
NSF Org: |
EEC Division of Engineering Education and Centers |
Recipient: |
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Initial Amendment Date: | July 20, 2011 |
Latest Amendment Date: | July 20, 2011 |
Award Number: | 1137013 |
Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
Program Manager: |
Donna Riley
EEC Division of Engineering Education and Centers ENG Directorate for Engineering |
Start Date: | January 1, 2012 |
End Date: | December 31, 2014 (Estimated) |
Total Intended Award Amount: | $149,867.00 |
Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $149,867.00 |
Funds Obligated to Date: |
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History of Investigator: |
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Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
201 ANDY HOLT TOWER KNOXVILLE TN US 37996-0001 (865)974-3466 |
Sponsor Congressional District: |
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Primary Place of Performance: |
1 Circle Park Knoxville TN US 37996-0003 |
Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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Parent UEI: |
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NSF Program(s): | EngEd-Engineering Education |
Primary Program Source: |
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Program Reference Code(s): |
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Program Element Code(s): |
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Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.041 |
ABSTRACT
This engineering education research initiation grant seeks to understand how to increase student engagement in out-of-class learning assignments such as homework, and to develop effective methods to improve engagement. The project engages partners from engineering and the behavioral and learning sciences to gather initial data which on why students don't do out-of-class work and how to identify and engage these students.
The broader significance and importance of this project is that by better understanding why students choose not to do out-of-class assignments it may be possible to improve how often they complete this work and the quality of work they do complete. Since much learning in engineering programs takes place outside of the classroom, this is an important issue for engineering workforce development. This project overlaps with NSF's strategic goals of transforming the frontiers through preparation of an engineering workforce with new capabilities and expertise. Additionally NSF's goal of innovating for society is enabled by creating results and research that are useful for society by informing educational policy and practices.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The pass rate for students in a freshman engineering class that covers both physics for engineers and an introduction to engineering is 96% for students who do over 80% of the homework, while the pass rate is only 36% for students who do less than 80% of the homework. The intriguing question is why do almost 25% of the students not do 80% of their homework? Extensive interviews were conducted with 30 students who were doing less than 80% of their homework to determine what students attributed their lack of homework completion to. Several themes emerged. One was time management. An intervention technique that was applied to address this was a system whereby students could earn a 10% bonus for all homework completed more than 24 hours before the due date. The implementation of a bonus system resulted in an increase from 15% to over 50% of the homework being completed early. The positive effects are that the bonus system encourages students to figure things out for themselves, and it discourages procrastination. Improved preparation and reinforcement of learning are also benefits identified by some students in a mid-semester survey. Several students explicitly identified discovering their ability to learn and solve problems on their own as a benefit of the early homework bonus. The largest increase in homework averages as a result of the bonus was in the lower quintile of the class, with their homework averages increasing by 22%. This appeared to be primarily due to the bonus system helping students with time management issues. A second theme that emerged was transition and adjusting to college. To address this, a 1-hour workshop was conducted for students who scored below 60 on the first exam. The workshop covered issues related to transition to college such as study habits and preparing for tests. Attendees at the 1-hour workshop had on the average a 6 point increase in their score on the second test vs. their first test. This was compared to the class average dropping by 11 points. Thus, the increase in test performance was very significant. Due to the success, the workshop is being expanded from a 1-hour session to three 1-hour sessions. A third theme that emerged was the need for “in-time” help. Several changes were made to address this. Our discussion board was modified so that students can easily see posts from the past three semesters. This has resulted in a significant decrease in discussion board posts. By students being able to see the questions and answers from the previous semester, they are immediately getting their questions answered. We also implemented a “common mistake” check our online homework system. All answer submittals are checked for some common errors. The thought behind this intervention is that if a student understands the basic concept of the homework and has just made a minor error, the quicker they get feedback, the better. The student then does not lose confidence, thinking they do not know how to do the problem, and the student does not waste a lot of time. In summary, this project used interviews and attribution theory to identify why students were not doing homework. Intervention techniques based on engineering education research are being implemented to address the themes that emerged, with initial positive results. We believe the research is applicable beyond first year engineering courses, and can impact many first year STEM courses.
Last Modified: 03/23/2015
Modified by: Richard M Bennett
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