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Newswise — Research shows that it may be too late to repair misconceptions of fundamental science and engineering concepts by the time students reach core engineering courses in college.
New work by Boise State University researchers Dazhi Yang and Inanc Senocak aims to identify which difficult concepts may cause engineering students to stumble early on, prevent misconceptions about those subjects and, ultimately, improve the retention rate for engineering majors.
Yang, assistant professor in the Department of Educational Technology, and Senocak, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, have been awarded a $300,000 National Science Foundation grant for their project titled “A Synergistic Approach to Prevent Persistent Misconceptions with First-year Engineering Students.”
“Our goal is to help students have a better mindset and clearer understanding of math and science concepts going into the engineering courses, particularly those related to thermo-fluid sciences,” Yang said. “It would be ideal to start doing that at the elementary or middle school level, but our efforts are focused on catching it in the freshman year of college, before it’s too late.”
“The misconceptions definitely could affect their choice of engineering as a career path,” said Senocak.
Work under the three-year grant begins this fall with a collaborative approach to identify which concepts most often trip up students and to develop online tutorials that frame and describe those concepts in different ways. The researchers will consult with educational psychologists and technologists and employ two graduate students, one from engineering and one from educational technology.
Beginning next year, a test group of students will attend the tutorials and Yang will monitor their progress. In the third year, the research team will analyze outcomes and track student success. They also will organize a workshop with middle school and high school science teachers at the Treasure Valley Math and Science Center.
“A lot of research has been done on how to repair misconceptions after students have already developed them, and that approach has proven to be only somewhat effective in helping students,” Yang says. “We want to turn the research around – instead of repairing misconceptions we want to prevent them.”The funding success rate for NSF proposals submitted to the Research in Engineering Education (REE) program was about 10 percent. Reviewers were keen on Yang’s and Senocak’s proposal because the results could have broad impacts.
“The implications could be far-reaching as to how instructors deliver information in the engineering sciences to first year students and sophomores,” stated a panel summary. “The proposed research could be implemented in other fields such as math and physics education, perhaps lending credence to restructuring efforts overall in high school approaches to these topics.”
Boise State has launched wide-ranging initiatives to enhance science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning at all levels – K-12 through graduate education.
“The College of Engineering is focused on ensuring student success,” said Dean Amy Moll. “This research will help us determine how to better prepare students to be successful in their academic careers.”
The work also exemplifies the modernization of education in a digital age, said Martin Schimpf, provost and vice president for academic affairs, noting that advanced technology will help identify gaps in the development of knowledge for students and help bridge those gaps.
This is Yang’s first NSF grant. She joined Boise State in 2010 and is an assistant professor and coordinator of the K-12 Online Teaching Endorsement Program. She holds a Ph.D. in educational technology from Purdue University and was a postdoctoral researcher and instructional designer in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue from 2008-2010. Her research interests include teaching/learning STEM in online and blended learning environments, technology assisted learning, evaluation and assessment, and teacher professional development.
Senocak received his Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Florida, Gainesville. He has held postdoctoral positions at the Center for Turbulence Research (jointly operated by NASA Ames Research Center and Stanford University) and at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. His research interests include computational fluid dynamics (CFD), wind power forecasting, parallel computing, cavitation and multiphase flows, turbulence modeling, atmospheric transport and dispersion.
About Boise State UniversityAs an emerging metropolitan research university of distinction, Boise State University plays a crucial role in the region’s economic development and famed quality of life. Idaho’s largest institution of higher education offers nearly 200 degrees and certificates in seven colleges. While remaining committed to the strong teaching legacy that has resulted in 11 Idaho Professor of the Year awards since 1990, Boise State’s added emphasis on innovation and creativity is fueling the fastest growing research program in Idaho.
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