Student attitudes toward the assessment criteria in writing-intensive college courses
Assessing Writing, 2011
Mixed quantitative and qualitative methods were used to assess student attitudes toward the asses... more Mixed quantitative and qualitative methods were used to assess student attitudes toward the assessment criteria for higher-order critical and analytical thinking skills in writing-intensive curricula in first-year, general education courses. The courses varied in emphasis on critical thinking in the criteria used to assess writing. The analysis is grounded in social constructivist and sociocultural theories of writing. Students in a
American Educational Research Association Annual Conference
There is substantial evidence of the positive effects of feedback on students' learning, yet less... more There is substantial evidence of the positive effects of feedback on students' learning, yet less is known about what makes feedback practices effective, especially with regard to motivational outcomes associated with feedback practice. This meta-analysis addresses this research gap through a systematical review of feedback studies, focusing on motivational outcomes. We address the following questions: What types of feedback have been used in studies and which motivational outcomes are addressed? What are the effects of different feedback types on diverse motivational outcomes? And what variables account for consistency and variability in conceptually and methodologically similar studies? We develop a framework for analyzing the literature and share initial findings on the role of feedback in motivation for learning in classroom settings.
This research report presents the preliminary results from application of Generalizability Theory... more This research report presents the preliminary results from application of Generalizability Theory to statistical reliability analysis of quantitative data from research on engineering design education. Following a brief overview of the project I describe the data used for this analysis, the analysis process, the initial results, and suggestions for next steps and future research.
2007 37th annual frontiers in education conference - global engineering: knowledge without borders, opportunities without passports, 2007
The Academic Pathways Study (APS) is a mixedmethods longitudinal study of engineering students at... more The Academic Pathways Study (APS) is a mixedmethods longitudinal study of engineering students at four institutions. The goals of this special interactive session are to begin the processes of (1) knitting APS knowledge into the larger body of engineering education scholarship, and (2) develop ways of thinking about these findings that inform engineering education program planning and classroom practice.
As engineers contribute to solving the increasingly complex problems facing our society, there is... more As engineers contribute to solving the increasingly complex problems facing our society, there is a growing need for the engineers graduating from undergraduate programs to deeply understand the context within which they are solving problems. There is a particular need for engineers who recognize the complexities of global and societal issues and respond to those complex issues with the solutions they develop.
Center For the Advancement of Engineering Education, Jul 1, 2007
Because design plays a central role in engineering, it is important for engineering education pro... more Because design plays a central role in engineering, it is important for engineering education programs to prepare students with design skills.
ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Conference Proceedings, 2007
Because design plays a central role in engineering, it is important for engineering education pro... more Because design plays a central role in engineering, it is important for engineering education programs to prepare students with design skills. By describing both novice and expert approaches to engineering design, researchers are contributing to the formulation of more specific design learning outcomes that may be addressed in curriculum design and program planning. One learning area where novices and experts differ is in how broadly they define engineering problems with which they are faced.
This paper examines differences between how novices and experts approached the same hypothetical engineering problem. First-year students (n=124) and experienced engineers (n=4) were asked to identify factors they would take into account when designing a retaining wall system for the Mississippi River. Expert data were gathered using verbal protocol analysis, in which subjects were asked to “think aloud” as they addressed the retaining wall problem, and their statements were coded and interpreted. Novice data were gathered using a written protocol in which subjects were asked to simply list the factors on paper. Qualitative data were segmented into distinct ideas, which were then coded using a coding scheme with two dimensions of problem scoping breadth: physical location and frame of reference.
We found that novices offered a greater proportion of factors from the natural and social frames of reference, versus technical and logistical frames, which indicated a rather broad approach the problem. We argue that this may reflect the novices’ relative inexperience with engineering concepts. While the four experts’ responses differed in terms of their representations through a “breadth of problem scoping” coding scheme, two of the responses echoed a characteristic top-down, breadth-first approach to design. The difference in protocols presents challenges in comparing expert and novice behavior, and methodological issues of collecting less information from a greater number of subjects versus collecting more information from fewer subjects were addressed. Because asking the experts to think aloud resulted in a rich data set, we employed narrative analysis to further investigate expert responses.
