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1. Understanding Climate Change Through Collaborative Versus Individual Inquiry With Constructive or Example-Based Scaffolds

   Bichler, S. ( January 2019 , Computersupported collaborative learning)

   We investigated a constructive and an example-based scaffold when learning from dynamic visualizations about climate change. Learners collaboratively or individually generated a diagram that represented energy flow (constructive scaffold) or observed a peer learner generating the diagram (example-based scaffold). We hypothesized that collaborative learners would benefit more from the constructive than the example-based scaffold, but that the opposite would be the case for individual learners. Seventy-one university students were randomly allocated to conditions in the 2X2 between-subjects design. Climate change understanding was measured at pre- and posttest. Preliminary results supported our hypothesis. We conclude that the constructive scaffold elicited questions that led to deep engagement in the collaborative condition, resulting in better understanding. Individual learners possibly failed to recognize crucial concepts in the constructive condition because they had questions but nobody to discuss with. They profited more from the example-based scaffold which emphasized central concepts of climate change. 

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2. Hands on STEM Learning at Home with 3D-Printed Manipulatives

   Davishahl, E ; Singleton, L ; Haskell, T ; O’Bannon, L G ( July 2021 , ASEE Annual Conference proceedings)

   null (Ed.)

   This NSF-IUSE exploration and design project began in fall 2018 and features cross-disciplinary collaboration between engineering, math, and psychology faculty to develop learning activities with 3D-printed models, build the theoretical basis for how they support learning, and assess their effectiveness in the classroom. We are exploring how such models can scaffold spatial skills and support learners’ development of conceptual understanding and representational competence in calculus and engineering statics. We are also exploring how to leverage the model-based activities to embed spatial skills training into these courses. The project’s original focus was on group learning in classroom activities with shared manipulatives. After a year of development and pilot activities, we commenced data collection in classroom implementations of a relatively mature curriculum starting fall 2019. Data collection ended abruptly in March 2020 when we had to shift gears in the context of a shift to online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With uncertainty as to when the use of shared hands-on models in a collaborative in-person learning context would be feasible again, it was clear a change in approach would be necessary. We have since developed new versions of the models and associated curriculum designed for independent at-home use in the context of online learning. We implemented the new curricula in an online statics courses in fall 2020 and in multiple sections of online calculus courses in winter 2021. In this paper, we describe our strategies for implementing hands-on learning at home. We also present some example activities and compare the approach to the face-to-face versions. Finally, we compare student feedback results on the online activities to analogous feedback data from the classroom implementations and discuss implications for the anticipated return to face-to-face learning in the classroom. 

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3. Hands on STEM Learning at Home with 3D-Printed Manipulatives

   Davishahl, Eric ; Singleton, Lee ; Haskell, Todd ; O'Bannon, Liam ( July 2021 , 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access)

   This NSF-IUSE exploration and design project began in fall 2018 and features cross-disciplinary collaboration between engineering, math, and psychology faculty to develop learning activities with 3D-printed models, build the theoretical basis for how they support learning, and assess their effectiveness in the classroom. We are exploring how such models can scaffold spatial skills and support learners’ development of conceptual understanding and representational competence in calculus and engineering statics. We are also exploring how to leverage the model-based activities to embed spatial skills training into these courses. The project’s original focus was on group learning in classroom activities with shared manipulatives. After a year of development and pilot activities, we commenced data collection in classroom implementations of a relatively mature curriculum starting fall 2019. Data collection ended abruptly in March 2020 when we had to shift gears in the context of a shift to online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With uncertainty as to when the use of shared hands-on models in a collaborative in-person learning context would be feasible again, it was clear a change in approach would be necessary. We have since developed new versions of the models and associated curriculum designed for independent at-home use in the context of online learning. We implemented the new curricula in an online statics courses in fall 2020 and in multiple sections of online calculus courses in winter 2021. In this paper, we describe our strategies for implementing hands-on learning at home. We also present some example activities and compare the approach to the face-to-face versions. Finally, we compare student feedback results on the online activities to analogous feedback data from the classroom implementations and discuss implications for the anticipated return to face-to-face learning in the classroom. 

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4. Enlisting historically excluded undergraduates in the effort to extend knowledge of West Antarctica’s bedrock, through course-based undergraduate research experiences (cures) and Art-Science initiatives

   Siddoway, Christine ; Thomson, Stuart ; Taylor, Jennifer ; Pepper, Marty ; Furlong, Heather ; Ruggiero, Joe ; & Reed, Brandon ( September 2022 , 29th West Antarctic Ice Sheet workshop)

