Impacts of the Vanderbilt University Research Experience for Teachers Program 2008-2010: Analysis of student surveys regarding motivational impact

Abstract

The Vanderbilt University Bioengineering Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Program allows teachers to complete twenty-three (23) days of research and develop a curriculum unit that incorporates their research in a way that is appropriate for their individual classrooms. It was the hypothesis that the research-based curriculum units developed by the RET participants would engage students in the learning process and result in a higher level of interest in science and engineering during the unit; in turn, leading to increased levels of student motivation as compared to a control teacher's instruction. To determine student motivation, a survey instrument was developed, consisting of twenty (20) questions and based on the following four points of interest: (1) the student's view of the classroom experience, (2) the student's ability to relate the lesson to life, (3) the student's immediate level of interest in the class, and (4) the student's enjoyment of the topic. The research was conducted in the high school/middle school classrooms of teachers who participated in the RET program. High school and middle school students, aged 12-18, were recruited from several area schools. It was found that the students' ability to relate the lesson to life and the student's enjoyment of the topic were significantly greater than the control classroom. While long-term effects were not taken into account, these results did provide evidence that the RET program and its associated researchbased modules positively affected student motivation. © 2011 American Society for Engineering Education.