Education Research

Collaborative Learning in Math and Basic (CLIMB) Engineering Project

The Collaborative Learning in Math and Basic (CLIMB) Engineering project is funded by the National Science Foundation Improving Undergraduate Education: Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) program (NSF Award #: 2421297). The overall goal of the project is to explore collaborative learning and design thinking (DT) to foster engineering identity for freshman/sophomore mechanical and aerospace engineering (MAE) students.

Figure 1 gives an overview of the project. To achieve the goal of fostering engineering identity, the first strategy is to leverage collaborative learning, especially in-class Peer Led Team Learning (iPLTL). The Principal Investigators (PIs), Dr. Haiying Huang, Paul Davidson, Linda Wang, and Beth Fleener, will implement iPLTL in two freshman courses, namely UNIV1131 University Success and MAE1140 MAE Problem Solving. These two courses will prepare the students for collaborative learning without a peer leader (PL) in a MAE gateway course MAE1312 Engineering Statics. The second strategy is to incorporate DT pedagogy. Students will learn how to apply DT to solve complex math, engineering, and life problems. The PIs will follow the DT process for curriculum development. To emphasize students’ needs, the PIs will collaborate with students participating in a summer fellows program to create course content, including YouTube videos on the DT process for solving Statics problems. The student summer fellows will also participate in undergraduate research, accelerating their transition from engineering students to practicing engineers and researchers. Leveraging student-faculty collaborations, the project will promote teaching/learning effectiveness, culture awareness, and community supports for both students and faculty members.

Figure 1: Project Overview – Foster Students’ Engineering Identity Through Collaborative Learning and Design Thinking.

The project has three aims, namely bridging math gap, building communities of practice, and instill DT. These three aims contribute to the three constructs of engineering identity, as shown in Figure 2. Bridging math gaps enhances students’ performance/competence, building communities of practice increases the chance of recognition by peers, PLs, and instructors, and instilling DT helps students connect the concepts they learn in classes, such as the DT process, to their daily life and thus stimulates their interests in engineering.

Figure 2:  Connections Between Project Aims and Constructs of Engineering Identity.

The CLIMB project will focus on answering the following three research questions (RQs).

  • RQ1: What is the impact of emphasizing DT in foundational engineering courses on students’ engineering identity and problem-solving skills?
  • RQ2: How effective is iPLTL at contributing to engineering identity development and improving students’ sense of community, math skills, student engagement, and student-to-faculty interaction?
  • RQ3: How does iPLTL contribute to faculty development?

References:

  1. NSF award abstract
  2. Foster Engineering Identity through Collaborative Learning in Math and Basic (CLIMB) Engineering, presented at 2025 ASEE-GSW conference

Disclaimer:

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2421297. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the principal investigators and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.