Over the past decade, engineering jobs have dramatically changed. They’ve become more collaborative, for example, and students entering the workforce are expected to have a broader skillset than previous generations of engineers.

Engineering educators such as , a 91探花 associate teaching professor in the electrical and computer engineering department, are constantly adjusting their courses to make sure students are getting the information they need to be successful after college.

Hussein also founded and leads the , which allows students to access physical engineering equipment from anywhere in the world. A primary focus of the lab is to use a process called “” to create virtual models that mirror real-world systems, which enables students to experiment, learn and innovate in a risk-free, cost-effective environment. The students can access these systems remotely, so they can, for example, design and test physical circuits, despite being in a completely different location.

With UW’s fall quarter starting Sept. 25, 91探花News asked Hussein how she prepares her students for their future careers and how the Remote Hub Lab can be a model for promoting equitable access to engineering education.

How is the engineering workforce changing?

Rania Hussein: The engineering workforce has evolved significantly over the last decade, driven by rapid technological advancements, increased interdisciplinary demands and the integration of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science. Engineers are no longer expected to specialize in a single area. They must be able to work across multiple domains, whether it’s integrating software or hardware, or using data analytics.

One of the most important changes is the emphasis on collaboration and communication. Engineers now work in globally distributed teams, where the ability to explain complex ideas clearly and collaborate across borders has become as important as technical expertise.

How are technological advancements changing what engineering jobs look like today?

RH: Digital twinning is one exciting area of development. This technology, combined with AI, allows engineers to simulate, monitor and optimize systems in real time, leading to more efficient processes and innovations. AI enhances digital twinning by enabling predictive analytics and automating decision-making processes. This allows engineers to refine designs and foresee potential issues before they arise.

As both digital twinning and AI become more prominent, they will play a crucial role in workforce development because they will enable engineers to test and optimize designs in virtual environments before implementing them in the real world. This trend is likely to gain even more traction in the coming years, further enhancing the integration of physical and digital systems.

What can engineering educators do to prepare their students for this new workforce?

RH: In my opinion, educators could focus on bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application. My teaching philosophy centers on helping students understand how engineering principles function in real-world scenarios, which is crucial for their success in industry. I actively collaborate with industry partners to ensure that the skills my students develop are relevant to the needs of employers. By connecting theory with hands-on experiences, students can better grasp the core concepts while applying them to solve tangible problems.

My research on engineering education is deeply tied to my teaching philosophy, which focuses on innovative pedagogical approaches that push the boundaries of traditional learning. By integrating new technologies, such as AI-driven tools and digital twinning, I aim to give students a more immersive learning experience that mirrors the complexities they will encounter in the workforce. These efforts not only enhance students’ technical competence but also foster critical thinking and adaptability 鈥� skills that are increasingly important in today鈥檚 engineering landscape.

I have been using the Remote Hub Lab in my courses that involve real-time interaction with physical hardware. My students appreciate the flexibility and accessibility the lab offers. The engineering community has also recognized the lab’s impact in advancing equitable access to education, making it a model for how to bridge gaps in access to high-quality engineering training.

Let’s talk about how the Remote Hub Lab promotes equitable access to engineering technologies.

RH: We focus on developing and refining digital platforms that provide students with immersive, hands-on engineering experiences. Through digital twinning, the Remote Hub Lab, in collaboration with industry and academic partners, creates virtual models that mirror physical systems, allowing students to experiment and engage in both virtual and real-world scenarios.

In this blended environment, students can test designs, simulate scenarios and receive real-time feedback from both virtual and physical systems. This approach not only ensures that students from diverse backgrounds 鈥� whether they are constrained by location, economic limitations or other factors 鈥� can access the same high-quality training, but also provides them with a level of flexibility and adaptability that traditional methods cannot match.

To date, students from 93 institutions in 19 countries across all continents have used the Remote Hub Lab, and have conducted more than 200,000 laboratory sessions. Users include students at the 91探花and other institutions, trainees for companies such as Intel, and elementary school students in disadvantaged rural areas in Spain.

Also the , a student-led Registered Student Organization, uses the Remote Hub Lab in outreach activities to promote STEM to K-12 and pre-college communities.

I believe that digital twin technology offers a distinct edge in workforce development. It prepares students for the demands of modern engineering, where they need to work seamlessly between digital and physical systems. This hybrid approach ensures that students are not only gaining technical knowledge, but also learning how to innovate in real-world settings, which is crucial for the future of engineering education.

For more information, contact Hussein at rhussein@uw.edu.

One fear about generative artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, is that students will outsource their creative work and critical thinking to it. But , a 91探花 associate professor in the Information School, is also interested in how researchers might use AI tools to make learning more creative.

In her book, 鈥�,鈥� Davis examines how technology affects kids, teens and young adults. She distills research in the area into two key qualities of technologies that support development: They should be 鈥渟elf-directed鈥� (meaning the kids are in control, not the tech makers) and 鈥渃ommunity-supported鈥� (meaning adults and peers are around to engage with the kids鈥� tech use).

Davis spoke with 91探花News about her research and how generative AI might support learning, instead of detracting from it, provided kids can keep their agency.

What issues do you study around young people and technology?

Katie Davis: My research focuses on the impact of new and emerging technologies on young people’s learning, development and well-being 鈥� especially on early teens up through college-age kids. Over the years, I鈥檝e explored a variety of topics, but I always come back to this broad question: How are the technologies around young people shaping their sense of self and how they move through the world?

