Collaborative Research: Understanding Context: Propagation and Effectiveness of the Concept Warehouse in Mechanical Engineering at Five Diverse Institutions and Beyond

科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域毕业生数量和多样性的增加对国家竞争力至关重要。基于概念的主动学习策略已被证明可以提高学生的学习成绩，并增加选择留在STEM课程的人数。然而，科学证明这些策略是有效的，并不足以确保教师在课程中使用它们。还需要了解并找到方法让教师采用经过验证的实践。在这个项目中，新的在线概念为基础的材料，机械工程课程的静力学和动力学将被开发。该项目小组将研究为什么教师决定使用这些材料，以及五种不同类型的机构的因素如何影响这些决定。该项目将有助于展示不同机构的情况如何影响教师的采用以及学生的学习和动机。它将有助于为支持广泛使用循证教学实践提供信息。因此，它也将帮助更多的学生留在工程专业和毕业。这个项目的目标是增加采用基于概念的主动学习整个本科工程课程。它建立在项目组以前成功开发基于网络的概念仓库教学资源的化学工程。该资源包含数百个简短的问题，让学生进行概念导向的思考，评估他们的概念知识，并提供广泛的基于概念的主动学习工具。该项目将扩大概念仓库，包括机械工程的内容。参与机构包括研究密集型和西班牙裔服务机构，以及两年制学院。一个系统的方法将被用来检查教育环境的元素，如规模和部门文化，影响教师的吸收和学生的学习。混合方法的研究设计将包括使用数据分析，教师访谈，学生焦点小组，观察，课堂视频和前/后概念库存分数。研究计划还将解决学生背景和人口统计学（例如，代表性不足的少数群体;第一代身份）与机构环境互动，影响学生的学习和参与。研讨会和教师社区建设活动将被用来促进增强的循证教学实践的传播。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

An increase in the number and diversity of graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is important for the nation's competitiveness. Concept-based active learning strategies have been shown to improve students' academic performance and increase the number who choose to stay in STEM programs. However, scientific proof that these strategies are effective is not enough to make sure instructors use them in courses. It is also necessary to understand and find ways to get instructors to adopt proven practices. In this project new online concept-based materials for mechanical engineering courses in Statics and Dynamics will be developed. The project team will study why instructors decide to use the materials, and how factors at five different types of institutions affect these decisions. The project will help to show how circumstances at different institutions affect both instructor adoption as well as student learning and motivation. It will help inform ways to support widespread use of the evidence-based instructional practice. Thus, it will also help more students stay in and graduate from engineering programs.The goal of this project is to increase the adoption of concept-based active learning throughout undergraduate engineering programs. It builds upon the project team's previous success in developing the web-based Concept Warehouse instructional resource for chemical engineering. The resource contains hundreds of short questions to engage students in concept-oriented thinking, to assess their conceptual knowledge, and to provide extensive concept-based active learning tools. The project will expand Concept Warehouse to include content in mechanical engineering. Participating institutions include research-intensive and Hispanic-serving institutions, as well as a two-year college. A systems approach will be used to examine how elements of the educational context, such as size and departmental culture, influence instructor uptake and the resulting student learning. A mixed-methods research design will include the use of data analytics, instructor interviews, student focus groups, observations, classroom video, and pre/post concept inventory scores. The research plan will also address ways in which student backgrounds and demographics (e.g., underrepresented minorities; first-generation status) interact with institutional settings to affect student learning and engagement. Workshops and faculty community building activities will be used to promote propagation of the enhanced evidence-based instructional practices.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.