Applying Conjecture Mapping as a Design-Based Research Method to Examine the Design and Implementation of a Teaching Development Project for STEM Faculty
- Conference
- Location
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Columbus, Ohio
- Publication Date
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June 24, 2017
- Start Date
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June 24, 2017
- End Date
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June 28, 2017
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Educational Research and Methods
- Tagged Topic
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Diversity
- Page Count
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12
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--27602
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/27602
- Download Count
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1527
Paper Authors
Lori C. Bland
George Mason University
orcid.org/0000-0003-4411-634X
Lori C. Bland, Ph.D., is an associate professor at George Mason University. She teaches courses in educational assessment, program evaluation, and data-driven decision-making. Bland received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Virginia. Her current research focuses on identifying, examining, and assessing learning and professional outcomes in formal and informal learning environments in K-12, higher education, and the workforce; how data is used from assessments to inform decision-making; and the application of assessment or evaluation methods to solve educational problems.
Margret Hjalmarson George Mason University
Margret Hjalmarson is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Education at George Mason University and currently a Program Officer in the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings at the National Science Foundation. Her research interests include engineering education, mathematics education, faculty development and mathematics teacher leadership.
Jill K. Nelson George Mason University
Jill Nelson is an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at George Mason University. She earned a BS in Electrical Engineering and a BA in Economics from Rice University in 1998. She attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for graduate study, earning an MS and PhD in Electrical Engineering in 2001 and 2005, respectively. Dr. Nelson's research focus is in statistical signal processing, specifically detection and estimation for applications in target tracking and physical layer communications. Her work on target detection and tracking is funded by the Office of Naval Research. Dr. Nelson is a 2010 recipient of the NSF CAREER Award. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, and the IEEE Signal Processing, Communications, and Education Societies.
Anastasia P. Samaras George Mason University
ANASTASIA P. SAMARAS is Professor of Education in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University, USA. She is an educational researcher and pedagogical scholar with signature work in self-study research methodology including co-editor of Polyvocal Professional Learning through Self-Study Research (2015) and author of Self-Study Teacher Research (2011) and lead editor of Learning Communities In Practice (2008). She is recipient of the Dissertation Research Award, University of Virginia, the Outstanding Scholar Award, University of Maryland, a Fulbright Scholar, and a Visiting Self-study Scholar. She served as chair of S-STEP from 2013-2015 and is a current Co-PI of two National Science Foundation (NSF) funded grants: Designing Teaching: Scaling up the SIMPLE Design Framework for Interactive Teaching Development and a research initiation grant: Student-directed differentiated learning in college-level engineering education. Her research centers on facilitating and studying her role in faculty development self-study collaboratives.
Abstract
Changing teaching strategies in engineering education to become more interactive is important, though difficult. Intentional design of faculty development to engage faculty to make small, incremental changes within the context of a supportive, like-minded community, is important. In this paper, we merged two different methods to examine the PIs design decisions, and evaluate the program’s implementation and outcomes. For the first method, the grant evaluator applied conjecture mapping (Sandoval, 2004), a design-based research method, to examine the design and theoretical conjectures, the mediating processes, and outcomes of implementation of a faculty development project. The high level conjecture was that faculty who participate in a supportive teaching network will make initial small changes in their teaching, which will lead to increasingly larger changes over time. For the second method, the principal investigators applied self-study (Samaras, 2011), a qualitative research method, to examine and reflect on their design-based decisions, implementation, and outcomes. Results indicated that the structures and practices supported mediating processes. Mediating processes became proximal outcomes. Medial and distal outcomes for faculty change may likely be a multi-year trajectory. Conjecture mapping and self-study proved to be useful methods in evaluating a process grant focusing on faculty change.
Bland, L. C., & Hjalmarson, M., & Nelson, J. K., & Samaras, A. P. (2017, June), Applying Conjecture Mapping as a Design-Based Research Method to Examine the Design and Implementation of a Teaching Development Project for STEM Faculty Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--27602
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