Capacity Assessment, Tracking, & Enhancement through Network Analysis: Developing a Tool to Inform Capacity Building Efforts in Complex STEM Education Systems

能力评估、跟踪、

• 批准号: 2315532
• 负责人: John Morelock
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-01-01 至 2026-12-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2315532&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Capacity; Assessment; Tracking; & Enhancement

This research and development (R&D) project aims to serve the national interest by advancing the development of an innovative tool and approach to document and assess capacity building in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs in higher education. The Capacity Assessment, Tracking, and Enhancement through Network Analysis (CATENA) tool is based on a systems approach to understand complex organizations. The Five Capabilities Model of Capacity provides a framework for understanding capacity building that informs assumptions, conceptualization of metrics/measures, research questions, data collection, data analysis, interpretation, implementation, and use of findings. The dimensions of the Five Capacities Model include the capabilities of system actors to (a) commit and engage; (b) carry out tasks and produce results; (c) relate and attract support; (d) adapt and self-renew; and (e) balance diversity with coherence. The R&D effort integrates Social Network Analysis (SNA) with additional qualitative information in an effort to measure the capacity of an educational system for transformation. The mixed methods study is designed to yield the following outcomes: (1) An understanding of facets of capacity that are manifest in interactions and network features within education; (2) an instrument to capture these facets of capacity; and (3) a well-documented SNA data collection and analysis process rooted in graph theory to capture emergent system features. The project is designed around a three-phase research and development plan: The purpose of Phase 1 is to define salient interactions among key actors involved in advancing STEM educational capacity. Phase Two is designed to incorporate findings from Phase 1 into survey development. During Phase 3, the project team will pilot the survey across a College of Engineering and develop supporting documentation for its use. Evaluation and dissemination activities are supported by an external evaluation team and an external advisory board of experts in institutional change, SNA, and qualitative methods.The goal of the project is to address a national need for methodologies to evaluate and inform systemic, institutional change in a way that foregrounds continuous capacity building for long-term, sustainable change in higher education. In accordance with the overarching goal, the project will investigate three research questions across the three sequential phases of the study: (RQ1) What types of interactions among faculty, staff, and graduate students advance STEM education capacity among each of the capabilities defined by the Five Capabilities Model? (RQ2) How can each of the types of interaction observed through answering RQ1 be measured quantitatively through the design of the CATENA instrument? (RQ3) What network topologies emerge as significant for evaluating STEM education capacity in the networks created from piloting the CATENA instrument created in answering RQ2? The R&D effort integrates quantitative and qualitative data from a broad range of methodologies, such as social network analysis, surveys, and interviews to develop the CATENA tool and then to study capacity building. Examples of metrics include clustering coefficients, average path length, betweenness centrality, and degree distribution. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through its Institutional and Community Transformation track, the project supports efforts to transform and improve STEM education across institutions of higher education and disciplinary communities.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.

该研发 (R&D) 项目旨在通过推进创新工具和方法的开发来记录和评估高等教育中科学、技术、工程和数学 (STEM) 项目的能力建设，从而服务于国家利益。 通过网络分析进行能力评估、跟踪和增强 (CATENA) 工具基于了解复杂组织的系统方法。 能力的五种能力模型提供了一个理解能力建设的框架，该框架提供了假设、指标/措施的概念化、研究问题、数据收集、数据分析、解释、实施和结果的使用。 五种能力模型的维度包括系统参与者的能力：(a) 承诺和参与； (b) 执行任务并产生成果； (c) 联系并吸引支持； (d) 适应和自我更新； (e) 平衡多样性与一致性。 研发工作将社交网络分析 (SNA) 与其他定性信息相结合，以衡量教育系统转型的能力。 混合方法研究旨在产生以下结果：（1）了解教育中互动和网络特征所体现的能力方面； (2) 捕捉这些能力方面的工具； (3) 根植于图论的、有据可查的 SNA 数据收集和分析过程，以捕获新兴系统特征。该项目围绕三阶段研究和开发计划而设计：第一阶段的目的是确定参与提高 STEM 教育能力的关键参与者之间的显着互动。 第二阶段旨在将第一阶段的调查结果纳入调查开发。在第三阶段，项目团队将在工程学院进行试点调查，并为其使用开发支持文档。 评估和传播活动由外部评估小组和外部机构变革、国民账户体系和定性方法专家顾问委员会提供支持。该项目的目标是满足国家对方法学的需求，以评估和通报系统性、制度性变革一种为高等教育长期、可持续变革提供持续能力建设的方法。 根据总体目标，该项目将在研究的三个连续阶段中调查三个研究问题：（RQ1）教职员工和研究生之间的哪些类型的互动可以提高 STEM 教育能力（由 STEM 定义的每项能力）五种能力模型？ (RQ2) 如何通过 CATENA 仪器的设计来定量测量通过回答 RQ1 观察到的每种相互作用类型？ （RQ3）哪些网络拓扑对于评估在回答 RQ2 时创建的 CATENA 仪器试点创建的网络中的 STEM 教育能力具有重要意义？ 研发工作整合了来自广泛方法的定量和定性数据，例如社交网络分析、调查和访谈，以开发 CATENA 工具，然后研究能力建设。 度量的示例包括聚类系数、平均路径长度、介数中心性和度分布。 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。 通过其机构和社区转型轨道，该项目支持高等教育机构和学科界的 STEM 教育转型和改进工作。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响进行评估，被认为值得支持审查标准。