Incorporation of Evidence-Based Strategies from Cognitive Science to Enhance Student Success in Engineering: the 3Ms - Mindset, Metacognition, and Memory

This project aims to serve the national interest by implementing evidence-based practices and support structures in engineering courses to improve student learning and performance. A substantial majority of undergraduate students report that they have not been taught how to study or learn effectively, which can lead students to use ineffective strategies that lower academic success.

To support effective student learning, educators at the University of Iowa have distilled evidence from brain science into a manageable set of practices based on mindset, metacognition (processes to plan, monitor, and assess one's own learning), and memory (the 3Ms). This project is designed to bring that brain science knowledge into engineering by engaging students in deliberate, continual practice with 3M strategies in their engineering courses in order to cement the practices into students' academic habits.

This research seeks to advance the understanding of how engineering students engage with constructs from cognitive science and how incorporation of 3M strategies in second-year engineering courses have the potential to impact student performance, alter students' use of metacognitive learning strategies, and help students become more self-regulated learners. The project team plans to provide professional development to undergraduate faculty members to support the redesign of critical elements of their course materials and class support structures through a series of workshops, a community of practice, and reflective practices.

Teaching assistants will engage in 3M training focused on modeling and practicing behavior in scenarios related to student help hours and assignment grading and feedback. A mixed methods approach will be used to assess the impact of the interventions on students' academic performance, use of cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies, and motivation.

Student course assignments, reflections and cognitive wrappers, questionnaires, and interaction data will document the students' engagement with the 3Ms. Research findings, training materials, and resources will be disseminated through national workshops, publications, and publicly available education websites. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students.

Through its Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.