HSI Pilot Project: Enhancing Undergraduate Engineering Education Using an Integrated Additive Manufacturing Approach

在改善本科STEM教育：西班牙裔服务机构（HSI计划）的支持下，这个Track 1项目旨在开发基于增材制造（AM）的各种教育资源，增材制造是使用3D打印机和相关技术逐层创建对象的过程。该项目旨在吸引波多黎各理工大学（PUPR）的学生参与新的AM课程和经验，并解决对熟练AM劳动力日益增长的需求。像许多机构一样，PUPR希望：(1)提高工程专业学生的坚持率；(2)发展新兴技术教学能力，提高工程教育质量；(3)采用参与式教学法和以学生为中心的教学法；(4)培养跨学科的校园教育文化。为了实现这些具有挑战性的目标，PUPR将开发新的课程内容，整合基于项目的学习（PBL），以提高学生的参与度并提高重要的劳动力技能。通过本项目开发的资源有：(1)集成到工程基础课程中的AM模块；(2) PBL教学法与AM的教师专业发展；(3)开设新的跨学科AM课程。作为项目活动的一部分，学生将承担跨学科团队项目的任务，这些项目将在结合远程和现场制造任务的混合工作环境中开发。该项目的预期成果包括增加学生的积极成果，增强学生为am注入的职业做好准备，参与新课程，以及扩大PUPR PBL从业者社区。这个试点项目的主要目标是扩大基于AM的高影响力实践和校园机会，以促进学生的坚持和成功。该项目的目标是：(1)提高教师整合AM和PBL的能力；(2)培育跨学科的校园文化；(3)扩大学生对AM体验的参与，以增强学生的参与度、自我效能感、认同感和工程技能。预计项目的活动将增加参与项目的学生的坚持和成功。项目小组将部署多种定量和定性评估工具（事前和事后调查、访谈、学生测试和标准），使项目能够探索拟议活动的影响和效力。预计通过该项目开发的资源将有助于促进波多黎各的AM教育，因为当地没有提供该领域专业课程的高等教育机构。此外，材料和生成的证据将通过社交媒体、网站、教育期刊和会议广泛传播。HSI计划旨在加强本科STEM教育，扩大STEM参与，并在HSI进行能力建设。考虑到hsi的多样性和背景，实现这些目标需要创新的方法来激励机构和社区转型，并促进基础研究(1)关于参与式学生学习，(2)关于如何有效地使STEM多样化和增加参与，以及(3)提高我们对如何在hsi建立更普遍的机构能力的理解。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。

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this Track 1 project aims to develop a variety of educational resources based on additive manufacturing (AM), which is the process of using 3D printers and related technologies to create objects layer-by-layer. This project aims to engage students at Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico (PUPR) in new AM courses and experiences and address the growing need for a skilled AM workforce. Like many institutions, PUPR looks to: (1) increase persistence rates among its engineering students; (2) develop capacity for teaching in emerging technologies to enhance the quality of engineering education; (3) incorporate engaging and student-centered pedagogies; and (4) foster a culture of interdisciplinary education on campus. In order to address these challenging goals, PUPR will develop new curricular content that integrates project-based learning (PBL) to enhance student engagement and promote important workforce skills. The resources to be developed through this project are: (1) AM modules integrated into engineering fundamental courses; (2) faculty professional development in PBL pedagogy and AM; and (3) a new, interdisciplinary AM course. As part of the project activities, students will be tasked with interdisciplinary team projects to be developed in a hybrid working environment that combines remote and in-person manufacturing tasks. The anticipated outcomes of this project include increases in positive student outcomes, enhanced student preparation for AM-infused careers, engaging new courses, and and expanded community of PBL practitioners at PUPR. The main goal of this pilot project is to expand high impact practices and on campus opportunities based on AM to promote student’s persistence and success. The objectives of this project are to: (1) increase faculty capacity for incorporating AM and PBL; (2) foster an interdisciplinary culture on campus; and (3) expand participation of students in AM experiences in order to strengthen student engagement, self-efficacy, identity, and engineering skills. It is expected that the project's activities will increase the persistence and success of students participating in the project. The project team will deploy multiple quantitative and qualitative assessment tools (pre- and post-surveys, interviews, student tests and rubrics) that will allow the project to explore the impacts and effectiveness of the proposed activities. It is expected that the resources developed through this project will help promote AM education in Puerto Rico, since there is no local higher education institution offering specialized courses in this field. Also, materials and generated evidence will be disseminated broadly, through social media, websites, educational journals, and conferences. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity at HSIs. Achieving these aims, given the diverse nature and context of HSIs, requires innovative approaches that incentivize institutional and community transformation and promote fundamental research (i) on engaged student learning, (ii) about what it takes to diversify and increase participation in STEM effectively, and (iii) that improves our understanding of how to build institutional capacity, more generally, at HSIs.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.