Reimagining Energy: Exploring Inclusive Practices for Teaching Energy Concepts to Undergraduate Engineering Majors

在促进K-12学生参与方面取得成功的一系列教学实践是“文化维持教学法”（csp）。csp寻求创造一种包容的教育体验，使所有学生受益，包括传统上得不到充分服务的学生。在本科工程中，csp改善学习的潜力尚未被探索。该项目将应用CSP策略来设计和教授一门新的二年级能源课程，这门课程将是圣地亚哥大学工程专业本科生的必修课。能量是工程学科的一个基本概念，但它通常是在热力学课程中介绍给学生的，通常不会提供一个涉及女性或工程领域代表性不足的少数群体的背景。通过整合非西方文化的能源实践，本课程可以帮助所有学生对能源问题和解决方案有更广阔的视野。该研究项目将研究csp的整合如何影响工程专业的学生。具体地说，将确定传统热力学中使用的能量例子之外的能量例子，将设计一门课程，整合使用csp的这些非传统例子，并使用混合方法研究csp如何影响学生的学习，心态和态度。教材将免费提供，以便其他教师可以使用csp来吸引他们的学生。与美国国家科学基金会多元化STEM劳动力的使命一致，该项目旨在促进工程领域的包容性，从而支持STEM领域更广泛的参与和增加多样性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

A collection of teaching practices that has been successful in promoting K-12 student engagement is "culturally sustaining pedagogies" (CSPs). CSPs seek to create an inclusive educational experience that benefits all students, including traditionally underserved students. The potential of CSPs to improve learning has not yet been explored in undergraduate engineering. This project will apply a CSP strategy to design and teach a new sophomore-level energy course that will be required for undergraduate engineering majors at the University of San Diego. Energy is a foundational concept across engineering disciplines, but it is typically introduced to students in thermodynamics courses, that do not usually provide a context that engages women or under-represented minorities in engineering. By integrating energy practices from non-Western cultures, the course may help all students develop a broader perspective of energy issues and solutions. The research project will examine how the integration of CSPs affects engineering students. Specifically, energy examples outside of those traditionally used in thermodynamics will be identified, a course developed that integrates these non-traditional examples using CSPs will be designed, and a mixed methods research will be used to investigate how CSPs impact student learning, mindsets, and attitudes. Teaching materials will be freely available so that other faculty may use CSPs to engage their students. Consistent with NSF's mission to a diverse the STEM workforce, this project aims to promote inclusion within engineering and thus to support broader participation and increased diversity in STEM fields.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.