   An enormous reserve of information about the subglacial bedrock, tectonic and topographic evolution of Marie Byrd Land (MBL) exists within glaciomarine sediments of the Amundsen Sea shelf, slope and deep sea, and MBL marine shelf. Investigators of the NSF ICI-Hot and NSF Linchpin projects partnered with Arizona Laserchron Center to provide course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) for from groups who do not ordinarily find access points to Antarctic science. Our courses enlist BIPOC and gender-expansive undergraduates in studies of ice-rafted debris (IRD) and bedrock samples, in order to impart skills, train in the use of research instrumentation, help students to develop confidence in their scientific abilities, and collaboratively address WAIS research questions at an early academic stage. CUREs afford benefits to graduate researchers and postdoctoral scientists, also, who join in as instructional faculty: CUREs allow GRs and PDs to engage in teaching that closely ties to their active research, yet provides practical experience to strengthen the academic portfolio (Cascella & Jez, 2018). Team members also develop art-science initiatives that engage students and community members who may not ordinarily engage with science, forging connections that make science relatable. Re-casting science topics through art centers personal connections and humanizes science, to promote understanding that goes beyond the purely analytical. Academic research shows that diverse undergraduates gain markedly from the convergence of art and science, and from involvement in collaborative research conducted within a CURE cohort, rather than as an individualized experience (e.g. Shanahan et al. 2022). The CUREs are offered as regular courses for credit, making access equitable via course enrollment. The course designation carries a legitimacy that is sought by students who balance academics with part-time employment. Course information is disseminated via STEM Bridge programs and/or an academic advising hub that reaches students from groups that are insufficiently represented within STEM and cryosphere science. CURE investigation of Amundsen Sea and WAIS problems is worthy objective because: 1) A variety of sample preparation, geochemical methods, and scientific best-practices can be imparted, while educating students about Antarctica’s geological configuration and role in the Earth climate system. 2) Individual projects that are narrowly defined can readily scaffold into collaborative science at the time of data synthesis and interpretation. 3) There is a high likelihood of scientific discovery that contributes to grant objectives. 4) Enrolled students will experience ambiguity and instrumentation setbacks alongside their faculty and instructors, and will likely have an opportunity to withstand/overcome challenges in a manner that trains students in complex problem solving and imparts resilience (St John et al., 2019). Based on our experiences, we consider CUREs as a means to create more inclusive and equitable spaces for learning to do research, and a basis for a broadening future WAIS community. Our groups have yet to assess student learning gains and STEM entry in a robust way, but we can report that two presenters at WAIS 2022 came from our 2021 CURE, and four polar science graduate researchers gained experience via CURE teaching. Data obtained by CURE students is contributing to our NSF projects’ aims to obtain isotope, age, and petrogenetic criteria with bearing on the subglacial bedrock geology, tectonic and landscape evolution, and ice sheet history of MBL. Cited and recommended works: Cascella & Jez, 2018, doi: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00705 Gentile et al., 2017, doi: 10.17226/24622 Shanahan et al. 2022, https://www.cur.org/assets/1/23/01-01_TOC_SPUR_Winter21.pdf Shortlidge & Brownell, 2016, doi: 10.1128/jmbe.v17i3.1103 St. John et al. 2019, EOS, doi: 10.1029/2019EO127285. 

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5. An Exploration of How Students Make Use of Hands-On Models to Learn Statics Concepts

   Rupe, Kathryn M ; Davishahl, Eric ; Singleton, Lee ; Borowski, Rebecca S. ( June 2023 , 2023 ASEE National Conference and Exposition)

   This paper describes the results from an ongoing project where hands-on models and associated activities are integrated throughout an undergraduate statics course with the goal of deepening students’ conceptual understanding, scaffolding spatial skills, and therefore developing representational competence with foundational concepts such as vectors, forces, moments, and free-body diagrams. Representational competence refers to the fluency with which a subject expert can move between different representations of a concept (e.g. mathematical, symbolic, graphical, 2D vs. 3D, pictorial) as appropriate for communication, reasoning, and problem solving. This study sought to identify the characteristics of modeling activities that make them effective for all learners. Student volunteers engaged in individual interviews in which they solved problems that included 2D diagrams, 3D models, and worked calculations. Participating students had prior experience with the models and related activity sheets earlier in the course. Data was collected at the end of the quarter and the activities emphasized conceptual understanding. Thematic analysis was used to develop codes and identify themes in students’ use of the models as it relates to developing representational competence. Students used the models in a variety of ways. They wrote directly on the models, touched and gestured with the model, adjusted components, and observed the model from multiple orientations. They added new elements and deconstructed the models to feel the force or imagine how measurements would be impacted if one parameter was changed while all others held constant. In interviews students made connections to previous courses as well as previous activities and experiences with the models. In addition to using the 3D models, participants also used more than one representation (e.g. symbolic or 2D diagram) to solve problems and communicate thinking. While the use of models and manipulatives is commonplace in mechanics instruction, this work seeks to provide more nuanced information about how students use these learning aids to develop and reinforce their own understanding of key concepts. The authors hope these findings will be useful for others interested in designing and refining hands-on mechanics activities toward specific learning goals. 

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