Preparing Early Engineers through Context, Connections and Community (PEEC3)

该奖项全部或部分由《2021年美国救援计划法案》（公法117-2）资助。该项目旨在通过改善进入工程专业学生的学术准备，最终增加工程专业毕业生的数量和多样性，为国家利益服务。进入社区大学的学生有不同程度的准备，特别是在科学和数学方面。由于学业中断和社会隔离，COVID-19大流行可能加剧了这种变异性。为了克服这些挑战，该项目打算开发一个两季度的综合学习社区，帮助学生准备学习工程和转到四年制大学。计划包括开发一种基于地方的课程，它包含了学术准备的整体模式。该项目将以工程、数学、物理、英语和历史等学科的跨学科合作为特色，共同设计、实施和评估新课程。课程编制完成后，将招募24名学生，完成三个紧密结合的团队授课课程，为期两个季度。第一季度将结合工程学、微积分预科和太平洋西北地区的历史和文化课程。第二季度将结合设计和计算入门，微积分预备课程和英语作文。两学期的综合体验将模糊传统的学科界限，并结合多种高影响力的实践，包括情境化数学和英语、服务学习和基于课程的本科研究体验。与目前的点菜式课程模式相比，这种方法应该能改善参与课程的学生的学习成果，并促进学生在内在动机、自我效能感和归属感等因素上的进步，这些因素对工程专业学生的成功至关重要。该项目旨在：(1)采用整体方法解决社区大学生在学习工程专业时在学术、社会和情感准备方面的差异；(2)加快参与学生在现有课程、社区和支持系统中的参与度；(3)提高课程成功率，提高课程保留率，减少工程转学准备和副学士学位完成方面的公平差距。项目成果将采用混合方法进行评估，包括学生调查、焦点小组访谈，以及将结果数据与同时通过现有早期工程课程学习的人口统计学匹配的学生样本进行比较。此外，在区域和国家会议上通过工程教育界传播项目成果，该项目旨在制作可在个别课程中实施的模块化课程产品。最后，将进行详细的财务可持续性分析，以确定该计划的保留收益是否证明了这种密集课程干预的前期成本是合理的。美国国家科学基金会关于在两年制高等教育机构推进本科STEM教育的创新和影响的项目描述支持在两年制大学推进STEM教育计划的项目。该项目描述促进了两年制大学本科STEM教育的创新和循证实践。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。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). This project aims to serve the national interest by improving the academic preparation of entering engineering students and ultimately increasing the number and diversity of engineering graduates. Students enter community college with varied levels of preparation, particularly in science and mathematics. The COVID-19 pandemic has likely increased this variability, due to academic interruptions and social isolation. To overcome these challenges, this project intends to develop a two-quarter, integrated learning community to help prepare students to study engineering and to transfer to four-year institutions. Plans include developing a place-based curriculum that embraces a holistic model for academic preparation. The project will feature cross-disciplinary collaboration of faculty in engineering, math, physics, English and history working together to design, implement, and assess the new curriculum. Once the curriculum is developed, a 24-student cohort will be recruited to complete a two-quarter sequence of three tightly integrated and team-taught courses. Quarter one will combine courses in engineering, pre-calculus, and Pacific Northwest history and culture. Quarter two will combine introductory design and computing, additional pre-calculus, and English composition. The integrated two-quarter experience will blur traditional disciplinary boundaries and incorporate multiple high-impact practices including contextualized mathematics and English, service-learning, and a course-based undergraduate research experience. This approach should improve learning outcomes for participating students compared to the current a la carte model of course offerings, and advance student progress along factors such as intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and sense of belonging that are vital to student success as engineering majors. The project is intended to: (1) address disparities in community college students’ academic, social, and emotional preparation for an engineering major using a holistic approach; (2) accelerate engagement of participating students within existing curriculum, community, and support systems; and (3) increase course success rates, improve program retention, and reduce equity gaps in engineering transfer preparation and associate degree completion. Program outcomes will be assessed using a mixed methods approach consisting of student surveys, focus group interviews, and comparison of outcomes data to demographically matched samples of students simultaneously progressing through the existing early engineering curriculum. In addition, disseminating project results through the engineering education community at regional and national conferences, the project aims to produce modular curriculum products that could be implemented in individual courses. Lastly, a detailed financial sustainability analysis will be conducted to determine if retention gains attributable to the program justify the up- front cost of this intensive curriculum intervention. The NSF program description on Advancing Innovation and Impact in Undergraduate STEM Education at Two-year Institutions of Higher Education supports projects that advance STEM education initiatives at two-year colleges. The program description promotes innovative and evidence-based practices in undergraduate STEM education at two-year colleges.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.