The project is a collaboration between the University of South Carolina and Marshall University. It is establishing strategies to aid faculty in the design and implementation of special instructional modules (EFFECTs) designed to foster critical thinking. This proposal leverages the success of a Phase I CCLI project that defined the pedagogical structure for the EFFECTS, generated six EFFECTs, and developed an assessment methodology. Each module contains three elements: 1) a decision worksheet that guides an initial design for the first class period, 2) active learning modules and journal questions during the next n class periods, and 3) material to guides a group discussion to produce a final design during the last class period. Using these modules in several classes under the earlier grant led to gains in the students' core knowledge and critical thinking skills. Developing a systematic approach that enables other faculty to use EFFECTs is a key aspect for disseminating the approach widely through the engineering education community. To achieve this, the investigators are working to develop instructional material to teach the EFFECTs to faculty, to expand current assessment tools, to develop a community of practice to support the design and implementation of EFFECTs, and to assess the strategies developed to design and implement EFFECTs. Dissemination is being accomplished through web postings, including links with the NSDL, through conference presentation and journal publications, and through faculty workshops. A comprehensive evaluation effort, under the direction of an independent expert, includes the monitoring of student learning outcomes using instruments for measuring scientific reasoning skills, critical thinking skills, and content knowledge. Broader impacts include the dissemination of the material and the evaluation results, faculty workshops, and outreach through existing K-12 programs.
This project is an effort to distribute information about, help build a community of practice for, and institutionalize a previously-developed instructional methodology that stimulates critical thinking among STEM students. The "EFFECTs" methodology (Environments for Fostering Effective Critical Thinking) introduces open-ended driving questions to students, and through a sequence of hands-on, active learning modules and student-written journal entries, guides students to develop designs and solutions through simulating the iterative and critical thought process that is routinely employed in technical settings. The accompanying image illustrates this sequenced learning process that works to create an environment where students gain knowledge through their own inquiry, rather than by more traditional top-down instructional means. Developing learning scenarios that reference some element of a student’s existing experience in the world is a key component of helping them to develop: (1) core knowledge related to the specific discipline under study, and (2) the critical thinking that guides the iterative application of observations and improvements that arise as a student gains engineering judgment through the exercise of critical thinking. The key role played by context is summarized by another of the accompanying images. In an earlier "Phase 1" project, the EFFECTs methodology was demonstrated to yield meaningful improvements in a student’s ability to exhibit critical thinking, and thus this "Phase 2" project was an effort to: Expand the number of EFFECTs (packages of driving questions, related active learning activities, and journal entry questions) Develop EFFECTs across a broader range of disciplines within STEM Conduct outreach, training, and workshop activities to expand the number of educators utilizing EFFECTS Prepare a developmental framework (and supporting materials) so that educators can create their own EFFECTs on topics and in fields beyond those for which existing, pre-packaged EFFECTs are available, and in support of broader institutionalization of the EFFECTs methodology The outcomes of this project include a wide variety of products that support these objectives. New EFFECTs were developed and implemented in courses such as thermodynamics, hydraulic engineering, water and wastewater treatment, soil mechanics, introduction to engineering, hydrologic engineering, cybersecurity, and a wide range of computer science topics. A virtualized community of practice was established using social media, in which those who implement EFFECTs can interface with and mentor those who are interested in learning more about and potentially implementing EFFECTs in their own courses. Websites were created in order to serve as a repository for EFFECTs materials, and highlight new developments within the EFFECTs field. A developmental framework was created, and was integrated into several training workshops that were held, to aid in the standardized development of new EFFECTs in subject areas beyond those already represented. Journal papers, magazine articles, and presentations at academic conferences such as the American Society of Engineering Education’s Annual Conference & Exposition, have increased the visibility of EFFECTs among educators across a wide range of disciplines and student age (from middle school through post-graduate). Through the standardization of the way that new EFFECTs can be created, establishing archives of existing EFFECTs, and bringing together a community of practice that mentors new users, the long-term viability of EFFECTs has been enabled. The lasting impact of an improved focus on helping students to practice critical thinking while they also obtain subject matter knowledge will promote greater intellectual autonomy, and will help to make graduates into more effective practitioners.
