Measuring Complex Thinking in STEM Subjects

October 15, 2012

David Williamson Shaffer and Naomi Chesler continue to develop a toolkit for measuring how students think about problems in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects. At the moment, epistemic network analysis (ENA) measures the extent to which a student thinks like an engineer in STEM learning games and engineering courses. The goal now is to develop measurement tools applicable to any form of complex STEM thinking. The project design cycle consists of (1) research on the psychometric properties of ENA, (2) research on the most effective means of visualizing (and communicating) the significance of ENA analyses based on those psychometric properties, and (3) disseminating the ENA toolkit to potential users. Eventually this tool will be used in traditional classroom settings, digital games, online, and in workplaces.

More about this work: http://edgaps.org/gaps/