Funded Projects
| Project Title | Overview of the Project |
|---|---|
| Using Blogger to Improve Student Engagement and Learning Michelle Aebersold Nursing Dana Tschannen Nursing $3000.00 |
In this study, we propose to use Google Blogger as way to increase student engagement and student learning through a more collaborative learning pedagogy that encompasses the constructs of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework. Specifically were are interested in determining if Blogger increases a student's sense of community, student engagement and ability to achieve course objectives among graduate nursing students. A multi-method approach will be used to answer our research questions. The CoI survey will be used to determine student's perception of a sense of community, social network analysis will be used to student cohesion and a comparative analysis between posts submitted to Blogger and c-tools forum will be made using the CoI framework. |
| Characterizations of how students collect, synthesize, and utilize stakeholder information during the design process Kathleen Sienko Engineering $4000.00 |
Globalization requires that engineering graduates learn to design products that fully take into account the needs of the customer and the culture in which the product will be used. Increasing interaction with stakeholders during the design process and particularly while eliciting user requirements has been shown to yield more innovative solutions that better meet customer needs. This study seeks to characterize how students collect, synthesize, and utilize stakeholder information in order to develop effective design pedagogies. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with design teams during their senior capstone project. Using an iterative coding methodology, major themes related to stakeholder interaction will be identified during the design process. The development of sound design pedagogies is dependent on a thorough understanding of how students currently interact with stakeholders. Results will be used as pilot data for an external grant submission and will be presented at an engineering education conference. |
| Preparing Socially Engaged Citizens: Understanding the Impact of the Community Action Social Change Minor Katie Richards-Schuster Social Work Mary Ruffolo Social Work $4000.00 |
Preparing Socially Engaged Citizens: Understanding the Impact of the Community Action Social Change Minor The purpose of the proposed student learning investigation grant is to explore the specific effect of the minor's course work and activities on preparing students to be effective socially engaged "citizens" upon graduation from the University of Michigan. Using a mixed-methods approach including the comprehensive surveys of CASC minors and current CASC students and the review of e-portfolio capstone projects from students and alumni, our research plans to: (1) examine the impact of the minor on student learning and their ability to translate their learning into post-graduate engagement, (2) explore the contributions of the CASC minor to student knowledge, skills, and experiences, and (3) develop lessons learned, from the experience of recent graduates, for future improvements of program and curricular components of the minor. |
| Experiential Learning in Dementia Care for Social Workers Berit Ingersoll-Dayton Social Work Beth Spencer Social Work $4000.00 |
This project will evaluate the experiential learning of social work students as they engage in an aging- related research intervention, the Couples Life Story Project (CLSP). The CLSP focuses on older couples in which one partner has memory loss, to help them review their shared life together, learn and practice communication techniques, and focus on their strengths as partners. Student interventionists are involved in this project both as practitioners and as researchers. We will examine the extent to which student interventionists' participation in the CLSP influences their understanding of dementia, clinical skills, research, and critical reflection. To address this research question, the co-investigators will conduct in-depth interviews with student interventionists at the end of their participation in the project and analyze their responses using qualitative analysis. Findings from this project will contribute to developing creative ways of incorporating experiential learning into social work education. |
| Learning cariology in a new dental curriculum: Long lasting student learning of critical thinking and problem solving skills in the context of patient care Margherita Fontana Dentistry Carlos Gonzalez Dentistry $4000.00 |
Critical-thinking and problem-solving are two of the most frequently espoused goals for student learning across disciplines. As part of a current major revision of the dental school's curriculum, faculty recognized that many students struggled to translate information from the classroom and use it later during their clinical experiences in the context of patient care. Two new first year courses were developed (Cariology I and II) to enhance and facilitate critical-thinking, problem-solving, and use of evidence-based information for dental caries (dental decay) detection, diagnosis, risk assessment, prevention and management. We are interested in investigating what are the long lasting student learning outcomes from the critical-thinking and problem-solving components assessed in these courses. Specifically, does early assessment correlate with these skills being demonstrated in later years during decision-making in clinical patient care? The key purpose of our participation in the ISL (Investigating Student Learning grant) community is to systematically develop and pilot assessment rubrics derived from data from our existing course and clinical activities and/or consider piloting additional assessment strategies of critical thinking during our didactic and clinical courses throughout the curriculum, and assess the relationships between initial and long-term follow up assessments. Pedagogical activities focused on teaching critical thinking and assessment of long-term transfer of learning developed and tested as part of this proposal will have implications for teaching and learning not only for dentistry, but broadly within higher education, as these are key educational goals now-a-days of most disciplines. |
