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2024 NSF ITEST Principal Investigator Meeting
Innovating Equitable STEM Learning for the Future Technological Workforce
May 6-7, 2024 - Alexandria, Virginia
Meeting Theme
The 2024 ITEST PI Meeting, Innovating Equitable STEM Learning for the Future Technological Workforce, engaged the ITEST community in workshops designed to unpack project work through the lens of the three ITEST pillars:
- Innovative Use of Technology in Teaching and Learning,
- Partnerships for Career and Workforce Preparation, and
- Strategies for Equity in STEM Education.
Projects participated in interactive community sessions that allowed each participant to rotate through a series of discussions for each of the three ITEST pillars in order to:
- explore how active research and development projects implement the ITEST pillars,
- reflect on what this looks like across grade bands, and
- examine the discoveries and challenges common within each grade band that would be beneficial to both the project and field to discuss
Each session was designed to capture project and partner perspectives; projects were encouraged to bring partners active in the project’s implementation, including practitioners, community, and industry partners.
Presentations
View plenary session recordings and slides by expanding the titles below.
NSF Welcome - Wu He & Chia Shen
Welcome and Opening Remarks: Wu He & Chia Shen
NSF Program Director Wu He & Co-Director Chia Shen welcomed the ITEST community and opened the 2024 meeting. STELAR Center PI Sarita Pillai then introduced the meeting, format and goals before turning things over to Dr. Monya Ruffin.
NSF Welcome - Monya Ruffin
Welcome and Opening Remarks: Monya Ruffin
This video was recorded at the ITEST PI Meeting (Innovating Equitable STEM Learning for the Future Technological Workforce). It engaged the ITEST community in workshops that were designed to unpack project work through the lens of the three ITEST pillars:
- Innovative Use of Technology in Teaching and Learning,
- Partnerships for Career and Workforce Preparation, and
- Strategies for Equity in STEM Education.
NSF DRL Acting Division Director Monya Ruffin
NSF Welcome - James L. Moore
Welcome and Opening Remarks: James L. Moore
This video was recorded at the ITEST PI Meeting (Innovating Equitable STEM Learning for the Future Technological Workforce). It engaged the ITEST community in workshops that were designed to unpack project work through the lens of the three ITEST pillars:
- Innovative Use of Technology in Teaching and Learning,
- Partnerships for Career and Workforce Preparation, and
- Strategies for Equity in STEM Education.
NSF Directorate for STEM Education Assistant Director James L. Moore
ITEST Portfolio Address - Wu He
ITEST Program Director, Dr. Wu He, addressed attendees and shared information about the ITEST program and the portfolio of projects funded in 2022 and 2023. Dr. He then issued a call to action for the ITEST PI community to:
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Develop Strong Partnership with stakeholders in EPSCoR jurisdictions
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Scale Up Promising Innovations across regions/states, grade levels, ages and demographics through the Scaling, Expanding, and Iterating Innovations (SEI) projects
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Engage Children in STEM Education Early
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Develop a Solid Foundation in Math and Science for students, especially those in underserved communities
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Advance Equitable and Inclusive STEM Education and Workforce Development in critical and emerging areas, including microelectronics/semiconductor, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum information science and engineering (QISE), robotics, cybersecurity, data science, climate change, clean energy, etc.
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Day 1 Keynote - Megan Bang
Day 1 Keynote - Megan Bang
Keynote speaker Megan Bang, Professor of the Learning Sciences and Director of the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research at Northwestern University, launched Day 1 with her keynote address “Learning & Technology for Just & Sustainable Futures.” Dr. Bang discussed why the social, cultural, ethical, and political dimensions of technology should be more central and explicit in learning environments, and shared examples of two projects in which technology, introduced in cultural practices, contributed to indigenous communities' embedding technologies in more expansive ways.
Dr. Bang is a member of STELAR’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Advisory.
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Day 2 Keynote - Jacob Martinez
Day 2 Keynote - Jacob Martinez
Jacob Martinez, founder and CEO of the technology workforce development hub Digital Nest, delivered the day 2 keynote speech addressing his personal experience with ITEST grants and equitable STEM learning. Martinez, who served as PI on Animando a Estudiantes con Technologia (AET) - Encouraging students in the field of information technology (2009-2013) encouraged ITEST grantees to prioritize sustainability of their projects in the communities they serve. His presentation was followed by an active Q&A session with in-person and remote participants.
This video was recorded at the 2024 ITEST PI Meeting (Innovating Equitable STEM Learning for the Future Technological Workforce).
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Voices from the Community Panel
In the Voices from the Community panel, panelists reflected on their experiences serving as partners in ITEST projects and shared success strategies for sustaining partnerships, including creating space for partners to share their lived experiences, communicating effectively across different settings and cultures, and listening to and learning from the communities projects are serving. Panelists included Noelia Báez Rodríguez, Education Coordinator, University of Puerto Rico; Michelle Cloud, Indigenous Arts & Sciences Director, Ho-Chunk Nation; Tom McKlin, Director, The Findings Group; Imani Mitchell, Assistant Program Director, North Carolina for Community and Justice; and Hridhay Bashyam and Joey Macek, student co-designers for the NeuroVivid Project.
