Collaborative Research: Elevating Engineering Education Through Adaptive Learning Integration and Training

This project serves the national interest by transforming engineering education to enhance student retention and promote the success of learners with varied educational needs through the use of adaptive learning (AL) methodologies. This Level 3 Engaged Student Learning project utilizes innovative technologies to deliver personalized educational support and enhance faculty capacity across three institutions: North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. By addressing key challenges such as learning gaps, imbalances in instructional supports, and faculty adoption of new technologies, the project seeks to create a cohesive curricular spine of interconnected AL course modules in Statics, Dynamics I, and Dynamics II. The AL platform offers tailored content, assessments, and feedback, promoting deeper student engagement and enabling faculty to support the varied needs of learners better. These efforts aim to achieve measurable gains in student retention and academic outcomes through personalized support strategies that are automatically tailored to each learner's level of understanding. The project also develops readiness models and best practices to foster widespread institutional adoption and scalability, ensuring the sustainability of AL methodologies beyond the project period. The project has two primary goals: (1) enhancing student learning by implementing a curricular spine that interconnects key engineering courses and supports personalized, just-in-time learning interventions; and (2) empowering faculty and institutions to adopt and sustain AL practices through targeted training and resource development. The research evaluates the effectiveness of AL interventions in enhancing student retention and engagement, while providing insights into the faculty and institutional needs for successful implementation. A comprehensive evaluation plan tracks progress, assess learning outcomes, and refines interventions to ensure effective learning. Findings are disseminated widely to inform best practices and encourage the adoption of AL methodologies in engineering education and other STEM disciplines. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the 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.