CAREER: The Overlooked Barrier – Exploring How Engineering Education Research Teams Negotiate Epistemic Differences

工程教育是一个跨学科的领域，包括来自工程、社会学、心理学等不同背景的研究人员和实践者。这些学科中的每一个都有自己的方法，这些方法驱动着指导研究如何进行和提出什么研究问题的“规则”。这些差异导致了围绕知识生成和应用过程的紧张和误解，限制了所做的研究以及研究对工程教育（例如K-12工程教育，本科工程教学）的影响。研究人员经常错误地将这些紧张关系与无效的沟通或项目管理联系起来，从而造成了研究团队面临的一个被忽视的障碍。该项目将通过首先调查如何在工程教育研究（EER）团队成员之间协商思维差异来开始解决这个被忽视的障碍。通过获得这种理解，该项目将采用迭代的方法来开发研讨会、异步培训和课程模块，重点是支持EER研究人员和团队克服与思维差异相关的障碍，并最终在工程教育中创造变革。本提案的主要成果将是：(1)一个概念模型，该模型结合了EER团队中认知文化和个人对认知身份的协商；(2)四个研讨会，扩展概念模型并将其翻译为研究人员使用；(3)作为指导工具，促进EER团队内部不同研究目标、方法和理想（认知认同）的整合；(4)异步虚拟培训和两个教学模块，以支持现有和新兴的研究人员。这项工作的结果将确保研究人员和团队有知识和工具来克服与思维差异相关的障碍。本项目将通过全面整合的三大规划来实现这些成果。该研究计划将使用多方法研究方法来调查：1)研究人员如何协商思维差异；2)定义团队如何以及为什么选择特定方法来产生和应用知识的文化。本调查将以以下研究问题为指导：如何在工程教育研究团队成员之间协商认知差异？本项目将通过整合民族志案例研究（阶段A）和扎根理论（阶段B）的方法来回答这个问题。阶段A将深入探索定义知识如何在单个研究团队中产生、表达和应用的文化。这种深入的探索将形成一个初始的概念模型，该模型代表了EER团队产生和应用知识的一种方式。阶段B将通过调查不同EER团队的研究人员如何协商思维差异并定义如何生成和应用知识来扩展该模型。翻译计划将通过发展和举办四个讲习班来整合研究和教育计划。前两个研讨会，称为探索研讨会，将通过添加结构和连接来完善概念模型，这些结构和连接将通过研究计划进一步探索。然后，将使用两个开发研讨会，通过创建指导工具来促进EER团队中不同研究目标、方法和理想的整合，将研究成果转化为实践。该教育计划将通过开发异步虚拟培训和两个教学模块，为研究人员和团队提供知识和工具，以解决与思维差异相关的障碍。将采用一种迭代方法来发展这些培训，以确保其结构和内容满足研究人员的需要。异步虚拟培训将为已建立的研究人员开发。这些教学模块将为新兴研究人员开发，并将在六个工程教育项目中实施。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。

Engineering education is an interdisciplinary field that includes researchers and practitioners from a range of backgrounds - engineering, sociology, psychology, etc. Each of these disciplines have their own approaches that drive the “rules” that guide how research is conducted and what research questions are asked. These differences have led to tension and misunderstanding around the process of knowledge generation and application, limiting the research that is done and the impact of research on engineering education (e.g., K-12 engineering education, undergraduate engineering instruction). Researchers often incorrectly associate these tensions with ineffective communication or project management, creating an overlooked barrier facing research teams. This project will begin to address this overlooked barrier by first investigating how differences in thinking are negotiated among members of an engineering education research (EER) team. By gaining this understanding, this project will take an iterative approach to develop workshops, asynchronous trainings, and course modules focused on supporting EER researchers and teams to navigate barriers related to differences in thinking and ultimately create transformative change in engineering education. The key outcomes of this proposal will be (1) a conceptual model the incorporates epistemic culture and individual’s negotiation of epistemic identities within EER teams; (2) four workshops to expand the conceptual model and translate it for use by researchers; (3) a guiding tool to facilitate the integration of different research goals, approaches, and ideals (epistemic identities) within EER teams; and (4) an asynchronous virtual training and two instructional modules to support both established and emerging researchers. The outcomes of this work will ensure that researchers and teams have the knowledge and tools to navigate barriers related to differences in thinking. This project will achieve these outcomes through three major plans that are fully-integrated. The Research Plan will use a multimethod research approach to investigate 1) how researchers negotiate differences in thinking and 2) the culture that defines how and why teams select specific approaches to generate and apply knowledge. This investigation will be guided by the following research question: How are epistemic differences negotiated among members of engineering education research teams? This project will answer this question by integrating an ethnographic case study (Phase A) with approaches from grounded theory (Phase B). Phase A will deeply explore the culture that defines how knowledge is generated, expressed, and applied within a single research team. This deep exploration will develop an initial conceptual model that represents one way EER teams generate and apply knowledge. Phase B will expand this model by investigating how researchers across a variety of EER teams negotiate differences in thinking and define how knowledge is generated and applied. The Translation Plan will integrate the Research and Education Plans by developing and conducting four workshops. The first two workshops, called exploration workshops, will refine the conceptual model by adding constructs and connections that will be further explored through the Research Plan. Then, two development workshops will be used to translate the research findings to practice through the creation of a guiding tool to facilitate the integration of different research goals, approaches, and ideals within EER teams. The Education Plan will equip researchers and teams with the knowledge and tools to negotiate barriers related to differences in thinking by developing an asynchronous virtual training and two instructional modules. An iterative approach will be used to develop these training to ensure that their structure and content meet the needs of researchers. The asynchronous virtual training will be developed for established researchers. The instructional modules will be developed for emerging researchers and will be implemented within six engineering education programs.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.