Since ChatGPT was released under a year ago, what are you paying attention to as research develops around AI and learning?

KD: I’m fascinated by emerging research on what kids are doing with generative AI, such as ChatGPT, when they have free time and want to explore. How are they thinking and making sense of generative AI and its potential 鈥� not just for learning, but for going about their daily lives?

It seems like with generative AI, there鈥檚 been a lot of focus on whether kids will use it to outsource their creativity, but you’re also looking at how they can support their creativity by playing with these tools.

KD: Some of the questions I ask in my research are: When does technology support young people’s agency in their learning? When do they feel like they’re in the driver’s seat of their technology use? And when does technology do the work for them and direct them one way instead of another?

My hope is that kids will learn to give ChatGPT and other AI tools creative prompts and use chatbots as a source of inspiration rather than an answer bank. But teaching kids to use AI creatively and critically isn鈥檛 easy. Plus, I鈥檓 mindful that there鈥檚 an unfortunate pattern in education technology whereby innovative uses are traditionally found in more affluent, well-resourced schools. Whereas the same technologies, when they’re introduced into less well-resourced schools, are often used more for drill-type activities, or even to control kids and make sure that they鈥檙e on task.

Are you researching generative AI? What questions are you asking?

KD: In my lab, we want to see if generative AI can make teen social media experiences better. We鈥檝e found that teens often go onto social media for one purpose, only to find themselves quickly sucked down a rabbit hole of unintended scrolling. After 20 or 30 minutes, they’re thinking: What have I just done with my time? It鈥檚 a very common experience in adults as well. We’re exploring whether we can use generative AI to reorient teens鈥� initial entry into social media experiences toward meaningfulness, toward their values or goals and away from habitual use.

We鈥檙e also looking at disparities in how generative AI tools are being taken up in different schools and school systems. We鈥檙e hoping to understand how young people use AI chatbots outside of school and in their daily lives, and then use those emerging mental models to shape what’s possible in schools and for learning.

Can you describe a way that people have been using ChatGPT without instructions that surprised you?

KD: I’m most interested in kids who try to break ChatGPT because that suggests to me that they’re using a tinkerer鈥檚 mindset, which suggests that they are in control. They鈥檙e asking: What can I do with this tool? How can I push it and stretch it?

Kids are sophisticated users of technology. And they’re not afraid to break things. I think that’s one reason they tend to learn how to use new technologies so quickly, because they don’t care if they make mistakes. That mindset provides a real opportunity that schools can take advantage of, to teach critical understandings of AI and other emerging technologies. Otherwise, I worry that the technology will start to use us and we鈥檒l lose some of our agency. But I don’t think that’s inevitable.

Are there ways to design AI tools to emphasize 鈥渟elf-directed鈥� and 鈥渃ommunity-supported鈥� experiences of the sort you recommend in your book?

KD: One example is Khan Academy, which has come out with an AI chatbot, Khanmigo. The company is framing Khanmigo as a tutor that’s not just going to give you answers, but actually ask you open-ended questions to help you come to your own answer. That鈥檚 a great vision. Now, my understanding is that it’s not quite there yet. It’s not perfect, but I think the goal is a good one.

It鈥檚 fascinating: Generative AI is really rattling some notions around learning through rote exercises, because it basically takes away these exercises.

KD: Even in my university teaching, I have had to think carefully about the kinds of assignments that I’m giving students. I can’t just ask them to write a paper on some topic, because, odds are, they’re going to use ChatGPT to write it. So I have to really think about what is it that I want them to know and be able to do. It’s not easy, but I love the conversations we鈥檙e having as educators. AI is bringing up all these meaty questions: How can we use AI to teach better? Are there new things that we need to teach? Are there things we don’t need to teach anymore? This upheaval is unsettling for teachers at all levels, including me. But I think it’s a good unsettling. It’s one that really forces us as educators to focus on the goals of teaching.

What approach have you been taking with generative AI for teaching? Have your policies changed going into this new school year?

KD: I was fortunate to not be teaching for the first two quarters when ChatGPT was introduced! So I got to watch my colleagues try things out and see what worked and what didn鈥檛. I started teaching again in the spring and decided to lean into ChatGPT. In a course on child development and learning with technology, I asked students to use ChatGPT to help them create a lesson plan and then critique what it gave them. The students and I found that ChatGPT creates perfectly reasonable lesson plans, but they鈥檙e all a bit 鈥榖lah.鈥� They鈥檙e uninspired. I wanted students to make them better, and so did they.

This fall, I’m teaching a course on research methods. And I want students to use ChatGPT to help them scope and develop their research projects. They鈥檒l discover that ChatGPT may give them a good starting point, but it鈥檚 also likely to give them some bogus citations, which are completely made up. I want them to engage with these benefits and limitations head on.

For more information, contact kdavis78@uw.edu.

Video updated 9/26/2023 to show Davis is an associate professor, not an assistant professor.

When ChatGPT surged into public life in late 2022, it brought new urgency to long-running debates: Does technology help or hinder kids鈥� learning? How can we make sure tech鈥檚 influence on kids is positive?

Such questions live close to the work of , a 91探花 associate professor in the Information School. Yip has focused on technology鈥檚 role in families to support collaboration and learning.

