| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | June 30, 2019 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 30, 2019 |
| Award Number: | 1914813 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Jennifer Lewis
jenlewis@nsf.gov (703)292-7340 DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | October 1, 2019 |
| End Date: | September 30, 2024 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $609,435.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $609,435.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1301 E MAIN ST MURFREESBORO TN US 37132-0001 (615)494-7848 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
1301 E. Main Street Murfreesboro TN US 37132-0001 |
| 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): | IUSE |
| 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): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
With support from the NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Program: Education and Human Resources (IUSE: EHR), this project aims to serve the national interest by investigating factors that create effective classroom environments for large undergraduate chemistry courses. To accomplish this goal, the project will gather data from large enrollment courses at the University of Iowa, the University of Arizona, Middle Tennessee State University, and Stonybrook University. It will use these data to determine the features of collaborative activities that foster high-quality student engagement and meaningful learning. Special attention will be paid to the participation of diverse student populations, such as first-generation college students and English-language learners. Core findings from this research project will be used to develop and disseminate faculty resources that will support creation and implementation of effective classroom activities.
The research design for this project is based on the understanding that collective activity is a sociological construct that fosters the construction of ideas through different patterns of interaction. Productive ways of reasoning emerge as learners solve problems, explain their thinking, and represent their ideas when engaged in well-designed and relevant tasks that are properly facilitated. Thus, at the center of the research design is the observation, recording, and analysis of student-student as well as student-facilitator conversations to: a) characterize critical characteristics of collaborative task facilitation that most strongly support productive engagement; b) explore how different features of task design (e.g., structure; focus; cognitive demand; opportunities for knowledge integration; co-construction of knowledge) affect students' modes of reasoning and productive engagement in argumentation and explanation; and c) characterize the interaction of task design and facilitation with student discourse in large chemistry classes and determine how those interactions hinder or facilitate the productive engagement of diverse students by reducing barriers to their equal participation in and contribution to group work. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. This project is in the Development and Implementation Tier, Engaged Student Learning Track. 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.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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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.
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.
- Award Title: Collaborative Research: Investigating Classroom Discourse in Active Learning Environments for Large Enrollment Chemistry Courses
- Federal Award ID: 1914813
- Report Submission Period: 10/01/2023 to 09/30/2024
This project involved collaboration among four universities in the U.S.: Middle Tennessee State University, Stony Brook University, The University of Arizona, and The University of Iowa. It aimed to identify key features in the design and implementation of collaborative activities in college chemistry classrooms that engage students in productive discussion and active listening in small groups, fostering meaningful learning. We analyzed student conversations during collaborative classroom activities to explore the relationship between different aspects of student engagement (social processing, knowledge dynamics, and participation levels) and the cognitive level of in-class tasks. Our analysis revealed a significant link between task complexity and student engagement. Low-level tasks often resulted in higher instances of no interaction, more individualistic work, and fewer episodes of knowledge construction and collaboration with full student participation. In contrast, high-level tasks were strongly associated with more knowledge construction and collaborative episodes involving full group participation.
We also developed and applied an analytical framework to characterize students' chemical reasoning during in-class activities, along with the specific discourse moves used in group conversations. This framework, grounded in a "Community of Learners" perspective, provided insights into group activity across four dimensions: a) Community of Discourse; b) Legitimization of Differences; c) Zones of Proximal Development; and d) Community of Practice. Our findings shed light on the complex factors influencing students' cognitive and social engagement in collaborative learning environments and introduced an innovative method for analyzing student conversations during in-class tasks.
Our analysis showed that student groups often begin collaborative tasks by using heuristic reasoning, with the quality of subsequent reasoning influenced by the group's general knowledge level. Intuitive heuristic reasoning is more common in groups with weaker background knowledge, while expert heuristic reasoning dominates in groups with stronger knowledge. Overall, model-based reasoning is sparingly applied by students in general chemistry courses.
The study suggests that multiple factors such as curriculum design, task timing, group work facilitation, and classroom settings affect student engagement during collaborative activities. The complex interaction of these factors is discussed in a perspective paper published in the Journal of Chemical Education. We also used these findings to develop a set of resources to support instructors in designing and implementing high-engagement collaborative group work activities in chemistry classrooms.
Additionally, as part of this project, we conducted investigations that provided insights into:
- The use of whiteboards during collaborative activities and their impact on student engagement.
- Factors influencing the participation of English learners compared to native speakers in group work.
- Dominant patterns in chemistry instructors’ facilitation of group work.
- Strategies for effectively analyzing discourse moves during group work to characterize discussion patterns in lecture and discussion environments.
Last Modified: 02/03/2025
Modified by: Gregory T Rushton
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