REU Site: Engineering Education Research on Undergraduate Engineering Students' Problem Solving Capacity

Utah State University, Logan UT

Investigators

Abstract

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site at Utah State University will provide a ten-week summer undergraduate research experience in engineering education research. It will host three cohorts of nine students each summer, engaging 27 unique students. Undergraduate research has been observed to increase students’ understanding, confidence, awareness, and interest in STEM subjects. It also enhances intellectual skills, such as inquiry and analysis, reading and understanding primary literature, communication, and teamwork. This REU site will involve students in emerging STEM education research projects that focus on developing engineering students’ problem-solving capacity and that address critical aspects of problem solving, including design in engineering. Through this work, students will learn to become active scientific contributors on collaborative research projects that can lead to publishable discoveries and positive societal outcomes. This REU also leverages opportunities to develop students’ leadership and managerial skills as they take leading roles in various aspects of the research. The REU team will focus recruiting efforts on STEM undergraduates who might not otherwise have the opportunity for undergraduate research. By the end of the summer experience, it is expected that each REU student will have developed a foundational understanding of educational research processes. Additionally, they are expected to also have gained a toolbox of social and leadership skills that better prepares them to succeed in their future careers. The 10-week REU site includes four integrated components: (1) REU research projects; (2) workshops; (3) dissemination of research findings and program results; and (4) off-campus group social and network-building activities. Preparatory work delivered to participants online prior to arriving on campus will allow students to develop an educational research foundation that will increase their research productivity on site. Over a three-year project period, 27 undergraduate students from across the nation will actively participate in an REU Site program working with graduate student and faculty mentors. This program is designed to offer opportunities for each REU participant to engage in authentic and funded research tasks, both individually and collaboratively, as well as an opportunity to gain experience in managing project deliverables. This REU has the potential to open a conduit to attract new graduate students and STEM professionals into educational research. 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.