As another school year approaches, Yip spoke with 91探花News about his research.

What sorts of family technology issues do you study?

Jason Yip: I look at how technologies mediate interactions between kids and their families. That could be parents or guardians, grandparents or siblings. My doctoral degree is in science education, but I study families as opposed to schools because I think families make the biggest impact in learning.

I have three main pillars of that research. The first is about building new technologies to come up with creative ways that we can study different kinds of collaboration. The second is going into people鈥檚 homes and doing field studies on things like how families search the internet, or how they interact with voice assistants or digital games. We look at how new consumer technologies influence family collaborations. The third is co-design: How do adults work with children to co-create new technologies? I鈥檓 the director of . We have kids come to the university basically to work with us as design researchers to make technologies that work for other children.

Can you explain some ways you鈥檝e explored the pros and cons of learning with technology?

JY: I study 鈥渏oint media engagement,鈥� which is a fancy way of saying that kids can work and play with others when using technology. For example, digital games are a great way parents and kids can actually learn together. I鈥檓 often of the opinion that it鈥檚 not the amount that people look at their screens, but it鈥檚 the quality of that screen time.

I did my postdoc at , and we鈥檝e known for a long time that if a child and parent watch Sesame Street together and they鈥檙e talking, the kid will . We found this in studies of 鈥淧ok茅mon Go鈥� and With these games, families were learning together and, in the case of Animal Crossing, processing pandemic isolation together.

Whether I鈥檓 looking at artificial intelligence or , I鈥檓 asking: Where does the talking and sharing happen? I think that鈥檚 what people don鈥檛 consider enough in this debate. And that dialogue with kids matters much more than these questions of whether technology is frying kids鈥� brains. I grew up in the 鈥�90s when there was this vast worry about video games ruining children鈥檚 lives. But we all survived, I think.

When ChatGPT came out, it was presented as this huge interruption in how we鈥檝e dealt with technology. But do you think it鈥檚 that unprecedented in how kids and families are going to interact and learn with it?

JY: I see the buzz around AI as a 鈥� with a surge of excitement, then a dip, then a plateau. For a long time, we鈥檝e had artificial intelligence models. Then someone figured out how to make money off AI models and everything鈥檚 exploding. Goodbye, jobs! Goodbye, school! Eventually we鈥檙e going to hit this apex 鈥� I think we鈥檙e getting close 鈥� and then this .

The question I have for big tech companies is: Why are we releasing products like ChatGPT with these very simple interfaces? Why isn鈥檛 there a tutorial, like in a video game, that teaches the mechanics and rules, what鈥檚 allowed, what鈥檚 not allowed?

Partly, this AI anxiety comes because we don鈥檛 yet know what to do with these powerful tools. So I think it鈥檚 really important to try to help kids understand that these models are trained on data with human error embedded in it. That鈥檚 something that I hope generative AI makers will show kids: This is how this model works, and here are its limitations.

Have you begun studying how ChatGPT and generative AI will affect kids and families?

JY: We鈥檝e been doing co-design work with children, and when these AI models started coming out, we started playing around with them and asked the kids what they thought. Some of them were like, 鈥�I don鈥檛 know if I trust it.鈥� Because it couldn鈥檛 answer simple questions that kids have.

A big fear is that kids and others are going to just accept the information that ChatGPT spits out. That鈥檚 a very realistic perspective. But there鈥檚 the other side: People, even kids, have expertise, and they can test these models. We had a kid start asking ChatGPT questions about Pok茅mon. And the kid is like, 鈥淭his is not good!鈥� Because the model was contradicting what they knew about Pok茅mon.

We鈥檝e also been studying how public libraries can use ChatGPT to teach kids about misinformation. So we asked kids, 鈥淚f ChatGPT makes a birthday card greeting for you to give to your friend Peter, is that misinformation?鈥� Some of the kids were like, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not okay! The card was fine, but Peter didn鈥檛 know whether it came from a human.鈥�

The third research area is going into the homes of immigrant families and trying to understand whether ChatGPT does a decent job of helping them find critical information about health or finances or economics. We鈥檝e studied and helping their families understand the information. Now we鈥檙e trying to see how AI models affect this relationship.

What are important things for parents and kids to consider when using new technology 鈥� AI or not 鈥� for learning?

JY: I think parents need to pay attention to the conversations they鈥檙e having around it. General parenting styles range from . Which style is best is very contextual. But the conversations around technology still have to happen, and I think the most important thing parents can do is say to themselves, 鈥淚 can be a learner, too. I can learn this with my kids.鈥� That鈥檚 hard, but parenting is really hard. Technologies are developing so rapidly that it鈥檚 OK for parents not to know. I think it鈥檚 a better position to be in this .

You鈥檝e taught most every grade level: elementary, junior high, high school and college. What should teachers be conscious of when integrating generative AI in their classrooms?

JY: I feel for the teachers, I really do, because a lot of the . So it totally depends on the context of the teaching. I think it鈥檚 up to school leaders to think really deeply about what they鈥檙e going to do and ask these hard questions, like: What is the point of education in the age of AI?

For example, with generative AI, is testing the best way to gauge what people know? Because if I hand out a take-home test, kids can run it through an AI model and get the answer. Are the ways we鈥檝e been teaching kids still appropriate?