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Working Group Breakouts
Big Ideas from ITEST Pillars
Working group sessions held on Day 1 invited PIs, co-PIs, and project partners including evaluators, educators, community leaders to consider the role of the ITEST pillars, Innovative Use of Technologies, Partnerships for Career and Workforce Preparation, and Strategies for Equity in STEM, in their research and development. In small groups organized by grade bands ITEST projects primarily serve (preK-5, 6-8, 9-12), participants discussed evidence from their research and development, challenges they have encountered, and research questions emerging from their work, for each pillar. On Day 2, working groups presented summaries of their sessions and participants were invited to attend Birds of a Feather sessions focused on shared topics of interest that emerged from the working group sessions: Capacity Building for Teachers, Career Preparation, Co-Design Strategies, Families and Communities, Embodied Learning, and Scaling.
Click the headers below to view video recordings and slides summarizing the working group sessions by grade band and ITEST pillar.
Project Expo
On Monday, May 6, as part of the 2024 ITEST PI Meeting, the ITEST Project Expo offered a vibrant session that showcased a diverse range of innovative technology and research projects. Participants explored various project stations, which featured captivating tech demonstrations, interactive exhibits, research posters, videos, and artifacts from project work. The lively interactions between attendees and presenters brought the projects to life, sparking insightful discussions and deepening engagement with the ITEST initiatives. The expo highlighted the following projects and presenters. Browse the photo gallery for more images of the event.
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Legislative Visits
Before and after the PI meeting, 11 ITEST projects met with legislators on Capitol Hill to inform them about the ITEST projects. The visits allowed Congressional Members to hear firsthand from ITEST project leaders—including community partners and educators—about the youth programs on emerging technologies and STEM careers in their home states and how they are addressing workforce development needs. For ITEST projects, the meetings were a valued opportunity to explain and share examples of their innovative work and what they are learning with elected officials.
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Dr. Stacy Forsyth of the University of Colorado at Boulder (left, front) and Ian Matty of the Mountain Lakes Public Library (left, back) shared examples of 3D-printed tactile storybooks with Donni Turner, legislative counsel for Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D) (right). The interactive books, which were created for children who are visually impaired or have other disabilities, were digitally designed and fabricated by middle and high school students in library makerspaces as part of their ITEST project, The Tactile Picture Books Project. To learn more about this project, watch this short video.
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Dr. Amanda Bastoni of CAST met with Members of Congress from Montana to discuss Take Flight, an ITEST project that developed a middle school curriculum integrating drone technology, communal motivation, and strength-based approaches to make STEM more accessible to female students in rural areas. Pictured from left to right are: U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), Congressman Ryan Zinke (MT-01), Dr. Bastoni, Congressman Matt Rosendale (MT-02), and U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT). To learn more about this project, watch this short video.
2024 PI Meeting Project Summaries
Thank you for visiting the 2024 NSF ITEST Principal Investigator Meeting Project Summaries. These one page artifacts were created to share information and unpack project work across the three ITEST pillars 1) Innovative Use of Technology in Teaching and Learning, 2) Partnerships for Career and Workforce Preparation, and 3) Strategies for Equity in STEM Education. Feel free to also download the booklet.
Displaying 1 - 90 of 90
This project fosters STEM/ICT career knowledge through team-based, Integrated STEM learning experiences where high school students in urban and rural schools create climate solutions at global and local scales, supported by near-peer mentoring. After exploring sources and solutions to climate change, student teams play a “Climate Action Simulation” game, using a technology-rich digital platform and guides for a set of social roles. The game’s “engine” is an interactive global model, called “…
QuEST educates secondary school students in quantum science and computing activities while learning about career pathways in quantum technologies. Science teachers are also key stakeholders and attend professional development in quantum science instruction, quantum computing applications, and career pathways. QuEST, a partnership between Stony Brook University and the New York Hall of Science, advances quantum education, physical science literacy, and the diversity of the STEM pipeline through…
Semiconductors are essential components of electronic devices, enabling advances in all important applications and systems such as communication, healthcare, and national security. In order to sustain the U.S.’s global competitiveness in the semiconductor industry, there is a growing demand for skilled semiconductor workforce. High schoolers are among the most frequent users of electronic devices. However, many do not know how these devices are designed and manufactured. To address the…
TEAMAI is a collaboration between Indiana University (IU) Mathematics department and Looking Glass Ventures (LGV). In our research, we examine the high school teachers’ use of ALICE, an AI LLM module of LGV’s ‘Edfinity’ homework system (assessment platform at edfinity.com) in their Finite Mathematics and Calculus courses. Edfinity assessments utilize the, open-source WeBWorK format to deliver interactive, auto-gradable, isomorphic technology-enhanced assessments (TEAs) to support classroom…
Our proposal introduces algorithm auditing to high school computer science classes. Algorithm auditing is a query method for understanding algorithmic systems’ opaque inner workings and external impacts from the outside. Sample student projects: (A) Drawing game using a ML classifier trained with accelerometer data; (B) Accelerometer sensor data for training and testing a ML model used in a sports game;
In this project, we examined how gender, race, and ethnic heritage shape the STEM and higher education aspirations of different communities of refugee youth and families participating in a university-community organization partnership. Families from various ethnic-based community organizations in Arizona–serving Bhutanese, Burundian, Congolese, Somali, and Syrian people–participated in this qualitative study. Using social cognitive career theory as our conceptual framework and a qualitative…
This project investigates how youth engage with algorithm auditing, a method that involves repeatedly querying AI/ML algorithmic systems and observing their output in order to draw conclusions about the system's opaque inner workings and possible external impact. We investigate how youth audit everyday ML applications. More specifically, (1) the feasibility of user-led algorithm audits by youth, (2) the dynamics of collaboration in algorithm audits, and (3) youth understanding of…
Project IntegrateAI seeks to engage learners in authentic, inquiry-driven projects to investigate scientific questions using natural language data. • For students, we engage them in innovative Natural Language Processing (NLP) learning experiences to foster their knowledge and skills in NLP and science, improve their attitudes toward STEM careers (interest, identity, and intention to persist), and enhance their ethical reasoning. • For teachers, we assist them in developing AI learning…
Project DIALOGS provides technology-rich learning opportunities for middle-school students to design and develop spoken conversational apps using computer science and artificial intelligence. Some 210 students from diverse, underserved schools with previously limited access to AI and computer science engaged in 2-week summer experiences to learn computer science and conversational AI development. Researchers in computer science and educational technology from the University of Florida…
Relatively little research exists on the use of experiences with physiological sensors to support STEM education. In this work, we draw on techniques from physiological computing and computer science education to explore novel ways to build students' computational thinking skills. Learning barriers related to physiological expressions and physiological design may be less common with EMG-based (muscle) activities in comparison to EEG (brain) activities. Physiological design events seem to…
As young people experience challenging climate events, they may feel powerless to shape the future and uncertain about STEM-based solutions. This project focuses on the potential of place-based learning, field science, and digital storytelling to nurture diverse middle school youths’ environmental agency, STEM career knowledge, and STEM identities. The project includes out-of-school STEM learning to investigate the history, ecology, and restoration of a local watershed. The watershed has unique…
During Spring Break of 2024, children from recently immigrated families took part in a weeklong Superhero Digital Math Storytelling Camp at a community center focused on newcomer communities. As part of an ITEST CAREER research grant, this project focused on engaging children in crafting narrative and counternarratives that explored the ways that mathematics connected to their real-life experiences. In this camp, the children used the superhero genre to create their own superheroes, crafting…
The rapid advances in LLMs present tremendous opportunities to create interactive, personalized learning experiences at scale. However, to truly harness the educational potential of these technologies, it's crucial that teachers - who are at the forefront of daily student interaction and possess indispensable knowledge and expertise - go beyond being mere consumers to key contributors. This one-year project proposes a teacher-AI collaboration paradigm that can potentially realize this…
The rapid advances in LLMs present tremendous opportunities to create interactive, personalized learning experiences at scale. However, to truly harness the educational potential of these technologies, it's crucial that teachers - who are at the forefront of daily student interaction and possess indispensable knowledge and expertise - go beyond being mere consumers to key contributors. This one-year project proposes a teacher-AI collaboration paradigm that can potentially realize this…
The mission of this ITEST Developing and Testing Innovations project is to explore the affordances of hybrid immersive learning environments situated in tribal contexts to engage Diné (Navajo) middle school students in place-based virtual scientific investigations and hands-on physical experiments and engineering design. This culturally responsive approach has the potential to inspire the next generation of Diné engineers and scientists to use their cultural and STEM knowledge to strengthen…
The major objectives of this Engaging Girls in Ubiquitous Intelligence and Computing (GUIC) project are to: 1) enhance secondary female students’ academic self-concepts in computing and engineering fields through a constructivist learning environment; 2) enhance secondary female students’ knowledge, skills, and interests in these fields; 3) increase the number of secondary female students’ participating in STEM competitions; and 4) investigate the factors that influence female students’ career…
This project focuses on youth-centered, culturally-relevant, out-of-school educational research and development. The team includes learning scientists and researchers, educators, directors and program administrators from Upward Bound and a makerspace/informal science institution, and engineering and wearable technology industry professionals. The STEM emphasis centers at the intersection of engineering and computational sciences, with content around coding digital technology and…
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are quickly becoming critical tools for creativity and productivity. Through this RETTL project, we have developed a low-cost, AI-enabled hardware toolset called Smart Motors to introduce elementary school students to supervised machine learning concepts, which will prepare them to work confidently with AI in the future. This platform lowers students’ barrier to entry for creating interactive mechanisms and incorporating motors and sensors through a…
Molly Community Science aims to support science exploration and environmental identity development among 6- to 8-year-old children from rural Alaska Native communities. The project has two goals: (1) to learn more about how children develop environmental identity (which we define as the empathy, knowledge, and skills needed to act responsibly for the environment); and (2) to co-design, with three Alaska Native villages, an intergenerational, community-based science program that nurtures…
This project addresses the ongoing marginalization of Indigenous communities in informal science learning spaces by developing and studying a model that strengthens rightful presence, a justice-centered framework that promotes a greater sense of belonging and shift in institutional power. Ohlone youth and families engage in participatory co-design to create immersive Indigenous science exhibits using mixed reality technologies that will be installed at the Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley’…
DSAIY teaches Rhode Island high school students machine learning concepts and data science skills in healthcare and medicine via a social justice lens. We aim to broaden participation in STEM through an innovative and inclusive learning ecosystem designed for evolving, interdisciplinary technologies. We are researching: how do students and teachers engage in data science and machine learning materials? How do teachers take up and enact materials? How do students engage with the learning…
Natural disasters have increased significantly over the past few decades. The UN has released a study that the number of wildfires is expected to rise by 50% by 2100 (United Nations Environment Programe, 2022). The most recent example of this is the Hawaiian island community of Maui. As residents and STEM educators in the State of Hawaiʻi with rich and deep roots in communities on Maui, we apply the STEMS2 (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Social Sciences and Sense of Place)…
The project developed an after-school program aimed at boosting the STEM career interests of Native American middle-school students. Leveraging digital technologies like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and 3D printing, students tackled spatial design challenges through culturally responsive modules. A co-design process with educators, community members, and students helped integrate cultural knowledge into learning environments relevant to Native American youth. The program…
Aquaculture is historically significant to Native Hawaiians. Fishponds were essential for food production and held special cultural significance. This project will study integration of sustainable aquaculture practices embraced by Native Hawaiians for centuries with emerging agricultural technologies (AgTech) focused on sensors, measurement, and data science literacy. Students will use smart farming technologies focused on data science to make decisions on growing limu (seaweed). The Institute…
ITEST supports projects to build capacity and interest in STEM. By furnishing innovative experiences for teachers and students now, ITEST hopes to improve lives and the nation’s STEM enterprise in the future. ITEST also supports one retrospective study to envision the future by informing from the past. It asks alums of an “ITEST-similar” program – NSF’s 1990s era Young Scholars Program (YSP) – to reflect on how that NSF support shaped their future. How do their reflections inform ITEST PIs…
ESTRELLA draws from an interdisciplinary research team with areas of expertise in electrical and computer engineering, bilingual education, and mathematics education. The team collaborates with middle and high school teachers to co-design lessons that advance student understanding of mathematics through computer programming of visual representations. Teachers conduct action research projects to study topics of interest to them as they implement this integrated curriculum. For example, the…
This project builds on the successful Geospatial Semester (GSS) high school course to explore how to infuse a powerful STEM tool into Career and Technical Education (CTE), computer science and social sciences courses in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and schools in Puerto Rico. Our work builds on the core strengths of GSS by providing students with a robust introduction to GIS tools using ArcGIS Online, which is available for free to schools and the lessons are designed to be accessible for…
The CISTEME365 initiative is in its 6th year of implementation, and despite contextual changes that occurred over the years, this project has remained true to its three pillars of engagement: (1) building a professional learning network for school-based teams made up of counselors, teachers, and other relevant school stakeholders with professional development aimed at providing more equitable and inclusive STEM environments, (2) supporting the implementation of STEM-enrichment clubs at each…
The NeuroVivid project is developing an innovative maker curriculum aimed at strengthening and broadening the talent pool of the future STEM workforce. NeuroVivid empowers a middle-school aged neurodiverse student population from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds by helping them build their own simple EEG circuits to understand and interact with their brain activity. The project leverages low cost simple BCI tools to design an adaptable BCI experience in makerspaces to increase…
Centered around principles of universal design, designing for accessibility, and engineering with empathy, the Build a Better Book Teen Internship program examines how teen interns’ perceptions of engineering and self-identities as engineers are formed and cultivated as they design and create more accessible products for authentic community clients who are blind or have low vision. Many teens have a limited understanding of what engineering is and what engineers do, and often their perceptions…
This collaborative research project aims to foster STEM identity development among historically underrepresented Latinx middle school youth by integrating STEM skill-building with personalized career exploration and planning. The study involves a collaboration between Sociedad Latina, a youth-serving organization, and Boston University to provide students with culturally responsive network science and career development curricula in after-school and summer program settings. Using career…
This DTI ITEST project is a research practice partnership (RPP) among teachers, administrators, community business partners and other stakeholders, education researchers, and University of Maine STEM and STEM education faculty. Together, we are developing and refining a model to bring authentic coastal monitoring and research experiences to middle level and high school students in rural coastal Maine communities. Their investigations will be used to inform community policy decisions and…
The AAMASE project develops and researches a model for engaging high-school-aged African American women from low-income families in STEM-related making and entrepreneurship educational programming in a makerspace. Participants explore multiple Making disciplines (e.g., ceramics, textiles, resin, woodworking and metalworking) and entrepreneurship. New pathways to STEM careers open for these young women as they make connections among their strengths and interests, and the knowledge and skills…
This project will promote data literacy in high school students by engaging them in learning about the Quantified Self, the practice of using technology to track and reflect on one’s own biological, behavioral, physical, and/or emotional data. Learning activities will be designed to spark a broad interest in science and to help develop students? informed opinions about the role of human-generated data in public life. To achieve this goal, the project will develop and test software tools as well…
This project is an informal STEM intervention that combines partnerships between STEM and education faculty at the University of Houston with mentorship from the participants’ families and STEM undergraduate mentors to provide hands-on STEM experiences to fourth and fifth-grade students of color. The project aims to increase awareness of and interest in STEM careers and broaden participation in STEM careers. Program components include hands-on activities that engage students with technology…
The WATERS project addresses the need for water education and career readiness by developing and researching a universally accessible, student-centered curriculum that employs Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. This approach ensures that learning about water quality, usage, and stewardship is accessible to all students, enhancing their understanding of and engagement with vital water issues. Through hands-on activities, local data, and geospatial analysis, the curriculum aims to…
STEM Tales is a 2.5 year research project focused on the creation of a new children’s media series (titled Book Drop) which focuses on STEM learning, literacy, and careers. OUTREACH: STEM Tales outreach is designed to engage children (ages 4-8) and families through in-person programming at 21 libraries across the nation. In each library program, families view one episode of Book Drop, learn about the career of the book reader, and engage in hands-on activities that focus on important STEM…
Data Jam is an initiative of the Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Schoolyard program. The Luquillo LTER at the University of Puerto Rico has collected decades of data about the El Yunque rainforest ecosystem and made that data publicly available. The Data Jam program engages middle school and high school students in the process of asking their own questions about environmental phenomena in El Yunque and then in exploring, analyzing and summarizing the long-term data as evidence to…
