Collaborative Research: SmartCAD: Guiding Engineering Design with Science Simulations

探索研究K-12计划（DRK-12）旨在通过研究和开发创新资源，模型和工具（RMT），显着提高学前班学生和教师的科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）的学习和教学。DRK-12计划中的项目建立在STEM教育的基础研究和先前的研究和开发工作的基础上，这些研究和开发工作为拟议项目提供了理论和经验依据。在这个项目中，SmartCAD：指导工程设计与科学模拟，康科德财团（牵头），普渡大学和弗吉尼亚大学调查如何真实的时间形成的反馈可以自动组成的学生设计工件和过程的计算分析的结果与设想的SmartCAD软件。通过基于可视化分析科学模拟的自动反馈，SmartCAD能够在细粒度水平上指导每个学生，使教师能够专注于高水平的教学。考虑到计算机辅助设计（CAD）软件在工作场所的普及和它们在学前班教室的扩散，这项研究提供了及时的结果，可以激励开发一个完整的基于CAD的学习环境和材料，以加速和扩大K-12工程教育。该项目对SmartCAD进行基于设计的研究，SmartCAD支持二级科学和工程，具有三个嵌入式计算引擎，能够模拟建筑环境的机械，热和太阳能性能。这些引擎允许SmartCAD在科学的基础上分析学生的设计工件，并以数字、图形和可视化等形式提供自动形成性反馈，以持续指导学生的设计过程。本研究假设SmartCAD在课堂上的适当应用会产生三种学习成果：1）科学知识的获得，表现为对所涉及的科学概念的更深入理解以及在完成设计项目时对它们的整合; 2）设计能力的获得，表现为迭代次数的增加、明智的设计决策和系统思维的增加;（3）设计性能的改进，表现为在给定的时间内成功设计出满足所有规格的产品的机会更大。在衡量这些学习成果的同时，本项目还探讨了两个研究问题：1）什么样的模拟反馈对帮助学生获得成果是有效的？2）在什么条件下这些类型的反馈有助于学生获得结果？为了验证研究假设并回答研究问题，本项目基于设计学习（LBD）框架开发了三个课程模块，以支持三个选定的设计挑战：太阳能农场，绿色住宅和防雨桥梁。SmartCAD和LBD的这种集成使LBD背景下的研究更加深入，并揭示了SmartCAD如何用于增强已建立的教学模型，如LBD。研究工具包括知识整合评估、数据挖掘、嵌入式评估、课堂观察、参与者访谈和学生问卷。这项研究同时在印第安纳州、马萨诸塞州和弗吉尼亚州进行，涉及一些社会经济多样化学校的2,000多名中学生。专业发展研讨会提供了熟悉SmartCAD材料和实施战略的教师在现场测试之前。一个由五名工程教育研究人员和从业人员组成的外部批判性审查委员会监督和评估该项目的形成和总结。项目材料和成果通过出版物、介绍、伙伴关系和互联网传播。

The Discovery Research K-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools (RMTs). Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects. In this project, SmartCAD: Guiding Engineering Design with Science Simulations, the Concord Consortium (lead), Purdue University, and the University of Virginia investigate how real time formative feedback can be automatically composed from the results of computational analysis of student design artifacts and processes with the envisioned SmartCAD software. Through automatic feedback based on visual analytic science simulations, SmartCAD is able to guide every student at a fine-grained level, allowing teachers to focus on high-level instruction. Considering the ubiquity of computer-aided design (CAD) software in the workplace and their diffusion into precollege classrooms, this research provides timely results that could motivate the development of an entire genre of CAD-based learning environments and materials to accelerate and scale up K-12 engineering education. The project conducts design-based research on SmartCAD, which supports secondary science and engineering with three embedded computational engines capable of simulating the mechanical, thermal, and solar performance of the built environment. These engines allow SmartCAD to analyze student design artifacts on a scientific basis and provide automatic formative feedback in forms such as numbers, graphs, and visualizations to guide student design processes on an ongoing basis. The research hypothesis is that appropriate applications of SmartCAD in the classroom results in three learning outcomes: 1) Science knowledge gains as indicated by a deeper understanding of the involved science concepts and their integration at the completion of a design project; 2) Design competency gains as indicated by the increase of iterations, informed design decisions, and systems thinking over time; and 3) Design performance improvements as indicated by a greater chance to succeed in designing a product that meets all the specifications within a given period of time. While measuring these learning outcomes, this project also probes two research questions: 1) What types of feedback from simulations to students are effective in helping them attain the outcomes? and 2) Under what conditions do these types of feedback help students attain the outcomes? To test the research hypothesis and answer the research questions, this project develops three curriculum modules based on the Learning by Design (LBD) Framework to support three selected design challenges: Solar Farms, Green Homes, and Quake-Proof Bridges. This integration of SmartCAD and LBD situate the research in the LBD context and shed light on how SmartCAD can be used to enhance established pedagogical models such as LBD. Research instruments include knowledge integration assessments, data mining, embedded assessments, classroom observations, participant interviews, and student questionnaires. This research is carried out in Indiana, Massachusetts, and Virginia simultaneously, involving more than 2,000 secondary students at a number of socioeconomically diverse schools. Professional development workshops are provided to familiarize teachers with SmartCAD materials and implementation strategies prior to the field tests. An external Critical Review Committee consisting of five engineering education researchers and practitioners oversee and evaluate this project formatively and summative. Project materials and results are disseminated through publications, presentations, partnerships, and the Internet.