Collaborative Research: An Instrument and Adoption Framework for Student Cognitive and Social Engagement with a Course

Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University, Blacksburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

The Promoting Research and Innovation in Methodologies for Evaluation (PRIME) program seeks to support research on evaluation with special emphasis on: (1) exploring innovative approaches for determining the impacts and usefulness of STEM education projects and programs; (2) building on and expanding the theoretical foundations for evaluating STEM education and workforce development initiatives, including translating and adapting approaches from other fields; and (3) growing the capacity and infrastructure of the evaluation field. This project supports engineering faculty in their efforts to develop, evaluate, and improve delivery of their courses. The work is supported by the Course Social and Cognitive Engagement (CSCE) Framework. The expected outcomes of this project are: (1) an exploratory framework for how engineering faculty make choices and engage in evaluation processes; (2) a deeper understanding of processes that underlie cognitive and social engagement in engineering classrooms; and, (3) a valid and reliable CSCE instrument with modular subscales to measure student engagement of STEM education.