Biology Meets Engineering provides transdisciplinary education to prepare students for a future in STEM. We have developed and hosted a 3-week summer program on campus, through which high school students in and around Cincinnati have applied the fundamentals of sensory biology, robotics, and computer programming. An undergraduate course expands upon knowledge gained in the summer, and we provide paid internship experiences in university STEM labs. We developed a curriculum that integrates…
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into advanced manufacturing has promising potential to revolutionize productivity and generate new jobs in smart manufacturing. There is an urgent need to investigate "what to teach" and "how to teach" AI in order to prepare future workforce with the necessary AI skills. This project will initiate an age-appropriate career-driven AI educational program for high-school students and evaluate its effectiveness. We will develop…
Our project addresses the critical shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals and the lack of diversity in the field, highlighted by a projected 31% increase in information security analyst roles from 2019 to 2029 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) and a tripling in the demand for cybersecurity roles since 2013 (Burning Glass). We aim to spark interest in cybersecurity careers through mixed-reality (MR) learning activities for middle school students, focusing on foundational cybersecurity…
Integrating Students’ Interests, Identities and Ways of Knowing with Network Visualization Tools to Explore Data Literacy Concepts is a Developing and Testing Innovations project responding to the growing recognition that data literacy is an increasingly important set of skills and network science in particular is at the heart of today’s youth’s experiences with technology. The goal of this project is to explore a synergistic approach in which middle school students (7th and 8th grades) use…
SRMPmachine is a joint effort of the American Museum of Natural History and Massachusetts Institute of Technology designed to teach high school students machine learning (ML) through scientific inquiry. The project innovates within the Science Research Mentoring Program (SRMP) by creating a 175-hour “Summer Institute in ML,” followed by mentored-research experiences using ML. SRMPmachine focuses on ML, a key subset of AI that allows machines to learn patterns from data to make predictions or…
This three-year Developing and Testing Innovations project aims to support high school students to develop foundational knowledge in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and interest in AI-rich careers. Luckily AI is a highly interdisciplinary field and AI education can happen in a variety of settings. This project aims to integrate foundational AI education into disciplinary studies to reach students most underrepresented and underserved in the field. The project has the following objectives: (1)…
SRMPmachine is a joint effort of the American Museum of Natural History and Massachusetts Institute of Technology designed to teach high school students machine learning (ML) through scientific inquiry. The project innovates within the Science Research Mentoring Program (SRMP) by creating a 175-hour “Summer Institute in ML,” followed by mentored-research experiences using ML. SRMPmachine focuses on ML, a key subset of AI that allows machines to learn patterns from data to make predictions or…
As AI becomes increasingly integral to a broad range of industries, it is critical that the field develops equitable and justice-oriented instructional models that can support youth to integrate technical knowledge about AI with ethical principles for AI development and deployment. This project will design and study an online course for high school aged youth that is a collaborative learning experience for building workforce skills. The project will strengthen and broaden youth capacity for,…
Project eSPAC3 (pronounced "eh-space") is a four-year National Science Foundation initiative aimed at developing upper-elementary students' spatial computational thinking skills and awareness of computationally-intensive careers, with a focus on celebrating Latinidad. It utilizes Minecraft: Education Edition to create an immersive, culturally affirming learning experience. Through family engagement, near-peer mentorship, and expert modeling via career videos featuring Latin@…
The Connected Spaces (C/S) project consists of a technological toolkit and design framework to connect geographically distributed communities of middle and highschool makers to promote collaboration between peers and facilitate mentorship and technical assistance. The toolkit consists of a suite of four technologies. First, the Dashboard, an ambient profile display for students to showcase their interests as well as evolving skills and affinities across makerspaces to support help seeking among…
The World Smarts STEM Challenge is a virtual exchange that supports STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education in the United States and Ghana. Middle and high school students from Washington, DC, and senior secondary school students from across Ghana come together virtually to solve global issues in their communities with STEM solutions inspired by the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Our work engages high school youth in Massachusetts and Louisiana in transdisciplinary learning of computational science, artificial intelligence, engineering, and restorative ecologies through the installation of automated urban gardening robots that we are calling restorative gardens. These gardens offer an opportunity to bridge traditional gardening and 21st-century technological skills while fostering community engagement by supporting youth in using emerging technologies to address…
The WeatherX project developed and has been studying multi-week curriculum units for middle-school science classes to promote understanding of and interests in fundamental data practices and scientific data careers among students in low-income rural communities. Using WeatherX materials, students work with large-scale data to investigate typical and extreme weather in their local areas and on New Hampshire’s Mount Washington – a place nicknamed “The Home of the World’s Worst Weather.” The…
This Developing and Testing Innovations project leverages innovative technology, using professional-quality music software to teach computer science (CS) in a way that is culturally relevant to students under-represented in computing. This project seeks to leverage innovative music technology to facilitate learning of CS. It seeks to accomplish this through 4 inter-related goals and associated objectives: (1) use design-based research to design an instructional approach that highlights how…
The D&P Challenges in STEM is a novel curricular form that combines features of project-based learning (PBL), design-based learning (DBL), and entrepreneurial-based learning (EBL) within entrepreneurial pitch competitions. Given the growing appeal of entrepreneurship and the often integral role of STEM in entrepreneurial innovation, situating STEM instruction within entrepreneurship could be an effective means for increasing students’ interest and engagement in STEM, while also supporting…
The overarching goal of our ITEST project is to create accessible data science tools and curriculum that are legally compliant with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and to evaluate these materials with a diverse group of high-school aged student learners. We have created through this work a set of multi-modal data science technologies that were born accessible and have re-imagined what data science could become through first…
