Assessing the Impact of the Emporium Model on Student Persistence and Dispositional Learning by Transforming Faculty Culture

在这个项目中，北卡罗来纳州农业和技术州立大学（NCA T）的一个团队-一个历史悠久的黑人学院和大学（HBCU）-将解决既定的和不断增长的国家需要，为不同的学生进入国内劳动力市场提供强大的STEM准备。研究人员将采用，研究和评估一种教学和学生学习模型，称为数学商场模型（MEM），以提高学生在数学入门课程中的表现。这些看门人课程通常是在学生从高中到大学的紧张而困难的过渡期间进行的。MEM取消了讲座，并使用商业上可用的交互式计算机软件，结合个性化的按需援助和强制性的学生参与。商场模式的基本原则是学生在实践中学习。研究表明，转向以学生为中心的教学实践提高了学生对数学课程学习的态度和信念，并增加了学生的学习收益。除了学生的学习收益，项目活动将导致教师和研究生助教（GTA）谁可以使用MEM实施积极的学习方法，并在促进和评估学生的学习更积极和有效。该项目将直接达到传统低通过率课程的合并年度入学人数超过4，000名学生，这些学生主要来自代表性不足的群体。此外，该项目将产生长期影响，因为参与的GTA代表未来的大学教师。该项目的目标包括：在教学实践中产生变革性的变化;衡量MEM环境与传统课堂中学习的附加值;产生一个训练有素的教师谁是熟练的使用MEM数学教学和从事国家的承诺团队商场社区;就教育和管理模式的影响开展研究，特别是在扩大代表性不足的学生群体的参与方面;并向其他高等教育机构传播研究和实施结果。将系统地收集和分析数据，为项目改进提供形成性反馈，并研究项目的总体影响。 学生学习和教师专业发展将采用混合方法，重复测量和分层模型进行调查。 该项目的成果将包括增加对（1）MEM方法对学习收益的影响，特别是对少数民族学生的影响，以及（2）教师的专业发展需求，以成功地在MEM和其他本科课堂上实施积极的学习经验。因此，该项目将（a）加强全国在科学、技术、工程和数学领域扩大参与的努力，特别是与商场式方法有关的努力，（B）为这一领域的其他机构提供信息，该项目由本科教育司资助，人力资源开发司的历史上的黑人学院和大学-本科课程共同资助。这两个司都隶属于教育和人力资源局。

In this project a team at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCA&T) - an Historically Black College and University (HBCU) - will address the established and growing national need to provide strong STEM preparation for a diverse set of students to enter the domestic workforce. The investigators will employ, study, and assess an instructional and student learning model, called the Mathematics Emporium Model (MEM), to improve students' performance in introductory mathematics courses. These gatekeeper courses are normally taken during an intense and often difficult transition for students, from high school to college. The MEM eliminates lecture and uses commercially available interactive computer software combined with personalized on-demand assistance and mandatory student participation. The underlying principle of the Emporium Model is that students learn by doing. Research reveals that the shift to student-centered instructional practices enhances students' attitudes and beliefs about learning in mathematics courses and increases student-learning gains. In addition to student learning gains, project activities will lead to faculty and graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) who can use MEM to implement active learning pedagogies and be more engaged and effective in promoting and assessing student learning. The project will directly reach a combined annual enrollment in traditionally low-pass-rate courses of more than 4,000 students, who will be mostly from underrepresented groups. In addition, the project will have a long-term impact in that the participating GTAs represent future college faculty.The goals of this project include: generating a transformative change in teaching practices; measuring the value-added of learning in the MEM environment versus a traditional classroom; generating a committed team of trained faculty members who are skilled in the use of the MEM for mathematics instruction and engaged in the national Emporium community; conducting research on the impact of the MEM model, especially on broadening participation for underrepresented groups of students; and disseminating research and implementation findings to other institutions of higher education. Data will be systematically collected and analyzed to provide formative feedback for project improvement as well as to study overall project impact. Student learning and instructor professional development will be investigated using mixed methods, repeated measures, and hierarchical models. Outcomes of the project will include additions to the body of research on (1) the impact of an a MEM approach on learning gains, especially for minority students, and (2) the professional development needs of faculty to implement active-learning experiences in MEM and other undergraduate classrooms successfully. As a result, the project will (a) enhance national broadening participation efforts in STEM, especially related to emporium-type approaches, and (b) inform other institutions in this realm.This project is funded through the Division of Undergraduate Education with co-funding from the Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) in the Division of Human Resource Development (HRD). Both divisions are in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR).