Collaborative Proposal: Structured Use of Metacognitive Activities in a Flipped Undergraduate Engineering Course to Enhance Learning and Professional Skill Development

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This project aims to serve the national interest by promoting metacognition within the engineering curriculum and investigating the impact of metacognitive activities on student learning. Metacognition is the ability to reflect on, understand, and control one’s learning. Learning theories have shown that self-regulated and reflective learning are important for acquisition and application of new knowledge. Metacognition is therefore important for learning in the engineering classroom as well as for success in the professional engineering workplace. This project will design and implement systematic metacognitive activities in a fluid mechanics course at the University of South Florida. This course uses a flipped classroom model in which class time will be used for students to work collaboratively, including work on metacognitive activities. To determine the impact of the metacognitive activities, students who are taught fluid mechanics using the metacognitive approach will be compared with a control group of students who are taught in the traditional way. The project will investigate cognitive, reflective, and affective student outcomes associated with systematic metacognition. The flipped classroom pedagogy will be used to ensure that there is sufficient time available for in-class metacognitive practice activities consisting of Plan/Monitor/Evaluate cycles embedded within fluid mechanics problems. Assessment of student outcomes will include direct assessment of cognitive knowledge, as well as student reflections related to their metacognitive activities. Additionally, indirect assessment of student metacognition will be accomplished through a validated inventory. The multiple assessment methods are intended to enable data triangulation to obtain valid and reliable conclusions. Diverse student perspectives on systematic metacognitive instruction and practice will be gathered using focus groups that include female, underrepresented minority students, and community college transfer students. Systematic, formal integration of metacognitive activities is expected to enhance student learning. Learning materials, best practices, and outcomes will be shared with other STEM faculty at the institution. The findings and lessons learned will be disseminated via open educational courseware, conference presentations, journal articles, and workshops. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.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.