We are presenting on Year 1 of a three-year, NSF-funded project (2023-2026) entitled Agents for Inclusive Science Communication (AISciComm). The project involves a research-practice partnership between University of California-Irvine, Utah State University, and Orange County Department of Education. Our main goal is to support high school students (grades 9-12) in Title I schools in Orange County (OC), California to develop systems understanding that (1) reflects how climate change will impact…
“Living and Working with Artificial Intelligence” is a 9-week elective course for Georgia middle school students co-designed by the investigators and a cohort of six teachers. We created the course and professional development materials to study student and teacher AI learning. For students, we are interested in the most effective ways to promote interest in AI and robotics among different demographic groups who are underrepresented in STEM: rural white students, urban black students, and…
Neuroscience for Neurodiverse Learners (NNL), provides hands-on experiences in neuroscience disciplines, networking opportunities, and resources to high school and early postsecondary students identified as neurodiverse learners—those with academic challenges related to conditions such as dyspraxia, dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyscalculia, autism spectrum disorder, and Tourette syndrome—and disseminates findings to teachers of courses that are related to neuroscience and…
Wireless radio communications, such as Wi-Fi, transmit public and private data from one device to another, including cell phones, computers, medical equipment, satellites, space rockets, and air traffic control. Despite their critical role and prevalence, many people are unfamiliar with radio waves, how they are generated and interact with their surroundings, and why they are the basis of modern communication and navigation. Making Waves with Radio has created a series of hands-on activities…
Everyday AI (EdAI) addresses the need to develop a diverse workforce with the knowledge and skills to work with AI and answers the call for widely-accessible and age-appropriate AI Literacy education. Broadening participation in AI is important in ensuring that AI technologies are founded on principles of inclusivity and equitability. MIT and Boston College prepared over 120 middle and high school teachers from districts across Florida, Illinois, New York, Virginia, and New Mexico who tengaged…
Central to our work is engaging high school as teachers, mentors, and role models who teach their younger peers in applying concepts and ideas from physics, plant science, engineering design, and coding to design and build a smart automated desktop-sized greenhouse. In the building of the greenhouse, youth use physical computing where they are learning how to connect coding to the physical world through microcontrollers by programing sensors to collect data and using that data to control…
This study introduces an innovative augmented reality (AR) environment, augmented by Linibot, a physical robot, to cultivate computational thinking skills in young learners. Integrating AR technology with Linibot, children navigate a grid-like environment on a tablet, guided by the robot through AR obstacles. The objectives include fostering STEM problem-solving, symbol comprehension, and confidence in technology. Pre- and post-tests evaluated the impact on computational thinking in the…
As artificial intelligence (AI) transforms our society, it is essential for students to understand its mechanics, how machines learn from data, and the role of humans from diverse backgrounds and expertise in shaping AI. While computer science standards and organizations have emerged with commendable approaches, they often relegate experiences to self-selecting students who already show interest in the topic, and most students remain unaware of how AI is reshaping their future. Further, the AI…
Our goal for the STEM Career Connections project is to develop an innovative career readiness model for both in and out of school settings that will profoundly increase the knowledge of, and interest in, STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) and computing careers for middle school youth within Eagle County, Colorado, who are often underserved in STEM fields. To achieve this goal, we have three integral components of the project: • a community partnership working together to…
SISTEM is supporting PreK students’ integrated science, language, and literacy learning by creating a coherent model of family-school-community partnership with a focus on multilingual learner’s (MLs). EDC and the Connecticut Science Center (CSC) are collaborating to engage children, families, teachers, and the community to form powerful partnerships that fuel children’s science and language learning across multiple settings. The project aims to enrich the quality and quantity of science and…
Three universities (Lehigh, Texas Christian, and Washington State University Tri-Cities) are collaborating with teachers at nine high schools to integrate GIS into core curricular content areas (Environmental Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, and more; including special education settings) and specialized classes (Robotics, Forensics, and so on). Our work with teachers spans technical instruction (learning about GIS), curriculum development (co-designing materials for the…
Data visualizations are emerging as ways to examine and “see” literary texts in new ways by making salient the countable and quantifiable features of a book, story, or other composition. Taking seriously the potential for literary literacy and data literacy to be complementary and mutually supportive in interpretive work, this project involves cycles of co-design with middle school English language arts teachers to bring text analytics visualizations into their classroom instruction through new…
The project aims to integrate paleontology and machine learning (ML), a subfield of artificial intelligence (AI), to develop a curriculum for middle school teachers and students. Teachers attend a weeklong professional development workshop at the University of Florida to learn about AI and gain experience with the curriculum before implementing it. Over three cohorts, approximately 50 teachers will be recruited to participate in the project and to implement curricular activities in their…
Advances in AI are fundamentally reshaping the workplace of the future and accelerating the demand for creating and sustaining an AI-literate workforce. This demand highlights the importance for all K-12 students to develop an understanding of AI to prepare them for future careers. The AI Play project introduces AI concepts to middle grades students (ages 11-14) and teachers through workshops, camps, and school-based programs in rural communities of North Carolina. With a focus on fostering…
The Youth Astronomy Network (YouthAstroNet for short) is a national, online community of youth, educators, and scientists that aims to help youth gain confidence and identity as someone who can do science through personal participation in authentic inquiry, supported by unique access to the resources of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. Young people in every neighborhood, urban or rural, have questions about the universe. But many youth, particularly those in underserved…
The STEM Storytelling through Podcasts (SSP) project focuses on broadening participation for blind and low vision and sighted upper elementary students by engaging them with podcast technology to promote access to STEM and introduce students to STEM/ICT careers.