The narrative analysis of expert problem scoping behavior suggested a sophisticated approach to situating problems and solutions in context. It highlighted several particular kinds of factors that the four experts in our sample were drawn to – existing engineered solutions, alternative design solutions, costs and benefits, priorities, and history. In addition, the narrative analysis illustrated the relationships between and among an expert’s ideas, and what these relationships imply for the expert designers’ thought processes.
Student attitudes toward the assessment criteria in writing-intensive college courses
Assessing Writing, 2011
Mixed quantitative and qualitative methods were used to assess student attitudes toward the asses... more Mixed quantitative and qualitative methods were used to assess student attitudes toward the assessment criteria for higher-order critical and analytical thinking skills in writing-intensive curricula in first-year, general education courses. The courses varied in emphasis on critical thinking in the criteria used to assess writing. The analysis is grounded in social constructivist and sociocultural theories of writing. Students in a
American Educational Research Association Annual Conference
There is substantial evidence of the positive effects of feedback on students' learning, yet less... more There is substantial evidence of the positive effects of feedback on students' learning, yet less is known about what makes feedback practices effective, especially with regard to motivational outcomes associated with feedback practice. This meta-analysis addresses this research gap through a systematical review of feedback studies, focusing on motivational outcomes. We address the following questions: What types of feedback have been used in studies and which motivational outcomes are addressed? What are the effects of different feedback types on diverse motivational outcomes? And what variables account for consistency and variability in conceptually and methodologically similar studies? We develop a framework for analyzing the literature and share initial findings on the role of feedback in motivation for learning in classroom settings.
This research report presents the preliminary results from application of Generalizability Theory... more This research report presents the preliminary results from application of Generalizability Theory to statistical reliability analysis of quantitative data from research on engineering design education. Following a brief overview of the project I describe the data used for this analysis, the analysis process, the initial results, and suggestions for next steps and future research.
2007 37th annual frontiers in education conference - global engineering: knowledge without borders, opportunities without passports, 2007
The Academic Pathways Study (APS) is a mixedmethods longitudinal study of engineering students at... more The Academic Pathways Study (APS) is a mixedmethods longitudinal study of engineering students at four institutions. The goals of this special interactive session are to begin the processes of (1) knitting APS knowledge into the larger body of engineering education scholarship, and (2) develop ways of thinking about these findings that inform engineering education program planning and classroom practice.
As engineers contribute to solving the increasingly complex problems facing our society, there is... more As engineers contribute to solving the increasingly complex problems facing our society, there is a growing need for the engineers graduating from undergraduate programs to deeply understand the context within which they are solving problems. There is a particular need for engineers who recognize the complexities of global and societal issues and respond to those complex issues with the solutions they develop.
Center For the Advancement of Engineering Education, Jul 1, 2007
Because design plays a central role in engineering, it is important for engineering education pro... more Because design plays a central role in engineering, it is important for engineering education programs to prepare students with design skills.
ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Conference Proceedings, 2007
Because design plays a central role in engineering, it is important for engineering education pro... more Because design plays a central role in engineering, it is important for engineering education programs to prepare students with design skills. By describing both novice and expert approaches to engineering design, researchers are contributing to the formulation of more specific design learning outcomes that may be addressed in curriculum design and program planning. One learning area where novices and experts differ is in how broadly they define engineering problems with which they are faced.
This paper examines differences between how novices and experts approached the same hypothetical engineering problem. First-year students (n=124) and experienced engineers (n=4) were asked to identify factors they would take into account when designing a retaining wall system for the Mississippi River. Expert data were gathered using verbal protocol analysis, in which subjects were asked to “think aloud” as they addressed the retaining wall problem, and their statements were coded and interpreted. Novice data were gathered using a written protocol in which subjects were asked to simply list the factors on paper. Qualitative data were segmented into distinct ideas, which were then coded using a coding scheme with two dimensions of problem scoping breadth: physical location and frame of reference.
