NSF Award
1832041
Researchers at Tuskegee University propose to conduct a cross-sectional longitudinal study of engineering, non-engineering, and non-STEM students to examine the impact of tolerance of ambiguity on academic success. The research literature documents engineering identity as an important factor for persistence and academic success for underrepresented minorities. However, there is limited research on the factors that influence the cognitive development of an engineering identity. This research is expected to identify pedagogical techniques that will help increase the probability of academic success of STEM students by measuring the influence of the current curriculum in the context of constructs of ambiguity of tolerance, intellectual mental models and engineering identity. The project team also will redesign one introductory aerospace engineering course and one calculus course to provide a learning environment that will facilitate movement towards relativistic cognitive models promoting tolerance of ambiguity. The findings of the proposed research are expected to inform a data-supported curriculum improvement plan for a learning environment that will facilitate the desired student outcomes.<br/><br/>The project is grounded in theories of identity development, tolerance of ambiguity, and intellectual development. The hypothesis is that an empirically based understanding of the impact of the impact of tolerance of ambiguity and the formation of engineering identity will inform curriculum innovations that will positively impact academic success, retention, and persistence of students in engineering and other STEM disciplines. The researchers will use a quasi-experimental design to address five research questions: (1) Is there a correlation between tolerance of ambiguity and intellectual models of the engineering problem space? (2) Is tolerance of ambiguity a robust indicator of academic success of STEM students? (3) Is there a difference between the development of cognitive models of STEM and non-STEM students? (4) Is there a correlation between professional identity and tolerance for ambiguity? and (5) Does gender have an influence on tolerance for ambiguity? The revised Rydell-Rosen AT scale will be used to determine the tolerance for ambiguity, and engineering identity will be measured using an instrument that captures the three dimensions. The data analysis will consist of descriptive and inferential statistics. The project will guide the development of effective structural and pedagogical strategies to increase the retention, persistence, and academic success of underrepresented students in engineering and other STEM disciplines.<br/><br/>This award is funded by the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education and Human Resources (IUSE): EHR Program (NSF 17-590). IUSE supports projects that are designed to improve student learning through development of new curricular materials and methods of instruction and development of new assessment tools to measure student learning.<br/><br/>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.
