Creating and testing data science learning tools for secondary students with disabilities

2021 - 2025

The main goal of this collaborative project is to create and evaluate a universally accessible data science infrastructure for high-school-aged learners, with a focus on students with disabilities. Data science is critical in the development of industry-relevant computational thinking skills. Computing initiatives, including data science, are rapidly growing at the preschool-12th grade level because of the compelling career pathways that data science skills provide.

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Career Exploration Lab: 3D Printing and STEM Engagement for High School Students with Visual Impairments and their Educators

2020 - 2024

This project will advance efforts of the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program to better understand and promote practices that increase student motivations and capacities to pursue careers in fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM). For these students with visual impairments (VI), the possibility of a future in astronomy, or any science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field, seems daunting.

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Neuroscience for Neurodiverse Learners

2020 - 2024

The University of Washington will provide technology-rich, hands-on experiences in neuroscience disciplines for high school and early postsecondary students (ages 16-21) identified as neurodiverse learners those with academic challenges related to conditions such as dyspraxia, dyslexia, and, autism spectrum disorder and disseminate findings to teachers of courses that are related to neuroscience and, more broadly, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The project also provides activities for educators, parents, and other stakeholders who work with neurodiverse learners.

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Who Likes Computer Science? How Gender Stereotypes about Interest Shape Children's Motivation

2018 - 2021

This project will advance efforts of the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program to better understand and promote practices that increase students' motivation and capacities to pursue careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by preparing and interesting elementary- and middle-school students for STEM courses/programs in high school and eventually in STEM careers.

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Project BUILD (Building Using an Interactive Learning Design)

2017 - 2021
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This project will advance efforts of the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program to better understand and promote practices that increase students' motivations and capacities to pursue careers in fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) by bringing together youth (grades 2-5), their families, librarians, and professional engineers in an informal environment centered on engaging youth with age-appropriate, technology-rich STEM learning experiences fundamental to the engineering design process.

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Expanding Geospatial Technology Career Development for High School Students Through Teacher Professional Development

2015 - 2020
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The Power of Data (POD) project is designed to increase secondary student awareness of and interest in careers that use geospatial technology (GST) and data; increase their knowledge of educational pathways to enter these careers; and develop their 21st century workforce skills. Building on successful implementation in Arizona, the 4-year project will be carried out on a larger scale. The project will use a train-the-trainer approach involving some 30 teacher educators, 90 teachers and 27,000 students.

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Innovative Technology-Enabled Astronomy for Middle Schools II (ITEAMS II)

2014 - 2019

Nationwide, middle-school youth from underrepresented communities have few opportunities to engage in authentic STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) investigations that build on the students' intrinsic interests in space science and robotics to increase their interests in both ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and STEM careers. ITEAMS II is a collaborative project of science educators and researchers at the Harvard College Observatory and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

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GIS/T Resources and Applications for Career Education (GRACE)

2014 - 2018

The GIS Resources and Applications for Career Education (GRACE) project builds upon a recent NSF-funded project, the Mayors Youth Technology Corps (MYTC), that developed a model of geographic information systems and technology (GIS/T) based education. MYTC developed a model of purposeful applications of GIS/T-based education for STEM careers in the workplace that provided youth in economically disadvantaged communities experience using and applying GIS/T to real world situations.

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The CryptoClub: Extending Learning with Student-Generated Tutorials

2013 - 2019

In existing CryptoClub after school programs, middle school students use mathematics to make and break secret codes. The CryptoClub website has tools for encrypting, messages to crack, treasure hunts and other activities. In this project, the learning in fifteen Crypto Clubs is extended by having the students generate tutorials that explain how they solve mathematics and cryptographic problems. The flexibility of the after school setting provides the opportunity to experiment with content and technology.

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