标，统计语篇分析，一种动态的多层次线性模型的形式，将被用来检验关于社会元认知和其他解释变量如何影响两个科学课堂背景下的合作的假设。统计话语分析的使用将使人们能够在一个传统上以定性方法为中心的领域做出强有力的推断。为了实现第二个目标，来自生物实验室和生物化学入门课程的个别学生将被展示从他们的小组工作会议中挑选出来的自然社会元认知的视频片段，并被要求回忆他们当时的想法和感受。通过这种刺激回忆方法和礼貌理论的镜头，学生对社会元认知的感知将被识别出来。学生对社会元认知的认知目前在该领域中缺失，这一信息对发展社会元认知干预具有重要意义。专业发展计划包括社会元认知、统计话语分析和刺激回忆方法方面的专家的课程作业和指导，将确保主要研究人员建立执行该项目所需的知识和技能集。该项目由NSF的EDU STEM教育研究核心研究能力建设计划(ECR：BCSER)支持，该计划旨在培养研究人员在STEM学习和学习环境、扩大STEM领域的参与和STEM劳动力发展等核心领域开展高质量STEM教育研究的能力。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 enhancing science learning and collaboration for undergraduate students in biology and biochemistry. The Nation’s ability to stay on the leading edge of scientific development hinges on a STEM workforce with well-developed collaboration skills. Some evidence suggests that successful collaboration depends on social metacognition, or the awareness and regulation of another’s thinking. Social metacognition occurs when one person stimulates metacognition in another. This happens when one person monitors or evaluates their own understanding or another’s understanding out loud for others to hear. This project will use both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze audio and video data from introductory college biology labs and biochemistry classrooms to determine how social metacognition and students’ perceptions of social metacognition impact collaboration in these contexts. This project will result in fundamental knowledge and understanding of how social metacognition impacts collaboration. Additionally, this project will allow the principal investigator (PI) to develop skills in fundamental STEM education research through mentoring and formal learning opportunities.The goals of this project are to generate fundamental knowledge about social metacognition’s impact on collaboration and to build capacity in the PI to conduct high quality fundamental STEM education research. To meet these goals, this mixed methods project will 1) characterize social metacognition that occurs across science contexts and its impact on collaboration, and 2) determine how students’ perceptions of naturally-occurring social metacognition vary across different science contexts. To accomplish the first objective, statistical discourse analysis, a form of dynamic multilevel hierarchical linear modeling, will be used to test hypotheses about how social metacognition and other explanatory variables impact collaboration in two science class contexts. The use of statistical discourse analysis will enable strong inferences to be made in a field that traditionally centers qualitative methods. To accomplish the second objective, individual students from introductory biology labs and biochemistry courses will be shown selected video clips of naturally-occurring social metacognition from their group work sessions and asked to recall what they were thinking and feeling in the moment. Through this stimulated recall method and the lens of politeness theory, student perceptions of social metacognition will be identified. Student perceptions of social metacognition are currently missing from the field and this information has implications for the development of social metacognition interventions. A professional development plan that includes coursework and mentorship from experts in social metacognition, statistical discourse analysis, and stimulated recall methods will ensure the primary investigator builds the knowledge and skillset needed to carry out the project. This project is supported by NSF’s EDU Core Research Building Capacity in STEM Education Research (ECR: BCSER) program, which is designed to build investigators’ capacity to carry out high-quality STEM education research in the core areas of STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM fields, 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.