Using Learning Assistants to Make Physics Teaching More Effective, Equitable, and Engaging

使用学习助手使物理教学更有效、更公平、更有吸引力

• 批准号: 2235744
• 负责人: Rachel Scherr
• 金额: $ 11.12万
• 依托单位: University of Washington
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-10-01 至 2026-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2235744&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Using; Learning; Assistants; Make; Physics

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving teaching and learning in large introductory physics courses. This collaborative project involves investigators at Seattle Pacific University (Award DUE-2235760), the University of Washington Bothell (Award DUE-2235744), and Western Washington University (subaward). Introductory physics courses are important for STEM education and workforce preparation. Active, student-centered instruction results in better student learning. However, in large classes, it can be difficult for instructors to provide this kind of instruction effectively. Learning Assistants (LAs) can help instructors make their courses more active and student-centered if the LAs are prepared to respond to students' diverse ideas about science. LAs need both weekly content preparation and a pedagogy course to teach them the main theories and practices in teaching and learning. There are many LA programs. They have been shown to support active learning, but they do not necessarily prepare LAs to respond to students' diverse science ideas. This project will develop a model for training LAs to effectively elicit and build on students' science ideas. LAs trained in this way will promote equity by helping students learn physics better and connect physics to their life experiences.Introductory physics courses are often required for a broad range of STEM majors. These courses are ideal environments for leveraging the benefits that LAs can offer, because the courses are typically large and need LA support for active learning, and the course enrollment typically reflects significant underrepresentation of marginalized groups. Towards the goal of improving LA professional development the project will pursue three objectives. First, is to investigate the fruitful ideas that LAs use to think about teaching and learning, and communicate these through a set of LA "personas" that characterize the common assets, goals, concerns, and values that LAs have for teaching. Second, is to develop and test effective instructional materials for LA pedagogy courses (e.g., reading assignments, reflection prompts, in-class activities, projects). Third, and finally, is to amplify diverse LA voices by recruiting and supporting LAs from diverse backgrounds to participate in the LA programs that the project develops and studies. The investigators refer to their enhanced approach to LA training as "TRELLIS: Training to Elicit and Leverage Ideas about Science," based on the notion that the knowledge, skills, and perspectives that this kind of training promotes become a "trellis" that enables LAs to support physics students' fruitful ideas about science. The physics-specific pedagogical preparation that this project will develop will be immediately relevant to many LA programs nationwide and should serve as a model for extension to other disciplinary contexts. The NSF IUSE: EDU program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through its 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.

该项目旨在通过改善大型物理入门课程的教学来服务于国家利益。该合作项目涉及西雅图太平洋大学（奖项 DUE-2235760）、华盛顿大学博塞尔大学（奖项 DUE-2235744）和西华盛顿大学（subaward）的研究人员。物理入门课程对于 STEM 教育和劳动力准备非常重要。积极的、以学生为中心的教学可以提高学生的学习效果。然而，在大班中，教师可能很难有效地提供这种指导。如果学习助理 (LA) 准备好回应学生关于科学的不同想法，则可以帮助教师使他们的课程更加活跃并以学生为中心。 LA 需要每周的内容准备和教育学课程来教授他们教学和学习的主要理论和实践。洛杉矶有很多项目。它们已被证明可以支持主动学习，但它们并不一定能让 LA 能够响应学生多样化的科学想法。该项目将开发一个培训 LA 的模型，以有效激发和发展学生的科学想法。以这种方式培训的 LA 将通过帮助学生更好地学习物理并将物理与他们的生活经历联系起来来促进公平。许多 STEM 专业通常都需要入门物理课程。这些课程是利用洛杉矶可以提供的优势的理想环境，因为这些课程通常规模很大，需要洛杉矶支持以进行主动学习，并且课程注册通常反映出边缘化群体的代表性严重不足。为了实现改善洛杉矶专业发展的目标，该项目将追求三个目标。首先，是调查 LA 用来思考教学和学习的富有成效的想法，并通过一组 LA“角色”来传达这些想法，这些角色描述了 LA 在教学中的共同资产、目标、关注点和价值观。其次，是开发和测试洛杉矶教育学课程的有效教学材料（例如阅读作业、反思提示、课堂活动、项目）。第三，也是最后一点，是通过招募和支持来自不同背景的洛杉矶人参与该项目开发和研究的洛杉矶项目，来放大洛杉矶多元化的声音。研究人员将他们改进的 LA 培训方法称为“格子：激发和利用科学思想的培训”，其基础是这种培训促进的知识、技能和观点成为使 LA 能够成为“格子”的概念支持物理学生关于科学的富有成效的想法。该项目将开发的物理特定教学准备将与全国许多洛杉矶项目直接相关，并应作为扩展到其他学科背景的模型。 NSF IUSE：EDU 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。通过其参与的学生学习轨道，该计划支持有前途的实践和工具的创建、探索和实施。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。