Undergraduate Research in a Fully Online Engineering Program: Effects on Retention, Persistence, Performance, STEM attitudes and Identity

该项目旨在通过开发一个框架，为注册在线STEM项目的学生提供本科生研究机会，从而服务于国家利益。具体地说，研究团队将设计并测试本科生研究经验对安布里-里德尔航空大学在线工程项目学生的影响。长期以来，对准备充分的STEM毕业生数量的迫切需求推动了本科工程和技术专业在线学位课程的激增。这些远程教育计划有可能增加STEM课程对不同学生的可及性，从而支持对具有STEM技能的毕业生日益增长的需求。然而，许多在线课程的保留率和毕业率都很低。对于面对面的学习者来说，本科生研究经验对支持学生坚持不懈和成功的价值得到了很好的证明。这个项目的目标是为在线学生提供本科生的研究体验，预计这些体验将对在线学习者产生类似的影响。为此，它将制定一个量身定做的框架，以广泛的研究主题为特色，增加学生的学科知识和技能，并为提高学生的学业成绩、坚持不懈和毕业提供关键支持。预计这些结果将与研究经历对学生对STEM和STEM认同感的态度的积极影响相关。该项目将在该大学的一个在线工程项目中设计、实施和测试一个本科生研究试点项目。项目活动包括创建一个以研究为导向的系列研讨会，增加一个选修研究轨道，以及对研究型学生进行专门指导。该项目将进行一项混合方法的研究，以调查该框架的有效性，该框架对学生STEM认同和态度的影响，以及其他研究问题。关键交付成果将是一个可共享、可定制、可扩展的框架，用于提供在线课程和学位课程的研究经验。预计这项工作将对在线学生参与产生深刻见解，鉴于新冠肺炎引发的转向在线学习的趋势，在线学生参与是一个关键研究领域。这个项目可能会揭穿关于在远程学习环境中纳入本科生研究和支持发展强大的STEM身份的可行性的刻板印象。该项目由NSF IUSE：EHR计划支持，该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 developing a framework for providing undergraduate research opportunities to students enrolled in online STEM programs. Specifically, the research team will design and test the impact of undergraduate research experiences for students in an online engineering program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The acute, longstanding need for increased numbers of well-prepared STEM graduates has driven the proliferation of online degree programs in undergraduate engineering and technology. These distance-learning programs have the potential to increase accessibility of STEM programs to diverse students, and thus support the growing demand for graduates with STEM skills. However, many online programs have low retention and graduation rates. The value of undergraduate research experiences for supporting student persistence and success is well documented for in-person learners. The goal of this project is to provide online students with undergraduate research experiences, anticipating that the experiences will have similar effects for online learners. To do so, it will develop a tailored framework that features broad research topics, increases student disciplinary knowledge and skills, and provides key supports to improve students’ academic performance, persistence, and graduation. It is expected that these outcomes will correlate with positive impacts of research experiences on the students’ attitudes toward STEM and STEM identity. The project will design, implement, and test an undergraduate research pilot program within an online engineering program at the University. Project activities include the creation of a research-oriented workshop series, addition of an elective research track, and specialized mentoring of the research students. The project will conduct a mixed-methods research study to investigate the effectiveness of the framework, the impact of the framework on students’ STEM identity and attitude toward STEM, and other research questions. The key deliverable will be a sharable, customizable, scalable framework for providing research experiences in online courses and degree programs. It is expected that the work will produce insights about online student participation, a key area of research given the COVID-19-induced pivot to online learning. It is possible that this project can debunk stereotypes about the feasibility of incorporating undergraduate research and supporting development of a strong STEM identity in distance learning environments. This project is supported by the NSF IUSE: EHR Program, which 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.