Increasing Student Retention in Chemical Engineering with Interactive Self-Study Modules

通过交互式自学模块提高化学工程学生的保留率

• 批准号: 2020415
• 负责人: John Falconer
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-10-01 至 2024-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2020415&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Increasing; Student; Retention; Chemical; Engineering

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving student retention in undergraduate chemical engineering degree programs. Retention can be increased by helping students improve their performance in science, mathematics, and engineering courses. Students encounter difficulties in courses when they fall behind, are not properly prepared in pre-requisite courses, or have forgotten concepts from previous courses. This project will create a set of online, interactive self-study modules for three chemical engineering courses, with thirty modules created for each course. Each module will take approximately one hour for students to complete. These modules will be based on approaches that have been effective in helping students learn, including self-testing, introductory screencasts, interactive computer simulations, interactive tutorial simulations that lead students through a step-by step procedure, and example problems with student solutions. Modules will be freely available online through the www.LearnChemE.com site, maintained by the University of Colorado, Boulder. As a result, they have the potential to impact thousands of students. Although the project focuses on chemical engineering students, many modules will be useful for students in other engineering majors including mechanical, civil, aeronautical, and environmental engineering. The primary goal of this project is to increase student retention in undergraduate chemical engineering programs by improving student performance. Modular resources can help students understand key concepts and support active learning approaches that enhance student learning. These modules will be used either as part of a flipped classroom approach or as a resource that students use on their own. They will also be used to increase retention in in second-chance courses, which are intensive three-weeks courses offered, just after the end of the semester, to students who did not pass the course that semester. The module structure includes: (i) an overview describing the goals of the module and pre-requisites; (ii) formative assessment using conceptual questions and problems; (iii) short (3-6 minute) introductory screencasts with embedded questions; (iv) lists of important equations; (v) interactive simulations in which students are asked to predict system behavior; (vi) an interactive quiz-yourself simulation that asks students for input on a complex problem solution; (vii) example problems with screencast solutions; (viii) concept tests for summative assessment; and (ix) a summary with problem answers and a list of what students should be able to do after completing the module. The impact of the modules will be assessed by evaluating students’ performance on course exams after the modules are made available and comparing the results with students who did not have access to the modules. Modules will be disseminated through an existing online repository and the results of the project will be shared with engineering faculty through engineering education conferences and journals. This project is supported by the NSF IUSE: EHR Program, which supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.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.

该项目旨在通过提高本科化学工程学位课程的学生保留率来服务国家利益，通过帮助学生提高在科学、数学和工程课程中的表现，可以提高学生在课程中遇到困难时的保留率。正确准备了先决课程，或者忘记了以前课程中的概念。该项目将为三门化学工程课程创建一套在线交互式自学模块，每门课程创建三十个模块，每个模块大约需要一个。学生完成这些模块的时间将基于。有效帮助学生学习的方法，包括自我测试、介绍性屏幕录像、交互式计算机模拟、引导学生逐步完成程序的交互式教程模拟以及学生解决方案的示例问题模块将通过在线免费提供。 www.LearnChemE.com 网站由科罗拉多大学博尔德分校维护。因此，尽管该项目主要针对化学工程专业的学生，​​但许多模块对其他工程专业的学生也很有用。专业包括该项目的主要目标是通过提高学生的表现来提高本科化学工程课程的学生保留率，可以帮助学生理解关键概念并支持增强学生学习的主动学习方法。将用作翻转课堂方法的一部分，或作为学生自己使用的资源。它们还将用于提高第二次机会课程的保留率，这些课程在课程结束后提供为期三周的强化课程。对于本学期未通过考试的学生该模块结构包括：(i) 描述模块目标和先决条件的概述；(ii) 使用概念性问题和问题进行形成性评估；(iii) 嵌入的简短（3-6 分钟）介绍性屏幕录像。问题；(iv) 重要方程列表；(v) 要求学生预测系统行为的交互式模拟；(vii) 要求学生输入复杂问题解决方案的交互式模拟；与截屏解决方案； (viii) 总结性评估的概念测试；以及 (ix) 问题答案摘要以及学生完成模块后应能做什么的列表 将通过评估学生在课程考试中的表现来评估模块的影响。模块可用后，并将结果与​​无法访问这些模块的学生进行比较，这些模块将通过现有的在线存储库传播，项目的结果将通过工程教育会议和期刊与工程教师共享。项目由以下机构支持NSF IUSE：EHR 计划，支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生 STEM 教育的有效性。通过参与学生学习轨道，该计划支持有前景的实践和工具的创建、探索和实施。该奖项反映了 NSF 的成就。法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。