Developing and Testing Innovations (DTI)

Project Type

Discipline(s)

Preparing Students for the New Manufacturing Economy

Interdisciplinary

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Preparing Students for the New Manufacturing Economy: An Integrative Learning Approach

Francis Quek — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 17:20:40 +0000

Preparing Students for the New Manufacturing Economy: An Integrative Learning Approach

Francis Quek Tue, 11/01/2022 - 13:20

Preparing Students for the New Manufacturing Economy: An Integrative Learning Approach

This project advances a Career & Technical Education employing a Horizontal Learning Model (HLM) integrates knowledge/skills across multiple technology areas within an authentic practice. The HLM organizes learning expansively through a series of graduated projects that allows students to contextualize learning across fields by integrating skills and knowledge across constituent domains progressively. We distinguish HLM from typical project-based learning by carefully designing the series of projects that satisfy the curriculum-based learning requirements of typical public school education while engaging students in pragmatic hands-on experiences. Our project integrates electronics design, micro-controller programming, digital fabrication and manufacturing. The project is run in the authentic settings of public high schools with differing characteristics (rural, urban, minority-majority) to understand how HLM may impact high school students' technology literacy, career preparedness, growth mindset, and sense of STEM/engineering interest and identity.

Poster Materials

NSF One Pager

NSF Award Abstract

https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1949439&HistoricalAwards=false

Age Group

Project Stage

Year 3

Project Type

Discipline(s)

Connecting Students with Autism to Geographic Information Science & Technology Careers

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Connecting Students with Autism to Geographic Information Science & Technology Careers

Jason Painter — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 14:28:59 +0000

Connecting Students with Autism to Geographic Information Science & Technology Careers

Jason Painter Tue, 11/01/2022 - 10:28

Connecting Students with Autism to Geographic Information Science & Technology Careers

The goal of this project is to develop an innovative, research-based workforce development model for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder that (1) increases student self-regulation, interest, and motivation in Geographic Information Science & Technology (GIST), (2) expands students’ understanding of GIST/STEM concepts and skill sets, and (3) certifies students as FAA Drone Pilots (FAA Part 107).

Poster Materials

NSF One Pager

NSF Award Abstract

https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2048937&HistoricalAwards=false

Age Group

Project Stage

Year 3

Project Type

Discipline(s)

Geosciences

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Partnership to provide technology and cyber-security experiences to Alabama Black Belt through mobile application development

Jung Won Hur — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 02:45:56 +0000

Partnership to provide technology and cyber-security experiences to Alabama Black Belt through mobile application development

Jung Won Hur Mon, 10/31/2022 - 22:45

Partnership to provide technology and cyber-security experiences to Alabama Black Belt through mobile application development

This ITEST-Alabama (Developing and Testing Innovations: DTI) project aims to advance efforts to better understand and promote practices that increase minority high school students' motivations and capacities to pursue STEM careers. This project engages students in hands-on field experience, laboratory/project-based entrepreneurship tasks and mentorship experiences in fields of computing, specifically in cybersecurity. This project, based on the use of a Project Based Learning (PBL) environment with high school students, is a partnership between Tuskegee University, Auburn University, a rural and an urban school district in the historic Black Belt region of the state of Alabama, and Tuskegee University Engineering and Computer Science Alumni Associations. The focus of the partnership is to recruit annually a cohort of forty ethnically and racially diverse high school students from the partnering school districts for immersion in a STEM intensive PBL four-week STEM Summer Academy hosted by Tuskegee University, followed by one-semester in-school training. The Academy is designed to provide 40 rising 10th and 11th grade students and ten high-school teachers annually (150 over the life of the three-year grant) with far-reaching technological experiences through the exciting exploration of secured mobile application development under a PBL framework.

The key questions being addressed are: (1) To what extent does the innovative four-week technology-oriented experience in a PBL environment followed by one-semester in-school training impact minority high school students’ knowledge, interest, motivation, and attitudes towards STEM-related careers? (2) In what ways does the collaborative small group experience with mentor teachers affect minority high school students’ interest and awareness of STEM-related careers? (3) To what extent do the effects of the program persist after its completion? Do they lead to STEM-related post-secondary plans? (4) What instructional and mentoring strategies can be effectively integrated to boost minority high school students’ knowledge, interest, and attitudes towards STEM-related careers? A mixed-method design with both qualitative and quantitative data will be used to examine the students' motivation and attitude towards STEM in a PBL environment.

