CAREER: An Exploration of Faculty Expertise and Student Learning in Capstone Experiences

这个职业项目探讨了这个问题，？什么构成了顶点环境中的专家教学？这个问题考察了？工程教育家的认识论？由美国国家科学基金会资助的工程教育研究研讨会作为核心研究领域，以更有效地为当前和未来的教师做好准备，以支持学生的学习。这个问题将在一个四阶段的混合方法研究中得到回答，该研究包括：1)根据先前关于设计教育和教学专业知识的文献对顶点教师进行全国调查；2)对全国调查确定的选定教师进行访谈，并对访谈对象进行调查。学生;3)对通过访谈和学生调查确定的专家教师进行深入的案例研究；4)为研究生和教师开发、实施和评估创新的在线项目，以提高教学水平。该项目建立在两个领域不断增长的研究基础上：设计教育和教师专业知识。设计教育研究人员分析了关键的设计活动，比较了新手和专家的实践，探索了反思性实践的作用，检查了问题定义，提出了教学材料，并设计了学习成果和评估。与此同时，对教师专业知识的研究已经确定了与K-12专业教学相关的实践，包括领域知识、适应课程的灵活性以及对学生学习的有效监控。但研究人员和教师仍然缺乏对设计教育教学专业知识的具体理解。提出的CAREER项目将对这两个领域的研究做出重大贡献，并为未来的设计教学和课程学习研究提供基础。该PI在研究所需的定量和定性研究方法方面经验丰富，她之前对设计教育的研究为工作提供了坚实的基础。

This CAREER project explores the question, ?What constitutes expert teaching in the capstone environment?? This question examines the ?epistemology of engineering educators,? highlighted by the NSF-funded Engineering Education Research Colloquies as a core research area, in order to more effectively prepare current and future faculty to support student learning. This question will be answered in a four-phase mixed methods study consisting of 1) a national survey of capstone instructors informed by prior literature on both design education and teaching expertise, 2) interviews with selected instructors identified by the national survey, paired with surveys of the interview subjects? students; 3) in-depth case studies of expert instructors identified by the interviews and student surveys; and 4) development, implementation, and assessment of innovative online programs for graduate students and faculty to enhance teaching. This project builds on the growing body of research in two domains: design education and teacher expertise. Design education researchers have analyzed key design activities, compared practices of novices and experts, explored the role of reflective practice, examined problem definition, proposed instructional materials, and designed learning outcomes and assessments. At the same time, research on teacher expertise has identified practices associated with expert teaching in K-12, including domain knowledge, flexibility in adapting curricula, and effective monitoring of student learning. But researchers and faculty still lack a concrete understanding of teaching expertise in design education. The proposed CAREER project will make substantial contributions to the research in both domains, as well as provide a basis for future studies of design teaching and learning across the curriculum. The PI is experienced in the quantitative and qualitative research methods required for the study, and her prior research on design education provides a strong foundation for the work.