NSF Award
2315492
The aim of this project is to improve academic outcomes for undergraduate engineering students through an instructional design approach that aligns learning outcomes, assessments, and instructional materials across STEM course sequences. The project plans to support successful completion of engineering degrees by increasing students' mastery of prerequisite course topics and application of fundamental concepts in subsequent engineering courses. This project will use an instructional design approach called the Learning Map (LMap) process to accomplish the project goals. The results of this project will include publicly available instructional materials, a database of concept inventories for a typical STEM course sequence (Introductory Physics, Statics, and Dynamics), and course activities to cultivate broader engineering student interest in STEM concepts and applications. The products of the research will be disseminated widely by collaborating with the national Concept Warehouse to give faculty and students access to collections of validated STEM problems and tests. Meeting the project goals is important for student success and persistence in undergraduate engineering degree programs, as well as for reducing the need for remedial coursework which is a known barrier to student persistence in STEM degrees. If successful, the proposed framework will provide strategies to improve student learning, degree completion, and workforce preparation, while contributing to the retention of students in STEM career pathways. <br/><br/>The project intends to address a common issue in undergraduate engineering education - mismatch between the desired learning outcomes and the learning assessments in prerequisite course sequences causing reduced learning and retention of knowledge. The main objectives are to (1) develop an instructional design framework based on the Learning Map process, (2) create measures to assess the impacts of the framework on student learning and instructor experience, (3) pilot the framework in the Introductory Physics - Statics - Dynamics course sequence at the University of Vermont, and (4) share the revised framework and study results with the broader STEM education community. The proposed LMap process is based on the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation (ADDIE) and the Backward Design methodologies and extends them to course sequences by analyzing learning goals for engineering courses and aligning them with outcomes from prerequisite courses. The research systematically analyzes the effectiveness of the LMap process by assessing knowledge transfer across paired course sequences using summative evaluations of learning with pre- and post-tests. Once validated, the LMap framework can be applied to other engineering prerequisite courses in mathematics, chemistry, and computer science. The research project will be evaluated by an external assessment expert, and the products of the research will be disseminated widely using the Concept Warehouse. The project team will initiate a network of LMap practitioners for broadening the improvement of student experiences in STEM courses required in engineering programs. This project is jointly funded by the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program.<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.