The Computer Science Frontiers (CSF) curriculum created during this project aims to expand access, especially for high school girls, to the most exciting and emerging frontiers of computing, such as machine learning, as well as other 21st century skills required to productively leverage computational methods and tools. The project-based curriculum consists of four 9-week modules: Distributed Computing, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, Cybersecurity/Internet of Things, and Software…
This project uses tech and a place-based, community-engaged approach to examine attitudes toward STEM. Initially focused on student, teacher and community attitudes and behaviors, pandemic-related timeline and implementation adjustments provided an opportunity to also examine how we engaged with each other and with community members in three rural Alaska sites. Questions: How does a place-based STEM curriculum engage students, educators and communities to envision/apply STEM in different…
This project uses drones in middle school science and career and technical education classrooms as a mechanism to increase female students awareness of STEM occupations, knowledge and skills in multiple STEM disciplines, and motivation to pursue STEM careers. This project confronts society's messaging and students' own perceptions of who can be, should be, and is good at STEM, which is often reinforced by the notion of there being a single path into STEM. The project will encourage…
Our primary goal is to enhance children's problem-solving and computational thinking (CT) skills through engaging and interactive embodied learning experiences. To achieve this, we've created a unique mixed-reality learning environment designed specifically for young children. In this innovative setting, children engage in activities where they mimic robot movements—they move forwards and backwards, and turn right or left according to predefined symbols. This interactive environment…
SUPERCHARGE is an after-school STEM program wrapping up its first year in four Chicago high schools. The goal of SUPERCHARGE is to give students experiences with STEM, specifically with robotics, automation, and green energies, that build their interest and confidence. Students attend the club for 90 minutes each week where they work through sets of activities that build skills with connections to green energies and environmental justice. Activity sets culminate in an authentic project each…
The primary goal of our project is to improve achievement and interest in mathematics of New York City Black and Latinx students in grades 1-3 to build a foundation for interest and success in future STEM careers. We are working with two Title I schools in Brooklyn, NY, where we have 12 teachers-participants teaching in ICT (large percentage of students with disabilities) and bilingual (large percentage of English language learners) classrooms. In the first year of the project, the project team…
Model Math Education (ModelME) with embedded Dream2B game is an integrated supplemental curriculum for 4th-6th grade inclusive settings. The program engages students in universally-designed problem-solving challenges rooted in authentic STEM and ICT careers. Executive function scaffolds, action adaptive nudges, and dynamic assessments are embedded throughout the game and the wrap around curriculum. The program has been used by over 15 teachers and 350 elementary and middle school students and…
The objectives of the project include:1) increase STEM and ICT career awareness by providing opportunities for teachers and students to learn about how STEM content disciplines can fully integrate technology and engineering, 2) provide professional development for STEM teachers to learn about quantum related topics and effective curricular connections, 3) provide student summer STEM camps to engage students in technology-rich STEM/QIS experiences, and 4) research a new professional development…
This project pairs autistic college mentors with autistic high school mentees in New York City to create interest-based STEAM projects. In this way, the mentors can engage with the high school students by helping with their projects, learning what they care about and who they are as people, and then give tailored advice about the high school to college transition, support services, academic courses, and extracurricular activities that align with the mentee’s strengths and interests. We use a co…
The NSF ITEST project has been a concerted effort towards integrating STEM education with art and design (STEAM) to kindle interest in plant sciences and promote career readiness in high-tech agriculture. Over the reporting year, the project engaged 108 students from six high schools, implementing a teaching module that involves collaborative teams working on plant science investigation, 3D modeling, and its applications in Augmented Virtual Reality (AVR) platforms and science communication.…
This project provides direct student learning opportunities to foster preschoolers’ spatial learning and STEM identity, particularly for underrepresented and underserved groups, by developing and researching a preschool mathematics curriculum supplement that leverages digital touch-screen tablets and Augmented Reality technologies. Spatial thinking, which includes spatial orientation, is often ignored in formal education settings during the early years. This is a significant curricular…
Over the last ten months, students in New York City schools have experienced several days of haze due to wildfires, repeated urban floods, an earthquake, and an eclipse. Between fear mongering news and social media posts, students and educators may be left with a sense of confusion, if not gloom. We posit that the use of interactive information platforms from state and national agencies (e.g., NOAA, USGS, NYSDEC) can fill an information gap in real time, favorable to student-driven inquiry,…
