Peer Instruction (PI) is a robust, research-based pedagogy (RBP) that has leveraged the power of cyberinfrastructure to advance learning in SE (S & E) education in unprecedented ways. It is a technology-driven pedagogy that has spread throughout each of the STEM disciplines, and into the social sciences and humanities. More than 400 known instructors, who have taught more than 50,000 students, use PI in classrooms all over the world and it is a evidence-based method supported by more than 15 years of research. Evidence indicates that effective implementation of PI correlates with statistically significant positive learning outcomes in STEM, most importantly -- addressing persistence issues pertaining to the educational experience of underrepresented minorities. These outcomes are encouraging, but RBPs such as PI require effective implementation in order to achieve actual improvements in the way SE students learn. Recent RBP implementation research indicates that instructors vary in how they use PI, often rendering it ineffective. Present RBP dissemination methods do not adequately train instructors to effectively incorporate RBPs into their classrooms and achieve desired outcomes. A centralized RBP diffusion mechanism should prevent such misapplications.
This CI-TEAM Diffusion project is a collaboration between Harvard University and the University of Texas, Austin. The developers of PI and the management of an extant UT-Austin $3.5 million initiative to integrate RBPs into an additional extant multi-million dollar UT cyberlearning initiative in the sciences called Quest, are developing a centralized, open-source RBP diffusion cyberhub: PORTAL, Pedagogical Open-access Research-based Tools for Advancing Learning in Science and Engineering. PORTAL is building the Quest framework, which was written using open source tools (Ruby). The vision of this project is to offer a centralized and free cyberhub for the diffusion of RBPs through 10 Computer-Based Trainings (CBTs) grounded in cognitive science and human-computer interaction theory, and three Summer Institutes targeting faculty and faculty developers at Harvard University, UT-Austin, the entire UT System, and then on a national and international scale. PORTAL leverages established partnerships and prior NSF investments to achieve the following outcomes: 1) a new, highly-diverse generation of cyber-ready science, computational science, and engineering workers expertly trained to use and innovate cyberresources and tools; 2) Broadened participation among underrepresented minorities in high technology careers; 3) novel cyber-innovations, developed by the full pool of national talent, that transform how we live in the world; and ultimately 4) increased national science and engineering competitiveness.
BROADER IMPACT:The key objective of PORTAL is to broaden participation in SE and as such, to open pathways for the next generation of our high-technology workforce, with an eye toward ensuring that the full talent pool of computational science students and engineers are cyberready when they hit the job market. By achieving proposed benchmarks, the project will nurture greater diversity in science -related programs and careers using instructional methods proven to improve engagement in subject-matter and academic performance, retention, and subject-matter knowledge in STEM among all students, including women and racial minorities. Towards meeting this goal, this team has included a broadening participation specialist on the project management team and has developed a deployment site at the largest public institution in the United States with one of the highest-underrepresented minority-serving profiles.
INTELLECTUAL MERIT: This is unique as a project seeking to transform educational experiences for SE students by leveraging the cyberinfrastructure to diffuse RBPs to a broad, diverse, large-scale population through CBTs. PORTAL provides a novel, low-cost alternative for institutions striving to implement effective teaching and learning reform in SE education, but unable to commit the personnel or institutional restructuring required for higher-threshold initiatives. Moreover, PORTAL harnesses an established educational transformation initiative and cyberinfrastructure at UT-Austin and two decades of experiences by leading RBP developers who have engaged in some of the most widespread pedagogical dissemination efforts in the national STEM education reform movement. Finally, all project efforts are managed by an experienced educational researcher and grounded in research on effective dissemination, interactive teaching, human-computer interaction theory, cognitive science, and learning theory.
