MCA: Concept Mapping for Improved Technical Communication in Undergraduates

这个中期职业发展（MCA）项目调查概念图活动如何影响本科生在高级化学和生物工程实验室课程的技术沟通技能。我们的目标是通过增加新的概念图作业，以显示学生生成的实验室数据和他们的书面通信之间的连接，以提高本科生的技术沟通技能。通过调查概念图对学生技术信息沟通能力的潜在影响，本研究旨在解决工程师技术沟通教学的挑战。该项目还将探讨学生之间的潜在差异，并努力创造一个包容性的学习环境，使学生能够对他们的技术交流充满信心。在整个项目中，首席研究员将由一位经验丰富的工程教育研究员指导。 该项目的潜在好处服务于国家利益，为准备充分的工程专业毕业生提供技术沟通技能，加入技术劳动力队伍，并扩大对工程教育进行研究的能力。概念图将作为一种工具来实施，以支持学生学习如何在书面报告中传达复杂的技术概念。本研究将探讨的问题为：1）概念图的使用如何影响学生在实验室课程中的技术沟通技巧？2)概念图对不同学生群体的技术沟通能力有何影响？3)概念图的合作开发在多大程度上影响了个人的沟通技能和他们各自在沟通任务中的表现？，4）概念图的质量与技术沟通作业成绩之间的关系是什么？为了回答这些问题，将通过调查、访谈和评估收集数据，然后分析这些数据，以获得技术沟通技能和信心增长的证据。该项目的研究结果旨在促进技术交流教学的进步，促进更深入的学习和理解，并最终提高工程毕业生的准备。此外，这项研究有可能为工程教育工作者提供一个有价值的评估工具，并促进在各个机构和学科的概念映射中采用循证实践。该项目由NSF IUSE：EDU项目支持，该项目支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生的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 Mid-Career Advancement (MCA) project investigates how concept mapping activities affect the technical communication skills of undergraduate students in a senior-level chemical and biological engineering laboratory course. The goal is to enhance the technical communication skills of undergraduate students by adding new concept mapping assignments to show connections between student-generated laboratory data and their written communications. By investigating the potential impact of concept mapping on students' ability to communicate technical information, this research aims to address the challenges of teaching technical communication to engineers. This project will also explore potential disparities among students and strive to create an inclusive learning environment that empowers students to have confidence in their technical communications. The principal investigator will be mentored by an experienced researcher in engineering education throughout the project. The potential benefits of this project serve the national interest for well-prepared engineering graduates with technical communication skills to join the technical workforce and expanded capacity to conduct research on engineering education. Concept mapping will be implemented as a tool to support students to learn how to communicate complex technical concepts in written reports. The research questions that will be explored are: 1) How does the use of concept mapping influence students' technical communication skills in the laboratory course?, 2) What are the the impacts of concept mapping on the technical communication skills for different groups of students? 3) To what extent does the collaborative development of concept maps impact individuals' communication skills and their respective performance on communication assignments?, and 4) What is the relationship between the quality of concept maps and scores on technical communication assignments? To answer these questions, data will be collected through surveys, interviews, and assessments, which will then be analyzed for evidence of growth in technical communication skills and confidence. The findings of this project seek to contribute to the advancement of technical communication instruction, promote deeper learning and understanding, and ultimately enhance the preparation of engineering graduates. Additionally, this research has the potential to provide a valuable assessment tool for engineering educators and to facilitate the adoption of evidence-based practices in concept mapping across various institutions and disciplines. This project is supported by the NSF IUSE: EDU program, which supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students.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.