I taught AP chemistry for a long time. I don鈥檛 encounter AP chemistry tests in my daily life, even as a former chemistry teacher. So having kids learn to adapt is more important than learning new content, because without adaptation, people don鈥檛 know what to do with these new tools, and then they鈥檙e stuck. Policymakers and leaders will have to help the teachers make these decisions.

For more information, contact jcyip@uw.edu.

Eight 91探花 subjects ranked in the top 10 and atmospheric sciences moved to its position as No. 1 in the world on the list for 2022. The ranking, released Tuesday, was conducted by researchers at the ShanghaiRanking Consultancy, a fully independent organization dedicating to research on higher education intelligence and consultation.

Other 91探花subjects in the top 10 include oceanography at No. 2; public health at No. 4; biological sciences, dentistry and oral sciences, education, and library and information sciences at No. 7; and clinical medicine at No. 10.

鈥淭he research聽produced by 91探花 faculty, staff and students is critical to聽understanding聽and addressing global challenges, from climate change to human health,鈥� said President Ana Mari Cauce. “We are gratified and honored to have the incredible impact that 91探花researchers are making across so many disciplines once again recognized by this prestigious organization.”

The group ranked more than 5,000 universities around the world in 54 subjects across natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, medical sciences and social sciences. More information about the methodology used to calculate the rankings can be found .

In 2021, the 91探花was ranked No. 19 on the group鈥檚 annual聽聽list. This year鈥檚 university ranking has not yet been released.

Note: The subject names below are general descriptions from the ranking website, and not necessarily the names of the 91探花unit ranked.

Studies have shown that students from certain backgrounds are less likely than their peers to complete an undergraduate degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics 鈥� or STEM. These groups are low-income students, first-generation college students, female students and students from underrepresented minority backgrounds: Latinx, African American, Native American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander.

A new study out of the 91探花 shows that general chemistry 鈥� a key introductory-level course series for many STEM degrees 鈥� is a major barrier for underrepresented students. In a paper June 10 in Science Advances, researchers report that they examined 15 years of records of student performance, education and demographics for chemistry courses at the UW. They found that underrepresented students received lower grades in the general chemistry series compared to their peers and, if the grade was sufficiently low, were less likely to continue in the series and more likely to leave STEM.

But if underrepresented students completed the first general chemistry course with at least the minimum grade needed to continue in the series, they were more likely than their peers to continue the general chemistry series and complete this major step toward a STEM degree.

鈥淕eneral chemistry is often the first science course that many would-be STEM majors take in college, and it has a brutal reputation for causing lots of attrition,鈥� said senior author , a 91探花principal lecturer emeritus of biology. 鈥淲hen we examined this large dataset, we discovered that not only is this true, but it is having a disproportionately negative impact on underrepresented students, and likely contributes to lower diversity in STEM fields.鈥�

Chemistry is the study of matter 鈥� focusing on the structure, properties and behavior of atoms and more complex compounds. It is its own scientific field, and also a foundational subject for many other scientific disciplines 鈥� including biology, medicine and engineering. At many colleges and universities, before would-be doctors can take a biology course, they must pass general chemistry courses, which usually last a year.

Under the UW鈥檚 quarter system, the general chemistry series consists of three courses. At universities with a semester system, the series is often two.

For the first course in the 91探花general chemistry series, the team found that grades for underrepresented students were lower on average than their peers, ranging from 0.13 grade points lower for female students to 0.54 grade points for students from underrepresented minority backgrounds.

Students enter college with different levels of preparation. When the researchers controlled for this by factoring in high school grade-point averages and SAT scores, the gap narrowed for all groups. For example, the gap narrowed to 0.16 grade points for students from underrepresented minority backgrounds. But for no group did the gap disappear, and the team saw similar patterns for the rest of the general chemistry series.

鈥淭he fact that the gap persists even after we correct for different levels of academic preparation means that something else is going on 鈥� something that is actively penalizing underrepresented students in general chemistry,鈥� said Freeman.

The grade gap has consequences. In the 91探花and many other institutions, students must receive a minimum grade, often a C-minus or equivalent, in the first general chemistry course in order to take the next one. The team found that underrepresented students receiving a grade lower than the minimum 鈥� a D or F 鈥� were less likely than their peers who received the same grade to retake the course and thus continue in STEM.

But, the team also discovered that students from underrepresented groups are what Freeman calls 鈥渉yperpersistent.鈥� Underrepresented students who received a C-minus or better in the first general chemistry course were more likely than peers who received the same grade to continue the series.

鈥淯nderrepresented students are showing resiliency, if they can meet that minimum threshold,鈥� said Freeman.

For the study, the researchers examined records from 25,768 students who took 91探花chemistry courses between 2001 and 2016. These included both general chemistry and organic chemistry, a more advanced year-long course series that follows general chemistry and is required for many STEM degrees in chemistry, health and medicine. The team saw similar, but smaller, disparities in grades and passing rates for underrepresented students in organic chemistry.

Now that the team has identified a major reason that fewer underrepresented students continue in STEM, Freeman and his colleagues want to understand why. One major reason may be teaching methods. During the study period, both general chemistry and organic chemistry were taught using traditional, lecture-based formats. Freeman and his team have previously shown that so-called 鈥渁ctive learning鈥� methods create more inclusive learning environments and boost student performance in STEM courses. These techniques often rely on discussions and problem-solving approaches, and disproportionately benefit underrepresented students.

There are likely other factors, including larger socioeconomic and cultural issues, said Freeman. But the hyperpersistence the team discovered, if confirmed by other studies, may offer a path forward.

鈥淚t may be that if you can make changes to coursework and learning that boost student performance 鈥� that help underrepresented students get at least that minimum grade to keep going 鈥� they can do it,鈥� said Freeman. 鈥淭hese students can do the hard work. They have what it takes.鈥�

Lead author on the paper is Rebecca Harris, a former data analyst with the UW鈥檚 Biology Education Research Group, which co-led the study with the 91探花Department of Chemistry. Co-authors are Michael Mack, a 91探花postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemistry; , a former 91探花lecturer in the Department of Chemistry; and , a 91探花research associate and instructor in the Department of Biology. Harris is now at Adaptive Biotechnologies. Bryant is now an associate professor at the University of Southern California. The research was funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the UW.

For more information, contact Freeman at 206-543-1620 or srf991@uw.edu.

Students from different backgrounds in the United States enter college with equal interest in STEM fields 鈥� science, technology, engineering and mathematics. But that equal interest does not result in equal outcomes. Six years after starting an undergraduate STEM degree, roughly twice as many white students finished it compared to African American students.

A new study by researchers at the 91探花 shows that teaching techniques in undergraduate STEM courses can significantly narrow gaps in course performance between students who are overrepresented and underrepresented in STEM. In a published March 9 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team reports that switching from passive techniques, such as traditional lectures, to inquiry-based 鈥渁ctive learning鈥� methods has a disproportionate benefit for underrepresented students, a term that encompasses low-income students and Latinx, African American, Native American, and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students.

The researchers used a meta-analysis approach, which combined student-level data from dozens of individual studies, to investigate how student performance changed when instructors incorporated more active learning methods into undergraduate STEM courses. They found that the achievement gap between overrepresented and underrepresented students narrowed on exam scores by 33% and course passing rates by 45%. For 鈥渉igh-intensity鈥� active learning courses, in which students spent at least two-thirds of total class time engaged in active learning, the gap for exam scores shrank by 42% and 76%, respectively, for passing rates.

鈥淥ur study shows that broad implementation of active learning in undergraduate STEM courses can have a dramatic effect on reducing achievement gaps, resulting in more positive outcomes for students who are underrepresented in STEM fields,鈥� said lead and co-corresponding author , a research associate and instructor in the 91探花Department of Biology.

Research has shown that the achievement gaps in college STEM degree programs occur in part because students from underrepresented backgrounds tend to score lower on exams and have lower passing rates in entry-level undergraduate STEM courses. As a result, more underrepresented students switch majors or drop out of college. Six years after starting a STEM degree, 43% of white students and 52% of Asian American students have finished it. But completion rates drop to between 20 and 30% for Latinx, African American and Native American students, the National Academy of Sciences. Disparities in earning STEM degrees also exist between students from high- and low-income backgrounds, said Theobald.

College STEM courses using traditional, passive methods like lectures. In contrast, active learning techniques, which include a variety of discussion-based and problem-solving teaching methods, have not been widely adopted.

鈥淵ou can sum up the difference between passive and active teaching methods in three simple words: 鈥楢sk, don鈥檛 tell,鈥欌�� said co-corresponding author , principal lecturer in the 91探花Department of Biology. 鈥淭he goal of active learning is to engage students and get them to use their higher-order cognitive skills 鈥� instead of simply memorizing definitions.鈥�

Active learning approaches include in-class group activities to work in depth on specific concepts, using class time for peer interaction, problem-solving assignments and calling on students at random.

In a , a 91探花team led by Freeman used a more classical meta-analysis approach to show that active learning methods boost average student performance. For this new study, they used a different meta-analysis approach that tracks individual participants and breaks down the impact of active learning between overrepresented and underrepresented students. The researchers had to sort through more than 1,800 published and unpublished studies before finding the few dozen that both compared active and passive techniques and also had data on student demographics, according to Freeman. The student exam score data they used came from 15 studies 鈥� representing more than 9,000 students 鈥� while the data on passing rates came from 26 studies of more than 44,000 students.

On average, the team saw that active learning methods narrowed the achievement gaps significantly in both exam scores and passing rates between overrepresented and underrepresented student groups.

Future research is needed to understand why active learning disproportionately benefits students from underrepresented backgrounds. These learning techniques could create a more welcoming and inclusive environment, which may be especially important for students who often feel as if they don鈥檛 belong in STEM, or 鈥渇eel excluded,鈥� said Theobald. Active learning may also help students comprehend material better by taking them through complex concepts step by step, with regular check-in moments. This targeted, intensive practice may disproportionally help students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds, by ensuring they understand the material and don鈥檛 fall behind.

鈥淭hese are loud, active rooms, with lots of dynamic interactions and opportunities to discuss and learn at a level you simply don鈥檛 get using a traditional lecture,鈥� said Freeman.

Though they saw the greatest gap-narrowing effects in courses that devoted more than two-thirds of class time to active learning, both Freeman and Theobald caution instructors to take it slow in incorporating the approach.

