Critical Thinking Enhancement through Paired English Composition and Engineering Courses

跨学科(99)工程学-其他(59)这项研究正在研究一种策略，通过提高他们的写作和批判性思维能力来提高工科学生的终身学习技能。这个项目中的批判性思维被定义为合理的、反思性的思维，它专注于根据个人对知识主张和论点的真实性、准确性和价值的评估来决定相信什么或做什么。在这个项目中，正在探索将技能课程(英语)与内容课程(工程学)配对对工程一年级学生的影响。班级的分组和配对正在创造一种学习社区，在那里，想法和作业的有意交叉培养正在教会学生如何在各种背景下应用材料。这一设计为学生创造了一个场所，让他们在学习技能的同时应用和测试他们的技能。该项目正在衡量他们全年批判性思维能力的进步。这个项目通过有组织的写作作业来提高新生的批判性思维能力，增加新生对工程学的保留，并提高新生对工程内容知识和工程实践的学习水平。更广泛的影响这项工作的更广泛的影响是获得关于这种方法的有效性的知识，以及这种模式将指导其他大学在大一期间建立类似的方法来培养批判性思维技能和提高工程学知识的可能性。该项目特别侧重于这个生活和学习社区对女工科学生的有效性。

Interdisciplinary (99)Engineering - Other (59)This study is examining a strategy for improving the lifelong learning skills of engineering students, by improving their writing and critical thinking skills. Critical thinking in this project is defined to be reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do based on personal assessments of the authenticity, accuracy, and worth of knowledge claims and arguments. In this project, the impact of pairing skills courses (English) with content courses (in Engineering) is being explored for freshman engineering students. Clustering and pairing of classes is creating a type of learning community where the deliberate cross fertilization of ideas and assignments is teaching students how material is applied in a variety of contexts. This design is creating a venue for students to apply and test their skills as they learn them. The project is measuring improvements in their critical thinking skills throughout the year. Intellectual Merit This project is improving critical thinking skills of freshman students through structured writing assignments, increasing the retention of freshman students in engineering, and raising the level of freshman student learning of both engineering content knowledge and engineering practice. Broader Impacts The broader impact of this work is the knowledge gained about the effectiveness of this approach and the likelihood that this model will guide other universities in instituting similar approaches to building critical thinking skills and improved knowledge of engineering during the freshman year. The project is focusing in particular on the effectiveness of this living and learning community on female engineering students.