Virtual Access to STEM Careers (VASC)

虚拟访问 STEM 职业 (VASC)

• 批准号: 1850430
• 负责人: Toni Pence
• 金额: $ 39.46万
• 依托单位: University of North Carolina at Wilmington
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-05-01 至 2023-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1850430&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Virtual; Access; STEM; Careers; VASC

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 fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM). To meet the diverse needs and future demands of a STEM workforce, national initiatives have highlighted the importance of encouraging students from underserved groups to explore STEM careers. This project, called Virtual Access to STEM Careers (VASC), investigates a problem-based learning curriculum designed to remove some of the traditional barriers that prevent underserved students from participating in authentic STEM learning opportunities. Focused on grades 3-5, VASC employs a range of activities in Immersive Virtual Environments using multiple platforms and in different interaction modalities to meet the needs of schools which lack the resources and infrastructure to invest extensively in costly technologies. The strategic emphasis placed at the elementary level underscores the importance of preventing "a crack in the STEM pipeline" when transitioning to middle school level coursework where research indicates students who once had interest in a STEM career often lose interest. The first phase of VASC focuses on STEM career exposure in marine, geological, and computer sciences. To capture learner curiosity, students will investigate the life cycle of the loggerhead sea turtle, a species that nests widely on North Carolina beaches and is currently listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The sea turtle is a wonderful and powerful model for building the VASC learning platform because during their lifespan, they travel great distances (thousands of miles during migrations) and experience a wide range of physical and chemical ocean conditions, as well as substantial ecological interactions with numerous marine plant and animal species. Thus, understanding the life cycle of a sea turtle exposes young learners to numerous STEM applications as well as the careers of those that investigate and protect sea turtle populations. Students will also take on the roles and responsibilities of different STEM occupations "in the field" as well as in the "lab" when engaging in the problem-based learning model. Goals for this project include 1) developing virtual technologies using input from conservationists, scientists, and the educational team, 2) constructing a STEM curriculum that is accessible to underserved populations, and 3) implementing an iterative assessment process of the curriculum which will allow for testing and retesting modifications effectively and efficiently. Researchers aim to advance Situated Cognition Theory through combining Problem Based Learning and Immersive Virtual Environments as an innovative pedagogical model to effect change. In order to test the efficacy of the VASC curriculum, the following research questions will be examined: (1) What learning experiences involving emerging technologies effectively enable diverse populations of students to gain familiarity and relevant competencies with these technologies, and what factors influence the outcomes of the learning experiences? and (2) What culturally-responsive instructional and curricular practices and models used by teachers enhance student understanding of and interest in STEM occupations and what factors influence the outcomes of the practices and models? The research team of science education, special education, and computer science faculty from the University of North Carolina Wilmington works closely with community stakeholders including Bald Head Island Conservancy, Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, and MarineQuest which serves as an educational outreach program situated at the university. This partnership is equipped to provide the necessary real-world examples of STEM careers, programming to engage participants, and locations to inspire curricular, technological, and experimental development.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该项目将促进学生和教师（ITEST）计划的创新技术经验的努力，以更好地理解和促进实践，从而提高学生的动力和能力，从而从事科学，技术，工程或数学（STEM）领域的职业。为了满足STEM劳动力的各种需求和未来需求，全国倡议强调了鼓励来自服务不足团体的学生探索STEM职业的重要性。该项目称为虚拟访问STEM职业（VASC），调查了一项基于问题的学习课程，旨在消除一些传统的障碍，以防止服务不足的学生参与真实的STEM学习机会。 VASC专注于3 - 5年级，使用多个平台和不同的互动方式在沉浸式虚拟环境中采用了一系列活动，以满足学校需求，这些学校缺乏资源和基础设施，无法在昂贵的技术上进行广泛投资。在过渡到中学课程工作时，研究表明曾经对STEM职业感兴趣的学生经常失去兴趣时，在基础层面的战略重点强调了防止“ STEM管道裂缝”的重要性。 VASC的第一阶段着重于海洋，地质和计算机科学中的STEM职业曝光。为了吸引学习者的好奇心，学生将研究Loggerhead Sea Turtle的生命周期，该物种在北卡罗来纳州的海滩上广泛巢，目前被列为《濒危物种法》的威胁。海龟是建立VASC学习平台的出色而有力的模型许多海洋动植物物种。因此，了解海龟的生命周期会使年轻的学习者了解众多的STEM应用以及调查和保护海龟种群的人的职业。学生还将在参与基于问题的学习模型时承担“现场”以及“实验室”中不同STEM职业的角色和责任。该项目的目标包括1）使用保护主义者，科学家和教育团队的意见来开发虚拟技术，2）构建一个STEM课程，该课程可容纳不足服务的人群，以及3）实施课程的迭代评估过程，该过程将允许该课程有效，有效地测试和重新测试修改。研究人员的目的是通过将基于问题的学习和沉浸式虚拟环境结合为创新的教学模型来推动定位理论，以实现变化。为了测试VASC课程的疗效，将检查以下研究问题：（1）涉及新兴技术的学习经验有效地使学生能够获得各种学生的熟悉和相关能力，哪些因素影响了这些因素学习经历？ （2）教师使用的哪些文化响应性教学和课程实践和模型增强了学生对STEM职业的理解和兴趣，哪些因素影响了实践和模型的结果？北卡罗来纳大学威尔明顿大学科学教育，特殊教育和计算机科学教师的研究团队与社区利益相关者紧密合作，包括秃头岛岛保护区，堡费舍尔州立娱乐区和Marinequest，并作为位于该计划的教育外展计划，该计划位于该计划大学。这种合作伙伴关系有能力提供STEM职业的必要现实典范，参与参与者的编程以及启发课程，技术和实验性发展的位置。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过使用评估来支持的。基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响评论标准。

项目成果

Virtual Access to STEM Careers: Two Preliminary Investigations

虚拟访问 STEM 职业：两项初步调查

• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Lecture notes in computer science
• 作者: Ebrahimi, Elham;Morago, Brittany;Stocker, James;Moody, Amelia;Taylor, Amy;Pence, Toni;Jarrett, Matthew;Blackport, Blake
• 通讯作者: Blackport, Blake