鈥淚f you have a lecture-based course that you鈥檝e already taught even just a few times, changing it can take a lot of work,鈥� said Theobald. 鈥淐ollege professors and instructors already have so many demands on their time 鈥� mentoring graduate students, applying for grants, conducting research, writing papers, grading, teaching. I understand that it鈥檚 a lot to ask them to flip their classes like this. So I advise people to start small and incorporate active learning techniques over time.鈥�

The increasingly clear benefits of active learning may mean that colleges and universities, as well as professional societies, could provide incentives and assistance to professors and instructors who want to take the plunge, added Freeman.

鈥淚t鈥檚 time to reward people for getting good results in the classroom, because now we see that the benefits are even greater than we thought,鈥� said Freeman.

91探花co-authors on the study are Mariah Hill, Elisa Tran, Sweta Agrawal, Nicole Arroyo, Shawn Behling, Dianne Laboy Cintr贸n, Jacob Cooper, Gideon Dunster, Jared Grummer, Kelly Hennessey, Jennifer Hsiao, Nicole Iranon, Leonard Jones II, Hannah Jordt, Marlowe Keller, Melissa Lacey, Caitlin Littlefield, Alexander Lowe, Shannon Newman, Vera Okolo, Savannah Olroyd, Brandon Peecook, Sarah Pickett, David Slager, Itzue Caviedes-Solis, Kathryn Stanchak, Camila Valdebenito, Claire Williams and Kaitlin Zinsli. Additional co-authors are Nyasha Chambwe from the Institute for Systems Biology and Vasudha Sundaravaradan from Shoreline Community College. The research was funded by the 91探花.

For more information, contact Freeman at 206-543-1620 or srf991@uw.edu and Theobald at 206-543-7321 or ellij@uw.edu. Theobald is currently traveling, but still available for media requests.

When Seattle Public Schools that it would reorganize school start times across the district for the fall of 2016, the massive undertaking took more than a year to deploy. Elementary schools started earlier, while most middle and all of the district’s 18 high schools their opening bell almost an hour later 鈥� from 7:50 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. Parents had mixed reactions. Extracurricular activity schedules changed. School buses were redeployed.

And as hoped, teenagers used the extra time to sleep in.

In a published Dec. 12 in the journal , researchers at the 91探花 and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies announced that teens at two Seattle high schools got more sleep on school nights after start times were pushed later 鈥� a median increase of 34 minutes of sleep each night. This boosted the total amount of sleep on school nights for students from a median of six hours and 50 minutes, under the earlier start time, to seven hours and 24 minutes under the later start time.

“This study shows a significant improvement in the sleep duration of students 鈥� all by delaying school start times so that they’re more in line with the natural wake-up times of adolescents,” said senior and corresponding author , a 91探花professor of biology.

The study collected light and activity data from subjects using wrist activity monitors 鈥� rather than relying solely on self-reported sleep patterns from subjects, as is often done in sleep studies 鈥� to show that a later school start time benefits adolescents by letting them sleep longer each night. The study also revealed that, after the change in school start time, students did not stay up significantly later: They simply slept in longer, a behavior that scientists say is consistent with the natural biological rhythms of adolescents.

“Research to date has shown that the circadian rhythms of adolescents are simply fundamentally different from those of adults and children,” said lead author , a 91探花doctoral student in biology.

In humans, the churnings of our circadian rhythms help our minds and bodies maintain an internal “clock” that tells us when it is time to eat, sleep, rest and work on a world that spins once on its axis approximately every 24 hours. Our genes and external cues from the environment, such as sunlight, combine to create and maintain this steady hum of activity. But the onset of puberty lengthens the circadian cycle in adolescents and also decreases the rhythm’s sensitivity to light in the morning. These changes cause teens to fall asleep later each night and wake up later each morning relative to most children and adults.

“To ask a teen to be up and alert at 7:30 a.m. is like asking an adult to be active and alert at 5:30 a.m.,” said de la Iglesia.

Scientists generally recommend that teenagers get eight to 10 hours of sleep each night. But early-morning social obligations 鈥� such as school start times 鈥� force adolescents to either shift their entire sleep schedule earlier on school nights or truncate it. Certain light-emitting devices 鈥� such as smartphones, computers and even lamps with blue-light LED bulbs 鈥� can interfere with circadian rhythms in teens and adults alike, delaying the onset of sleep, de la Iglesia said. According to a of youth released in 2017 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only one-quarter of high school age adolescents reported sleeping the minimum recommended eight hours each night.

“All of the studies of adolescent sleep patterns in the United States are showing that the time at which teens generally fall asleep is biologically determined 鈥� but the time at which they wake up is socially determined,” said Dunster. “This has severe consequences for health and well-being, because disrupted circadian rhythms can adversely affect digestion, heart rate, body temperature, immune system function, attention span and mental health.”

The 91探花study compared the sleep behaviors of two separate groups of sophomores, all enrolled in biology classes at Roosevelt and Franklin high schools. One group of 92 students, drawn from both schools, wore wrist activity monitors all day for two-week periods in the spring of 2016, when school still started at 7:50 a.m. The wrist monitors collected information about light and activity levels every 15 seconds, but no physiological data about the students. In 2017, about seven months after school start times had shifted later, the researchers had a second group of 88 students 鈥� again drawn from both schools 鈥� wear the wrist activity monitors. Researchers used both the light and motion data in the wrist monitors to determine when the students were awake and asleep. Two teachers at Roosevelt and one at Franklin worked with the 91探花researchers to carry out the study, which was incorporated into the curriculum of the biology classes. Students in both groups also self-reported their sleep data.