We found that novices offered a greater proportion of factors from the natural and social frames of reference, versus technical and logistical frames, which indicated a rather broad approach the problem. We argue that this may reflect the novices’ relative inexperience with engineering concepts. While the four experts’ responses differed in terms of their representations through a “breadth of problem scoping” coding scheme, two of the responses echoed a characteristic top-down, breadth-first approach to design. The difference in protocols presents challenges in comparing expert and novice behavior, and methodological issues of collecting less information from a greater number of subjects versus collecting more information from fewer subjects were addressed. Because asking the experts to think aloud resulted in a rich data set, we employed narrative analysis to further investigate expert responses.
The narrative analysis of expert problem scoping behavior suggested a sophisticated approach to situating problems and solutions in context. It highlighted several particular kinds of factors that the four experts in our sample were drawn to – existing engineered solutions, alternative design solutions, costs and benefits, priorities, and history. In addition, the narrative analysis illustrated the relationships between and among an expert’s ideas, and what these relationships imply for the expert designers’ thought processes.
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Papers by A Morozov
This paper examines differences between how novices and experts approached the same hypothetical engineering problem. First-year students (n=124) and experienced engineers (n=4) were asked to identify factors they would take into account when designing a retaining wall system for the Mississippi River. Expert data were gathered using verbal protocol analysis, in which subjects were asked to “think aloud” as they addressed the retaining wall problem, and their statements were coded and interpreted. Novice data were gathered using a written protocol in which subjects were asked to simply list the factors on paper. Qualitative data were segmented into distinct ideas, which were then coded using a coding scheme with two dimensions of problem scoping breadth: physical location and frame of reference.
We found that novices offered a greater proportion of factors from the natural and social frames of reference, versus technical and logistical frames, which indicated a rather broad approach the problem. We argue that this may reflect the novices’ relative inexperience with engineering concepts. While the four experts’ responses differed in terms of their representations through a “breadth of problem scoping” coding scheme, two of the responses echoed a characteristic top-down, breadth-first approach to design. The difference in protocols presents challenges in comparing expert and novice behavior, and methodological issues of collecting less information from a greater number of subjects versus collecting more information from fewer subjects were addressed. Because asking the experts to think aloud resulted in a rich data set, we employed narrative analysis to further investigate expert responses.
The narrative analysis of expert problem scoping behavior suggested a sophisticated approach to situating problems and solutions in context. It highlighted several particular kinds of factors that the four experts in our sample were drawn to – existing engineered solutions, alternative design solutions, costs and benefits, priorities, and history. In addition, the narrative analysis illustrated the relationships between and among an expert’s ideas, and what these relationships imply for the expert designers’ thought processes.
This paper examines differences between how novices and experts approached the same hypothetical engineering problem. First-year students (n=124) and experienced engineers (n=4) were asked to identify factors they would take into account when designing a retaining wall system for the Mississippi River. Expert data were gathered using verbal protocol analysis, in which subjects were asked to “think aloud” as they addressed the retaining wall problem, and their statements were coded and interpreted. Novice data were gathered using a written protocol in which subjects were asked to simply list the factors on paper. Qualitative data were segmented into distinct ideas, which were then coded using a coding scheme with two dimensions of problem scoping breadth: physical location and frame of reference.
We found that novices offered a greater proportion of factors from the natural and social frames of reference, versus technical and logistical frames, which indicated a rather broad approach the problem. We argue that this may reflect the novices’ relative inexperience with engineering concepts. While the four experts’ responses differed in terms of their representations through a “breadth of problem scoping” coding scheme, two of the responses echoed a characteristic top-down, breadth-first approach to design. The difference in protocols presents challenges in comparing expert and novice behavior, and methodological issues of collecting less information from a greater number of subjects versus collecting more information from fewer subjects were addressed. Because asking the experts to think aloud resulted in a rich data set, we employed narrative analysis to further investigate expert responses.
The narrative analysis of expert problem scoping behavior suggested a sophisticated approach to situating problems and solutions in context. It highlighted several particular kinds of factors that the four experts in our sample were drawn to – existing engineered solutions, alternative design solutions, costs and benefits, priorities, and history. In addition, the narrative analysis illustrated the relationships between and among an expert’s ideas, and what these relationships imply for the expert designers’ thought processes.