| Interactive Multi-Media ‘Textbooks’: An Approach to Large Core Courses for an eReader Generation Mark Clague Music, Theatre & Dance $4000.00 |
Through the Investigating Student Learning program of U-M's CRLT, we propose to examine the design and efficacy of dynamic multi-media learning texts with interactive study and assessment tools. Built using readily available Google supported tools and Apple iBook authoring software, these Web/Book modules will target five thematic areas in a large media rich core-curricular class for freshman music majors at Michigan's School of Music, Theatre & Dance and thus impact approximately 140 students. Data collection and analysis will assess the effectiveness of these modules in enhancing student exam results as well as building student engagement and enthusiasm. Results of Web/book-enhanced learning will be compared to topics not supported by these modules and secondarily by comparing the effectiveness of the modules against one another to suggest avenues for future development. Results will be shared online and in print with broad implications for the use of rich media eText supplements for large enrollment core courses. |
| Evaluating the Influence of Pre- and Post-Class Online Modules on Learning and Retention Jamie Phillips Engineering Foley Justin Engineering $4000.00 |
Proper preparation on the part of the student before class can significantly improve the learning process; reading background materials, reviewing concepts that serve as the basis for upcoming class sessions, and previewing content of a class discussion can all serve to "prime" the mind of students before entering the classroom. Similarly, the reinforcement and application of new concepts soon after a subject is taught is expected to improve learning retention. Pre- and post-class assignments can be used for this purpose, but are not often implemented (or not within a sufficiently proximal timeframe) in in science and engineering courses. Brief online modules may provide a means of accomplishing these objectives by providing students with convenient and rapid access to materials and enforcing a rapid timeframe to engage in the activity. Pre- and post-class online modules will be introduced in EECS 320 – Introduction to Semiconductor Devices. The influence of these modules on learning and retention will be studied, where quantitative analysis will be enhanced through the use of learning analytics. |
| Improving Student Pronunciation: a Two-Step Self Evaluation for a Non-Heritage Learners of Korean Kyongmi Park LSA $3000.00 |
I am applying for funding through the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching's Investigating Student Learning program to support ongoing research into how effective a two-step self evaluation process is for learners of Korean. In order to track student progress in pronunciation this year, I began using a new assessment tool which asks students to self-assess their pronunciation twice using audio recordings of dialogues and reading passages. The idea for a self-assessment of this kind is that "Engaging students in regular self-assessment, with standards held constant so that students can watch themselves grow over time" (McMillan 2011, p.17). As a result of using the self-evaluation assessment tool, I was able to track this student's progress over the course of five weeks and adjust my own teaching accordingly. The goal of my ISL project will be to evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy of self-assessment as well as to investigate the possibility of using video recordings in addition to audio recordings as an effective way for students to self-assess. |
| Using Video Patient Care Simulations to Enhance Role Identification and Clinical Judgment of Nursing Students and Nurse Practitioner Students. Laurie Hartman Nursing Cynthia Fenske Nursing $3000.00 |
The purpose of this investigation is to examine the effectiveness of video simulation as a tool to enhance clinical judgment skills of both undergraduate and graduate nursing students. An additional purpose seeks to determine if video simulation assist students with role transition from the registered nurse role to an advanced practice role and from a pre-licensure student to a registered nurse. Video simulation could provide a meaningful, safe, and cost efficient way for educators to reinforce basic and complex nursing knowledge while also promoting excellent clinical judgment skills. It serves to reinforce patient illness concepts that were learned via traditional reading and didactic techniques while engaging the class in dynamic self and group exploration of the application of various patient management strategies. |
| Implementation and Evaluation of the Flipped Classroom in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clerkship Helen Morgan Medical School Karen McLean Medical School Maya Hammoud Medical School $8000.00 |
This research project will examine how implementation of the flipped classroom can improve traditional teaching during the Obstetrics and Gynecology third year medical student clerkship. Online lectures will be created to be viewed prior to a faculty teaching session, which can then be an interactive, case-based discussion. We will require half of the students to log in and complete the online modules prior to the teaching session. The other half of students will be encouraged, but not required to complete the online modules. We will examine student satisfaction and use patterns, as well as learner knowledge gain by evaluating subject examination scores. |
| Leading Feminism: How Women's Studies students integrate and apply feminist theory in action-learning placements and its impact on student leadership development and aspirations. $6000.00 |