The information obtained from the wrist monitors revealed the significant increase in sleep duration, due largely to the effect of sleeping in more on weekdays.

“Thirty-four minutes of extra sleep each night is a huge impact to see from a single intervention,” said de la Iglesia.

The study also revealed other changes beyond additional shut-eye. After the change, the wake-up times for students on weekdays and weekends moved closer together. And their academic performance, at least in the biology course, improved: Final grades were 4.5 percent higher for students who took the class after school start times were pushed back compared with students who took the class when school started earlier. In addition, the number of tardies and first-period absences at Franklin dropped to levels similar to those of Roosevelt students, which showed no difference between pre- and post-change.

The researchers hope that their study will help inform ongoing discussions in education circles about school start times. The American Academy of Pediatrics in 2014 that middle and high schools begin instruction no earlier than 8:30 a.m., though U.S. high schools start the day before then. In 2018, California lawmakers that would ban most high schools from starting class before 8:30 a.m. In 2019, Virginia Beach, home to one of the largest school districts in Virginia, to its school start times.

“School start time has serious implications for how students learn and perform in their education,” said de la Iglesia. “Adolescents are on one schedule. The question is: What schedule will their schools be on?”

Co-authors on the study are Luciano de la Iglesia, Miriam Ben-Hamo and Claire Nave at the UW; and Jason Fleischer and Satchidananda Panda at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California. The study was funded by the National Science Foundation and the 91探花.

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For more information, contact de la Iglesia at +1 206-616-4697 or horaciod@uw.edu and Dunster at +1 330-465-4898 or gdunster@uw.edu.

To reach the teachers involved in this study, contact Tim Robinson with Seattle Public Schools at +1 206-252-0203 or tirobinson@seattleschools.org.

For the full article, please visit:

Grant number: 1743364.

In an effort to grow the pipeline of Washington students who will graduate and enter high-demand STEM and health care fields, a public-private partnership was initiated in 2011 to support low- and middle-income students as they earn their bachelor’s degrees and enter the workforce.

Now serving its sixth cohort of students, the has helped more than 8,400 students attend the state’s universities and colleges. The 91探花 has the largest number of scholarship recipients 鈥� 1,426 鈥� and has seen more than 1,100 scholarship students graduate, also the largest number among the state’s higher-education institutions.

Additionally, 91探花Bothell has enrolled 132 scholarship students and 91探花Tacoma has enrolled 121 students over the program’s six years. In total, 1,679 students receiving the scholarship have attended the 91探花across all three campuses.

“The Washington State Opportunity Scholarship represents a deep and abiding commitment by our state to聽high-quality education resolutions for all of our students, with needed attention to those from low- and middle-income backgrounds,” said Ed Taylor, vice provost and dean of undergraduate academic affairs at the UW. “With the help of clear and dependable opportunities for STEM training, we increase the likelihood that we will generate opportunities for promising young scholars who are supported by an innovative environment that has become a hallmark of the state of Washington.”

The demographics of this year’s scholarship cohort reflect the growing diversity of the state as well as the UW’s commitment to diversity and access. According to the program’s to the legislature this month, 72 percent are first-generation college students, 73 percent are students of color and 60 percent of new scholars are female. This year’s 1,751 scholars come from 38 of Washington’s 39 counties.

As outlined in a recent , the scholarship program is unique for its public-private partnership design. Under the program, the state matches private donations dollar-for-dollar. By the end of this current school year, students will have received more than $50 million in scholarships. Microsoft is one of the founding partners of the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship, and a number of local companies and private contributions also support the program.

The need for graduates in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and health care fields is only increasing. A recent report found that at current rates, the state’s colleges and universities will only be able to supply 27 percent of skilled STEM workers needed around the state by 2025.

As a result, the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship recently announced a move to serve 16,000 scholars by 2025. This program extension of four additional years also offers more support services for scholars, including industry mentorship and a peer leadership program that helps younger students learn in a small group setting.

Earlier this year, the 91探花College of Engineering’s program from the Opportunity Expansion Fund, a related program established by the legislature to help Washington universities fund programming that supports students earning high-demand bachelor’s degrees in science, engineering, computer science or STEM education.

The College of Engineering’s program is one of three university initiatives across the state to receive funding from the Opportunity Expansion Fund, established by the legislature to help Washington universities fund programming that helps students earn high-demand bachelor鈥檚 degrees in science, engineering, computer science or STEM education.

The statute, which passed in 2011 along with the (WSOS) fund, allowed companies until 2015 to donate high-tech research and development tax credits to the expansion fund account. Microsoft, the only company to contribute to the expansion fund, donated a total of $6 million.

STARS offers eligible students an additional year of academic support, mentoring and funding to build learning skills and help them “catch up” before applying to engineering departments. Historically, only 33 percent of 91探花students who hold Pell grants and intend to become engineers successfully complete those degrees 鈥� typically because of inadequate high school preparation.

“We’re providing extra support to help students who come from less privileged backgrounds learn some of the skills and prepare for the rigor in the curriculum that more affluent students get in high school,” said , the 91探花College of Engineering’s Associate Dean for Diversity and Access.

