| Abstract:
This demonstration will serve to introduce concept maps as a way to evaluate the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeships Program (IGERT). Through the support of interdisciplinary Education programs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, the IGERT program's primary goal is to educate U.S. PhD scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary backgrounds, deep knowledge in chosen disciplines, and technical, professional, and personal skills to become leaders in their own careers and creative agents of change. To date, many evaluations of science programs have primarily included tests and surveys to assess student outcomes. However, these outcomes are somewhat limited in what they can measure, making it difficult to get a sense of student's knowledge in their chosen disciplines and their ability to integrate knowledge from different fields in a systematic way. As an assessment tool, concept maps may be more appropriate at uncovering knowledge integration. Concept maps are constructed by students and are graphical organizers consisting of nodes and labeled lines that relate the organization of thoughts, theories or concepts in student's memories. This demonstration will consist of a presentation of the different types of concept maps used, their scoring procedures, the measurement issues surrounding them, and finally a demonstration of applying data collected from an IGERT evaluation in adaptive management.
|