Collaborative Research: Using Complex Problem Based Learning in Undergraduate Engineering Classrooms to Prepare Creative Engineers with the Skills to Solve Global Problems

该项目旨在通过改进本科工程教育来服务于国家利益。具体地说，它将创建一种名为基于复杂问题的学习的新教学方法，并将其应用于本科土木工程课程。该方法旨在提高学生解决跨学科、复杂问题的能力。这类问题通常是全球性的，只能通过包括科学家、工程师、社会科学家、人文专家和其他人在内的协作团队的工作来解决。解决这种复杂的全球性问题的能力在当今的工作场所很重要。因此，工程专业毕业生既需要学科知识和技能，如创造力、设计思维、跨学科团队合作技能，也需要与非技术利益相关者沟通的能力。该项目的目标是使用复杂的基于问题的学习方法，为土木工程专业的学生提供发展和练习这些技能的多种机会。这一目标与美国国家工程院的工程学愿景(2020年工程师)非常一致，该愿景鼓励承认工程师将在工业、政府和未来经济的非营利性部门中发挥的领导作用。该项目还将通过调查这种复杂的基于问题的学习方法的影响来贡献关于工程教育的新知识。复杂基于问题的学习方法将在从一年级到四年级的五门工程设计课程中实施，使其影响能够在不同的学生熟练程度水平上进行评估。通过这种方法，学生将被引导完成一个围绕共识、问题驱动的研究和利益相关者驱动的问题建立的促进问题解决过程。将收集多种来源的数据，以评估复杂的以问题为基础的学习方法的成功。学生自我评估的数据将通过调查工具收集。由普渡大学主办的CATME平台将用于收集学生对团队的自我评估和参与性决策。本研究将采用析因实验设计方法，探讨基于复杂问题的学习对土木工程教育和成果的影响。创造力的评估将同时关注个人和产品，并评估两者之间是否存在很强的相关性。考夫曼领域创造力量表将用于个人创造力的自我评估，共识评估技术将用于评估产品的创造力。该奖项的更广泛影响包括开发基于复杂问题的学习方法，该方法可用于任何年龄和任何STEM学科的学生的教育。通过培养创造性思维和创造性解决问题的技能，这种方法可以帮助培养一支富有创造力和反思能力的STEM员工队伍，他们能够在未来自动化程度提高的情况下蓬勃发展。NSF IUSE：EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生的STEM教育的有效性。通过参与的学生学习路径，该计划支持有前景的实践和工具的创建、探索和实施。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving undergraduate engineering education. Specifically, it will create a new teaching approach called Complex Problem Based Learning and use it in undergraduate civil engineering courses. The approach is designed to enhance students' ability to solve transdisciplinary, complex problems. Such problems often have a global scope and can only be solved through the work of collaborative teams that include scientists, engineers, social scientists, humanities experts, and others. The ability to tackle such complex, global problems is important in today’s workplace. As a result, engineering graduates need both disciplinary knowledge and skills such as creativity, design thinking, trans-disciplinary teamwork skills, and the ability to communicate with non-technical stakeholders. The goal of the project is to use the Complex Problem Based Learning approach to provide multiple opportunities for civil engineering students to develop and practice these skills. This goal is well aligned with the National Academy of Engineering’s vision for engineering (The Engineer of 2020), which encourages recognition of the leadership role engineers will have in industry, government, and the non-profit sectors of the future economy. The project will also contribute new knowledge about engineering education by investigating the impact of this Complex Problem Based Learning approach.The Complex Problem Based Learning approach will be implemented in five engineering design courses ranging from freshman to senior year, enabling its impact to be evaluated across a range of student proficiency levels. Through this approach, students will be guided through a facilitated problem-solving process built around consensus, problem driven research, and stakeholder-driven problems. Multiple sources of data will be collected to evaluate the success of the Complex Problem Based Learning approach. Data from student self-assessments will be collected via survey tools. The CATME platform hosted by Purdue will be used to collect student self-assessments of teams and participatory decision-making. A factorial experimental design methodology will be used to investigate impacts of Complex Problem Based Learning on civil engineering education and outcomes. The assessments of creativity will focus on both the person and the product, and evaluate whether there is a strong correlation between the two. The Kaufman Domains of Creativity Scale instrument will be used for self-assessment of personal creativity and the Consensual Assessment Technique will be used for assessment of the product’s creativity. The broader impact of this award includes the development of the Complex Problem Based Learning approach, which might be used for education of students at any age and in any STEM discipline. By fostering creative mindsets and creative problem-solving skills, this approach can help develop a creative and reflective STEM workforce that can thrive in the future of increased automation. 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.