“We really want students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds to become engineers because they bring a different perspective to problem-solving,” Riskin said.聽 “STARS students work hard and are really persistent in getting through college, which gives them the grit and determination you want on your team.”

STARS currently serves 32 incoming students each year, who spend an extra “redshirt” year at the 91探花taking from basic algebra to calculus to chemistry and building learning and career skills.

The Opportunity Expansion funding will allow the College of Engineering to establish an expanded support program serving up to 125 additional students each year from economically disadvantaged backgrounds 鈥� including community college transfer students 鈥� throughout their tenure at the UW.

The expanded STARS initiative will offer supplemental instruction in the math, chemistry and physics courses that are part of the standard engineering curriculum, as well as culturally-aware advising, professional development and career services. With the one-time Opportunity Expansion funding, the College of Engineering estimates that more than 180 additional students from low-income backgrounds will successfully complete engineering degrees over the three-year period.

Marie Arnold, a rising STARS sophomore, was just accepted into the Department of Computer Science & Engineering. Though she had excelled and taken the most advanced classes in her high school, her first year at the 91探花humbled her.

But the STARS program and support from peers and mentors built her back up, Arnold said, making her even stronger.

“I don’t think I would have been able to survive without STARS,” said Arnold.

“I came to college thinking I was a very smart person. I probably would have been too stubborn to ask for help, and too afraid to admit that I was lacking in certain areas. But STARS removes that stigma 鈥� you go to classes even if you think you already know it, you go to your tutoring just like everyone else and get the help you need,” Arnold said.

The path to becoming an engineer is challenging, and students need encouragement and support to succeed, said Mike Bragg, the Frank & Julie Jungers Dean of Engineering at the UW. STARS is just one of many designed to remove barriers that discourage women, underrepresented minorities and low-income students from pursuing engineering degrees and rewarding careers in the field.

“The 91探花College of Engineering is deeply committed to attracting and graduating a student population that reflects the diversity of our community,” Bragg said. “This one-time WSOS funding will help level the playing field and ensure all students have the opportunity to become successful engineers.”

For more information about STARS, contact Riskin at riskin@uw.edu.

The National Science Foundation will fund a three-year, $1.5 million research project to study teaching and learning of mathematical modeling in elementary education. , an associate professor of mathematics education at the 91探花 Tacoma, is one of four principal investigators leading the endeavor.

“Mathematical modeling is a process of using mathematics to analyze a ‘real-world’ problem, represent it using mathematical concepts, make predictions and take action,” said Aguirre. “It’s used widely in business, science, technology and engineering fields. But it’s not customarily been a part of elementary education.”

That may change as mathematical modeling plays an increasingly prominent role in education and employment sectors across the country. It forms a key part of Washington state’s Common Core secondary curriculum, which has in part prompted interest to introduce the principles of mathematical modeling earlier.

Mathematical modeling is an exploratory and quantitative process, utilizing graphs, equations and diagrams to decipher and illustrate the mathematical underpinnings of real-world phenomena and decision-making. The principles of mathematical modeling play a role in everything from weather forecasting and traffic patterning to election forecasts and advertising. As the prevalence of these concepts grows in education and professional life, elementary education would benefit from introducing these principles earlier, Aguirre said.

“Very little has been done to find the best approaches for introducing mathematical modeling at the elementary school level,” said Aguirre. “What we’re trying to do is lay a basic foundation for developing an elementary curriculum around mathematical modeling and providing resources to educators.”

Aguirre and her colleagues believe children are naturally curious and observant. Their experiences and knowledge from their homes and communities can help them make sense of complex issues and situations they encounter. The researchers want to work with teachers to modify traditional textbook story problems 鈥� which have one specific answer 鈥� into mathematical tasks that reflect community situations and may have multiple answers depending on assumptions students identify.

Here is a traditional mathematics problem that elementary students might typically encounter: 24 students are going on a week-long camping trip. Each student receives three healthy meals each day. How many healthy meals are needed for the camping trip?

“An approach based on mathematical modeling first introduces the situation to students: ‘How much food do we need to bring on this trip?'” said Aguirre.

That lack of structure allows students to come up with their own process to address this situation.

“They can define assumptions and take action, starting by asking themselves key questions and coming up with answers,” said Aguirre. “‘How many of us are going on this trip? How long will the trip last? What exactly constitutes a healthy meal? How far are we traveling, and do we need to factor in travel time?'”

What was once a “plug-and-chug” multiplication problem becomes a mathematics process that uses both student-generated creativity and critical thinking skills. Ideally, students would see the connection between this scenario and the problem-solving processes that occur in their lives outside of school, such as planning family trips or community events.

Aguirre and her collaborators will explore teaching concepts, methods and community-based resources to introduce mathematical modeling at the third-, fourth- and fifth-grade levels. Their team will recruit elementary school teachers in the Pacific Northwest and Southwest to meet regularly and discuss which existing teaching methods could be adapted to introduce mathematical modeling to students. They will also develop new methods as needed, and eventually test the effectiveness of these methods in classroom settings. Lesson planning tools, resources and modeling tasks will be archived in a digital library for educator to use.

“We are very excited to work with teachers to make mathematics more rich, rigorous and relevant for students,” Aguirre said.

Her partners in this endeavor are at Washington State University Tri Cities, at the University of Arizona and at Queens College, City University of New York.

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For more information, contact Aguirre at 253-692-4820 or jaguirre@uw.edu.