Leading Feminism focuses on the development of a course-sequel to the existing practicum course for Women's Studies majors (WS350). WS351: Leading Feminism will build upon WS350's examination of nonprofit management, community engagement, and feminist practice at an organizational-level, to a focused exploration of feminist practice and individual-level organizational leadership in the context of action-learning-mentorship partnerships across a variety of sectors, including public, private, and corporate. Course and partnership assessments, student written assignments and self-assessments will be analyzed using established rubrics and scales to assess (a) student integration of feminist theory in action-learning partnerships; and (b) self-reported impact of these action-learning partnerships on student leadership development, aspirations and professional goals. Lessons learned have potential implications for future WS sequential practicum course offerings and leadership development programming, the creation of successful cross-sector action-learning partnerships in a variety of disciplines, and the documentation of learning outcomes in alignment with the Third Century Initiative. |
| The effect of electronic platform on student engineering design team success Robin Fowler Engineering $3000.00 |
The proposed quasi-experimental study explores the effect of a TTI innovation, an online platform for team decision making, which I first implemented in my classroom Fall 2011. My Fall 2012 students (anticipated: ~60 students) working in ~12 teams of 4-5 students will be assigned to the online (Google docs, with chat feature) or the control (face-to-face) condition for a design negotiation that takes place at the beginning of a collaborative learning cycle in a first-year undergraduate engineering course. Transcripts of the resulting team design negotiations will be coded for member participation, level of critique, and application of engineering principles. Surveys of students after the project as well as evaluation of innovation evidenced in team decisions will also be evaluated. The results of this study may suggest pedagogical strategies for increasing minority participation in student groups and for increasing students' application of theoretical knowledge in a collaborative learning context. It is hoped that the project results will inform team-based active learning projects across the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. |
| "Beating the Bounds": An Inquiry into Information Literacy and Student Learning Ecologies in the Library and the English Department Writing Program Aaron McCollough Libraries (UM) $4000.00 |
Our project is designed to develop a common working language in the library and in the English Department -- to "map the territory" -- for micro-level tasks that blur the line between writing and research. We call this set of tasks "information use behaviors," a term inspired by the third aspect of the ACRL definition of information literacy: "to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information" (ACRL, 2000). Such "information use behaviors" include: • Evaluating whether one source is better suited to a student's writing purpose than another. • Identifying general information sources and synthesizing sources' ideas as a form of invention for a student's own writing. • Summarizing and quoting from outside sources in a way that contributes to a specific purpose in a student's own writing, such as developing an original argument. Our key research questions: • What are the key breakdowns in student understanding of how to effectively use sources in writing? • How do instructors characterize both breakdowns and model processes in working with sources in first-year composition? • What heuristics have instructors developed for teaching source engagement or "information use"? To investigate these questions, we conducted interviews with 9 first-year composition (FYC) instructors, producing 69 pages of coded transcripts. We also surveyed FYC students and a wider population of FYC instructors to identify gaps between students' and instructors' perception of successful research practices in the writing classroom. |
| Evaluating Student Learning of Methods of Interpersonal Social Work Practice with African American Families, Offered in Historical and Contemporary Context. Leslie Hollingsworth Social Work $3000.00 |
African American families are over-represented in many of the settings in which social workers practice, particularly in the child welfare system. There is research evidence that racial disparities in the way services are provided, in terms of bias and of failure to consider cultural context, are sources of these disparities and that the presence of an MSW is not always sufficient to eliminate them. This application proposes an approach to evaluating the effectiveness of an advanced MSW-level course in interpersonal social work practice with African-American families to be offered in Fall 2012 and Winter 2013. The course utilizes content on knowledge, skills, and values associated with an Africentric approach to service delivery, in historical and contemporary context. Evaluation will make use of the case-study and portfolio methods. |
| Why Did I Have to Take This Class: or Do first year students’ attitudes toward the Humanities change in a required Humanities lecture course? Joanne Seo LSA $4000.00 |
This project addresses a concern raised in student comments on Great Books 191 (a course I have taught since Fall 2010) and a general issue for many other prerequisite introductory Humanities courses delivered in a lecture format: unlike required STEM introductory courses in which students believe they acquire fundamental skills, Humanities and especially literature courses are increasingly dismissed as irrelevant or frivolous by pre-professionalized students. I am seeking an ISL grant to assess students' attitudes toward the Humanities before, during, and after Great Books 191: what preconceptions do they enter with, and what do they conclude they gain (or not) from studying ancient Greek literature? How essential do they consider the values and perspectives to which they have been introduced, and how transferable do they consider the fundamental critical and analytic skills they have acquired in this introductory Humanities course? |
| Transforming and Transformative Ethics Rolf Bouma LSA Melody Pugh Education $8000.00 |
Research question to be investigated: How does students' ethical comprehension and reasoning change -- in both content and perspective -- as a result of intensive writing, oral practice, and an orientation toward future sustainability through ethical problem-solving? |