Poster Materials

NSF One Pager

ITEST-Alabama 2022 Summary

NSF Award Abstract

Award Abstract # 2048884

Age Group

Project Stage

Year 1

Project Type

Computer and informational technology science

Discipline(s)

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Robot-Mediated Learning: Exploring School-Deployed Collaborative Robots

Veronica Ahumada-Newhart — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 01:05:06 +0000

Robot-Mediated Learning: Exploring School-Deployed Collaborative Robots

Veronica Ahuma… Mon, 10/31/2022 - 21:05

Robot-Mediated Learning: Exploring School-Deployed Collaborative Robots

Project Overview: Advance robot-mediated learning in schools and investigate how collaborative tele-robots can facilitate optimal learning experiences.

Poster Materials

NSF One Pager

Robot-Mediated Learning 2022

NSF Award Abstract

Robot-Mediated Learning

Age Group

Additional Link(s)

UC Davis Health, Technology and Social Connectedness Lab

Project Stage

Project Type

Computer and informational technology science

Discipline(s)

Build a Better Book Teen Internships Project Summary

Interdisciplinary

Life sciences

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Build a Better Book Teen Internships: Connecting Technical Work to Social Needs

Stacey Forsyth — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 21:02:54 +0000

Build a Better Book Teen Internships: Connecting Technical Work to Social Needs

Stacey Forsyth Mon, 10/31/2022 - 17:02

Build a Better Book Teen Internships: Connecting Technical Work to Social Needs

The Build a Better Book Teen Internship Program engages teens from underrepresented groups in an empathy-driven, professionally structured engineering design internship focused on the design and fabrication of accessible products for children who are blind or visually impaired. Participating teens gain technical and STEM workplace skills, and broaden their perception of engineering as a social and collaborative discipline with potential to improve people’s lives.

Poster Materials

NSF One Pager

NSF Award Abstract

https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2049109&HistoricalAwards=false

Age Group

http://buildabetterbook.org

Additional Link(s)

Project Stage

Project Type

Discipline(s)

Investigating environmental identity development

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Investigating environmental identity development among children in rural Alaska Native communities through intergenerational, culturally responsive community science programming

Carie Green — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 18:29:50 +0000

Investigating environmental identity development among children in rural Alaska Native communities through intergenerational, culturally responsive community science programming

Carie Green Mon, 10/31/2022 - 14:29

Investigating environmental identity development among children in rural Alaska Native communities through intergenerational, culturally responsive community science programming

Project Overview: This two-year research-design project, undertaken in collaboration with GBH and Molly of Denali is: (1) building new knowledge about the ways in which children from rural Alaska Native communities, ages 6- 8, develop “environmental identity” (defined as the empathy, knowledge, and skills that children need to act responsibly for the environment) and (2) investigating how environmental identity can be nurtured via an intergenerational, community-based environmental science program that is supported by appropriate technologies and incorporates culturally responsive ways of understanding and doing science.

Poster Materials

NSF One Pager

NSF Award Abstract

https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2209594&HistoricalAwards=false

Age Group

PreK/Elementary

Project Stage

Year 1

Project Type

A one-page project description.

Discipline(s)

Environmental sciences

Other

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Transforming Preschoolers’ Spatial Orientation: Leveraging New Technologies for Learning in Early Childhood Classrooms and at Home

Ashley Lewis Presser — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 17:25:14 +0000

Transforming Preschoolers’ Spatial Orientation: Leveraging New Technologies for Learning in Early Childhood Classrooms and at Home

Ashley Lewis Presser Mon, 10/31/2022 - 13:25

Transforming Preschoolers’ Spatial Orientation: Leveraging New Technologies for Learning in Early Childhood Classrooms and at Home

The development of spatial orientation (SO) is a strong predictor of math skills and later school success and academic achievement. Thus, fostering SO skills before children enter formal schooling provides them with a sound foundation for later mathematical learning. Our project is titled Transforming Preschoolers' Spatial Orientation: Leveraging New Technologies for Learning in Early Childhood Classrooms and at Home. In this project, a team of learning scientists from the Education Development Center and Digital Promise Global, and public media producers from GBH, are developing and researching a preschool mathematics curriculum supplement. We are leveraging digital touch-screen tablets and augmented reality technologies with other hands-on, developmentally appropriate spatial learning activities. These activities are aimed to increase preschoolers’ SO learning and STEM identity, particularly for underrepresented and underserved groups. The project will engage 39 teachers, 50 families, and approximately 585-780 preschool children in SO classroom and family SO learning activities. In addition, the project will generate a new augmented reality tablet app, a digital teachers’ guide for preschool classrooms, a digital family guide, and a validated SO assessment for preschool students. Findings from this study will illuminate the potential for this approach on preschoolers’ SO learning. The study will also add to the literature on how to design digital activities that foster learning and knowledge that the field can capitalize on for other domains and age groups.

