Improving Students' Problem-solving in Engineering Dynamics Through Interactive Web-based Simulation and Animation Modules

本计画有四个主要目标：1)透过开发及实施36个互动式网路电脑模拟及动画（CSA）模组，提高学生解决问题的能力；2)培养学生对学习动力的兴趣，提高他们对工程职业的态度；3)评估CSA模块对与不同学习风格偏好、性别和民族/种族背景相关的学生学习成果的有效性；4)积极向从K-12到本科教育的广泛STEM教育社区传播CSA模块和从该项目中获得的经验和教训。CSA模块有效地将可视化与动力学问题的数学建模相结合，帮助学生将动力学/物理与数学联系起来，从而为学生提供学习动力学的变革性体验。这些模块将在不同的教育环境中进行评估，包括研究和教学机构，四年制和两年制机构，有大量少数民族/种族学生的机构，以及小班和大班。这些模块将以多种方式作为基于问题的主动学习工具：嵌入常规课堂讲座和/或课后复习课中，作为学生的家庭作业，或与相应的现实世界的实验室实验一起使用，为学生提供增强和多样化的学习体验。将进行纵向混合方法评估，包括对照组和实验组、前后测试、问卷调查以及结构化的个人和焦点小组访谈，以评估学生的学习成果。评估结果将显示学习风格偏好、性别和民族/种族背景如何影响CSA学习，从而提高对如何更好地设计计算机模拟程序以满足不同学生需求的理解。合作院校将把这些模块整合到动力学课程中。CSA模块和相关的课程计划将广泛传播给在同行机构教授动力学的教师，广泛的互联网传播，会议演讲和期刊出版物，专业会议的特别会议和讲习班，专业协会和当地学生分会，并通过国家工程技术教育中心和动力学教科书出版商传播。选定的单元也将分发给职前和在职的K-12教师和学生。

This project has 4 primary goals:1) to improve students' problem solving by developing and implementing 36 interactive web-based computer simulation and animation (CSA) modules in diverse education settings; 2) cultivate student interest in learning dynamics and improve their attitudes toward engineering as a career; 3) assess the effectiveness of the CSA modules on student learning outcomes that are associated with diverse learning style preference, gender, and ethnic/racial background; and 4) actively disseminate the CSA modules and the experiences and lessons learned from this project to the broad STEM education community from K-12 to undergraduate education. The CSA modules effectively integrate visualization with mathematical modeling of dynamics problems to help students connect dynamics/physics with mathematics, thus providing students a transformative experience of learning dynamics. The modules will be assessed in diverse education settings, including research and teaching institutions, 4-year and 2-year institutions, institutions with a significant number of ethnic/racial minority students, and small and large class sizes. The modules will be used as a problem-based active learning tool in a variety of ways: embedded in regular classroom lectures and/or after-class recitation sessions, used as students' homework assignments, or used along with corresponding real-world laboratory experiments to offer students an enhanced and diversified learning experience. Longitudinal mixed-method assessments that include control and experimental groups, pre- and post-tests, questionnaire surveys, and structured individual and focus-group interviews will be performed to assess students' learning outcomes. The assessment results will show how learning style preference, gender, and ethnic/racial background affect learning with CSA, thus improving understanding of how to better design computer simulation programs to meet the needs of diverse students. Partnering institutions will integrate the modules into dynamics courses. The CSA modules and associated lesson plans will be broadly disseminated to the instructors who teach dynamics at peer institutions, broad Internet dissemination, conference presentations and journal publications, special sessions and workshops at professional meetings, professional societies and local student chapters, and dissemination via the National Center for Engineering and Technology Education and via Dynamics textbook publishers. Selected modules will also be disseminated to both pre-service and in-service K-12 teachers and students.