Grant Summary
$75,000 over 36 months to Washington University in St. Louis, in partnership with Augusta State University (GA), Berea College (KY), Drexel University (PA), Ouachita Baptist University (AR), University of Guelph (Canada), and Weber State University (UT), to examine two different learning approaches that characterize nearly all undergraduates. Early data show that students who use one of the two approaches are at greater risk for struggling in introductory college sciences courses. The study seeks to: (1) validate the assessment tool that can identify a student’s learning approach and will make this web-based assessment tool accessible to other institutions; (2) examine the correlation between the performance of students with each learning approach and the type of problem/question they must solve, and (3) test the capacity of active-learning interventions to improve the performance of students, particularly those at risk. Through broad dissemination, the project aims to bring to the teaching community new knowledge on undergraduate learning and teaching that is applicable to all types of institutions.