Maximizing the Impact of Engineering Laboratory Studies to Transform Undergraduate Engineering Curriculum and Advance Student Outcomes

本计划旨在探索一种新的方法来显著提高工程学习者的多样性，从而为国家利益服务。在社会文化认同、对技术的接触和对教学方法的偏好方面，工程本科生的群体正变得越来越多样化。这个IUSE 2级参与学生学习项目提出了基于通用设计学习（UDL）的课程改革，以本科机械和航空航天工程课程。UDL框架通过考虑学生的个人优势、劣势、动机因素和课程偏好，强调所有学习者都能获得和有效的学习体验，而不考虑他们的个体差异。该项目将探索如何使实验室课程设计和学生评估（基于学生的优势）变得灵活，并旨在激发学习者的兴趣，从而提高学生用于学习工程概念的时间的质量和数量。这项工作的更广泛影响是为STEM教师创造更具包容性的学习环境奠定基础，从而与不同的学生产生共鸣。UDL在2008年的《高等教育机会法案》中被定义为“指导教育实践的科学有效框架”，它把改革的负担放在了课程上。通过促进灵活、响应性强的课程的设计和实施，UDL为如何呈现信息、学生如何回应或展示他们的知识和技能、如何评估学习以及学生如何参与学习提供了多种选择。该项目的目标是探索和评估使用UDL框架修改罗格斯大学机械和航空航天工程系三门本科课程所产生的学生感知、参与和学习成果。调查人员还将了解到，由于这些变化，教育部的教育基础设施发生了怎样的变化。二年级、三年级和四年级的课程将调整为包括先前项目开发的实验室，该项目侧重于开发和评估高级实验课程的虚拟实验室。研究问题被设定为通过顺序混合方法和探索性研究方法进行调查。研究结果将通过工程体验式学习活动、出版物、演讲和专业发展研讨会传播给工程教育研究者、STEM教育者和高中生。该项目为转变传统工程教育理念提供了路线图，并有可能显著改善不同工程学生群体的学习机会和质量。NSF IUSE: EDU项目支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。通过参与学生学习轨道，该计划支持有前途的实践和工具的创建，探索和实施。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 exploring a novel approach to significantly enhancing the diversity of learners in engineering. Engineering undergraduate populations are becoming more diverse in terms of sociocultural identity, exposure to technology and preferences for teaching approaches. This IUSE Level 2 Engaged Student Learning project proposes Universal-Design Learning (UDL)-based curricular changes to undergraduate mechanical and aerospace engineering courses. The UDL framework emphasizes learning experiences that are accessible and effective for all learners, regardless of their individual differences, by considering students’ individual strengths, weaknesses, motivational factors and curricular preferences. The project will explore how laboratory curriculum design and student assessments (rooted in student strengths) can be made flexible and designed to ignite learner interest thus enhancing the quality and quantity of time students spend learning engineering concepts. The broader impact of the work is to establish a foundation for STEM instructors to create more inclusive learning environments that resonate with diverse students.UDL, defined in the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 as a “scientifically valid framework for guiding educational practice,” puts the burden of change on the curriculum. By facilitating the design and implementation of a flexible, responsive curriculum, UDL offers options for how information is presented, how students respond or demonstrate their knowledge and skills, how learning is assessed and how students are engaged in learning. The goal of the project is to explore and assess student perceptions, engagement, and learning outcomes that result from modifying, using the UDL framework, three undergraduate courses within the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at Rutgers University. Investigators will also acquire insights on how the educational infrastructure of the department is transformed due to those changes. Sophomore, junior, and senior level classes will be adapted to include labs developed from a prior project that focused on development and assessment of virtual labs for a senior lab course. Research questions are posited to be investigated by a sequential mixed method and exploratory research approach. Findings will be disseminated to engineering education researchers, STEM educators, and high school students via engineering experiential learning activities, publications, presentations, and professional development workshops. This project offers a roadmap for transforming conventional engineering educational philosophy and has the potential to significantly improve access and quality of learning for diverse engineering student communities. 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.