Artificial intelligence (AI) and its teaching in the K-12 grades has been championed as a vital need for the United States due to the technology’s future prominence in the 21st century. However, there remain several barriers including the inter- disciplinary knowledge needed and the lack of formal training or preparation for teachers to implement these topics in middle school curriculum. We present ImageSTEAM, a teacher professional development for creating lessons for middle school grades 6-8…
The CASCADE collaborative research project is working with strategic partners and career partners to create interactive, narrative simulations for use in informal learning environments (ILEs) serving youth in grades 6-12, primarily African American and Latinx who would be first generation college students in their families. CASCADE modules promote learning of collaborative skills for addressing math tasks arising in STEM career fields, and developing STEM career identity. Each module focuses on…
Make games, save the planet” is an Arizona State University program that positions young people as community science leaders who use STEM and media to envision and work toward the future they want to live in. With support from adult team members, participating youth leaders have created an XR game prototype to engage community members in exploring local impacts of climate change and possible futures. The program is organized as an equitable partnership, with young people leading the game…
The purpose of this project is to rapidly develop a web-based platform, called Compose With AI, to address the urgent need for educational tools to support educators in teaching with and about AI. The Compose With AI platform guides students to evaluate AI-generated content and use factual information to compose common types of science-focused writing (e.g., composing arguments, claims or solutions related to science topics). Simultaneously, the Teacher Dashboard shows the process that each…
3D printing holds promise for students with blindness/visual impairments (B/VI) in addressing astronomy content, concept development, and providing access to information normally displayed visually. To help bolster astronomy and STEM opportunities for students with B/VI, we developed the STEM Career Exploration Lab (CEL), which employs tactile astronomy instruction via 3D printing and specially designed 3D-printed models. Our unique project centerpiece is the 3D printer build, where students…
Since 2021, the COVID-Inspired Data Science Education through Epidemiology (CIDSEE) project has reached over 1,000 underserved youth nationwide, engaging them in a 15-hour out-of-school “Data Detectives Club” centered on a project-developed novel, "Pandemics!", which explores the spread of COVID, measles, smallpox, Ebola, polio, and plague. Clubs integrate data activities, modeling, animations, and career exploration. Participants use data tools and models to track the spread of…
Once hunted to local extinction, puffins have made a dramatic comeback and been re-established to historic nesting islands in Maine. This project combines a scientific adventure story about puffin restoration with data investigation on the relationships between puffin health and environmental factors. Students examine trends in several decades of curated National Audubon Society data about puffins, using an accessible open-source data tool to examine relationships among variables such as sea…
The goal of the Youthquake project is to engage middle school students in authentic computer-based investigations of earthquake hazards and risk in order to increase their interest in, and identity with, geoscience learning. YouthQuake’s unique approach to the curriculum design process gathers a diverse team to co-design student learning experiences around investigating earthquake hazards and conducting risk assessments that are specifically related to the student’s community. The curriculum…
Acknowledgments
We are grateful for the ITEST NSF program officers, our Advisory Committee, and our team for their insights and input.
Advisory Committee Members
Tilanka Chandrasekera, Oklahoma State University
Theodore Chao, Ohio State University
Chris Crawford, University of Alabama
Katherine Culp, NY Hall of Science
Kathy Eller, East Bay Educational Collaborative of Rhode Island
Sherry Hsi, BSCS Science Learning
Chad Lane, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Victor Minces, University of San Diego
Lynda McGilvary, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Kate Popejoy, Popejoy STEM LLC
Ann Renninger, Swarthmore
Colby Tofel-Grehl, Utah State University
NSF ITEST Program Officers
Wu He, ITEST Program Lead, NSF
Chia Shen, ITEST Program Co-Lead, NSF
Jennifer Noll, Program Officer
Arlene de Strulle, Program Officer
Kevin Clark, Program Officer
Toni Dancstep, Program Officer
FengFeng Ke, Program Officer
Deena Khalil, Program Officer
Melissa Luna, Program Officer
Bob Russell, Program Officer
Alicia Santiago Gonzalez, Program Officer
Jon Singer, Program Officer
Lynn Tran, Program Officer
Joan Walker, Program Officer
Amy Wilson Lopez, Program Officer
STELAR Team, Event Planners, and Evaluators
Sarita Pillai, Principal Investigator
Joyce Malyn-Smith, Co-PI
Sarah MacGillivray, Project Director
Mary Beth Piecham, Research Lead
Suhina Minocha, Project Staff
Melody Hackey, Project Staff
Bronwyn Taggart, Project Staff
Morgan Easterly, Project Staff
Beatriz Perret, Project Staff
Mary Forbuss, Project Staff
Amy Lozen, Meeting Services
Angie Hibbler, Meeting Services
Christopher Cox, Evaluator, The Rucks Group
Maggie Jaeger, Evaluator, The Rucks Group