Poster Materials

NSF One Pager

NSF Award Abstract

https://nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2048883&HistoricalAwards=false

Age Group

PreK/Elementary

Additional Link(s)

2022 STEM FOR ALL VIDEO SHOWCASE: Leveraging Augmented Reality in Preschool Spa…

Project Stage

Project Type

NSF Award Abstract for this project

Discipline(s)

Mathematical sciences

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Investigating environmental identity development among children in rural Alaska Native communities through intergenerational, culturally responsive community science programming

Jessica Andrews — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 15:15:33 +0000

Investigating environmental identity development among children in rural Alaska Native communities through intergenerational, culturally responsive community science programming

Jessica Andrews Mon, 10/31/2022 - 11:15

Investigating environmental identity development among children in rural Alaska Native communities through intergenerational, culturally responsive community science programming

Media producers from GBH and researchers from South Dakota State University and the University of Alaska Southeast have recently launched a new research and development project that is designed to: (1) build new knowledge about the ways in which children from rural Alaska Native communities, ages 6-8, develop “environmental identity”—the empathy, knowledge, and skills that children need to act responsibly for the environment (Green, Kalvaitis, & Worster, 2016)—and (2) investigate how environmental identity can be nurtured via an intergenerational, community-based environmental science program that is supported by media and incorporates culturally responsive ways of understanding and doing science.

The proposed project builds on MOLLY OF DENALI, a PBS KIDS series consisting of a national TV series,digital games, a podcast, book series, and hands-on activities for children, families, and educators—allcentered on Molly Mabray, a 10-year-old Alaska Native girl and her adventures in the fictional village of Qyah, Alaska.

The project will unfold over three phases of work:

(1) Formative Research. In this phase, the project team will collaborate with three communities (Northway, Hoonah, and Bethel) to learn more about how 6- to 8-year-old children from rural Alaska Native villages relate to their place and environment; how adults in the community conceptualize their role in nurturing children’s understanding of the environment; and how existing community resources could be used to create a community program that supports environmental science exploration.

(2) Iterative Co-Design and Testing. In this phase, the project team will work closely with communities to co-design, test, and revise an implementation model (potentially centered on library, cultural camp, or public media programming) and set of draft multimedia resources (like videos, hands-on activities and/or a digital game) that can be used to create a community science program that fosters environmental science exploration and identity development.

3) Evaluation. Throughout the project, Alaska-based evaluator Goldstream Group will document how all project participants work together, with the goal of creating a set of guidelines that can be used by other media producers and researchers to co-create educational materials in Indigenous communities. Evaluators will also investigate the kinds of revisions that might need to be made to the program in order to be used widely by other communities inside and outside of Alaska.

Poster Materials

NSF One Pager

One-page poster

NSF Award Abstract

Age Group

PreK/Elementary

Additional Link(s)

GBH KIDS

Molly of Denali website

Project Stage

Year 1

Project Type

PI Meeting 2022 One-pager.pdf

Discipline(s)

Environmental sciences

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My STEM Story: Scaling STEM Motivation Through Digital Storytelling and Near Peer Relationships

Ed Madison — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 15:01:16 +0000

My STEM Story: Scaling STEM Motivation Through Digital Storytelling and Near Peer Relationships

Ed Madison Mon, 10/31/2022 - 11:01

My STEM Story: Scaling STEM Motivation Through Digital Storytelling and Near Peer Relationships

The My STEM Story project aims to enhance the identity-based motivation of diverse high school students through their engagement with and reflection on the authentic digital stories of diverse near-peer mentors paving their way in a post-secondary STEM pathway.

Poster Materials

NSF One Pager

NSF Award Abstract

https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1759442

Age Group

Project Stage

Year 3

Project Type