Enhancing Science Learning and Collaboration through Social Metacognition

本项目旨在通过加强生物与生物化学专业本科生的科学学习与合作，为国家利益服务。美国在科学发展方面保持领先地位的能力取决于一支具有良好协作技能的STEM劳动力队伍。一些证据表明，成功的合作取决于社会元认知，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，社会元认知就产生了。当一个人监督或评估自己的理解或大声说出别人的理解时，就会发生这种情况。该项目将使用定性和定量方法分析来自大学生物实验室和生物化学教室的音频和视频数据，以确定社会元认知和学生对社会元认知的看法如何影响这些背景下的合作。这个项目将导致基本的知识和社会元认知如何影响协作的理解。此外，该项目将允许首席研究员（PI）通过指导和正式学习机会来发展基础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影响的基本知识，并在PI中建立进行高质量基础STEM教育研究的能力。为了实现这些目标，这个混合方法项目将1)描述发生在不同科学背景下的社会元认知及其对协作的影响，2)确定学生对自然发生的社会元认知的感知在不同科学背景下是如何变化的。为了实现第一个目标，统计话语分析，一种动态多层次线性建模的形式，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种科学课堂背景下的协作的假设。统计语篇分析的使用将使在传统上以定性方法为中心的领域做出强有力的推论成为可能。为了完成第二个目标，来自生物实验室和生物化学入门课程的学生将被展示他们小组工作中自然发生的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。通过这种刺激回忆法和礼貌理论的镜头，学生的社会元认知知觉将被识别。学生对社会元认知的感知目前在该领域缺失，这一信息对社会元认知干预的发展具有重要意义。一个专业发展计划，包括社会元认知、统计话语分析和刺激回忆方法方面的课程和专家指导，将确保主要研究者建立开展项目所需的知识和技能。本项目由美国国家科学基金EDU STEM教育研究核心研究能力建设项目（ECR: BCSER）支持，旨在培养研究人员在STEM学习和学习环境的核心领域开展高质量STEM教育研究的能力，扩大STEM领域的参与，以及STEM劳动力的发展。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 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.