Fostering Enduring Interest in STEM through Exoplanet Education and Interactive Exploration and Creation of Potentially Habitable Worlds

通过系外行星教育以及潜在宜居世界的互动探索和创造，培养对 STEM 的持久兴趣

基本信息

批准号：
1906873
负责人：
H Chad Lane
金额：
$ 273.82万
依托单位：
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Continuing Grant
财政年份：
2019
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2019-08-01 至 2024-07-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1906873&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Fostering Enduring Interest STEM through

项目摘要

As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds innovative research, approaches and resources for use in a variety of settings. It is estimated that there could be 40 billion earth-sized planets orbiting in the habitable zones of stars in the Milky Way. Major advances in long range telescopes have allowed astronomers to identify thousands of exoplanets in recent decades, and the discovery of new exoplanets is a now a common occurrence. Public excitement for the discoveries grown alongside these discoveries, thus opening new possibilities for inspiring a new generation of scientists and engineers that may dream of one day visiting these planets. This project investigates the use of interactive, intelligent educational technologies to generate interest in STEM by allowing learners to explore and even create their own exoplanets. Research will occur across several informal learning contexts, including summer camps, after school programs, planetarium shows, and at home. The approach is based on the idea of "What if?"questions about Earth (e.g., "What if the Moon did not exist?"), designed to trigger interest in STEM and frame exploratory and elaborative discussions around hypothetical science questions that are subsequently linked to the search for habitable exoplanets. Learners are able to interact with and explore scientifically accurate simulations of alternative versions of Earth, while making observations and posing explanations for what they see. Technology-based informal learning experiences designed to act as triggers for and sustainment of interest in STEM have the potential to plug the leaky STEM pipeline, and thus have profound implications for the future of science and technology in the United States. The project seeks to advance the science of designing technologies for promoting interest in STEM and informal astronomy education in several ways. First, the project will develop simulations for exploratory learning about astronomy and planetary science. These simulations will present hypothetical worlds based on what-if questions and feasible models of known exoplanets, thus giving learners a chance to better understand the challenges of finding a habitable world and learning about what is needed to survive there. Second, a new PBS NOVA Lab will be developed that will focus on Exoplanet education. This web-based activity has the potential to reach millions of learners and will help them understand how planets are formed and the requirements for supporting life. Learners who use the lab will have an opportunity to invent their own exoplanets and export them for first-person exploration. Third, researchers on the project will design and implement Artificial Intelligence-based pedagogical agents to support learning and promote interest. These agents will inhabit the simulations with the learner, acting as a coach and guide, and be designed to be culturally responsive and personalized based on learner preferences. Fourth, interactive exoplanet-focused planetarium shows, that will involve live interaction with simulations, will take place at the Fiske Planetarium (Boulder, CO). Finally, the project will develop a server-based infrastructure for tracking and supporting long term development of interest in STEM. This back-end will track fine-grained behaviors, including movement, actions, and communications in the simulations. Such data will reveal patterns about how interest develops, how learners engage in free-choice learning activities, and how they interact with agents and peers in computer simulations. A design-based research methodology will be employed to assess the power of these different experiences to trigger interest and promote learning of astronomy. A range of different pathways for interest in STEM will therefore be considered and assessed. Research will measure the power of these experiences to trigger interest in STEM and promote re-engagement over time. Innovation lies in the use of engaging and intelligent technologies with thought-provoking pedagogy as a method for extended engagement of diverse young learners in STEM. Project research and educational resources will be widely disseminated to researchers, designers developers and the general public via peer-reviewed research journals, conference presentations, informal STEM education networks of science museums, children's museums, Fab Labs, and planetariums, and public media such as public television's NOVA science program website.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.

作为加强非正式环境学习的整体战略的一部分，前进的非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划为在各种环境中使用的创新研究，方法和资源提供了资金。据估计，在银河系中，恒星可居住的区域中可能有400亿个地球大小的行星。远距离望远镜的重大进展使天文学家在近几十年来识别数千个系外行星，而新系外行星的发现现在是一个普遍的情况。公众对与这些发现一起发现的发现的兴奋，从而为激发新一代的科学家和工程师开辟了新的可能性，这些科学家和工程师可能梦想有一天参观这些星球。该项目通过允许学习者探索甚至创建自己的系外行星来研究使用互动，智能的教育技术来引起对STEM的兴趣。研究将在几种非正式的学习环境中进行，包括夏令营，课后课程，天文馆表演和在家。该方法是基于“如果没有？学习者能够与地球替代版本进行科学准确的模拟，同时对他们看到的东西进行观察并提出解释。基于技术的非正式学习经验，旨在充当STEM兴趣的触发器和维持感兴趣的可能性，有可能堵塞漏水的STEM管道，因此对美国科学技术的未来具有深远的影响。该项目旨在推进设计技术的科学，以通过几种方式促进对STEM和非正式天文学教育的兴趣。首先，该项目将开发有关天文学和行星科学的探索性学习的模拟。这些模拟将根据知名系外行星的问题和可行模型提出假设的世界，从而使学习者有机会更好地了解寻找可居住世界并了解在那里生存所需的东西的挑战。其次，将开发一个新的PBS NOVA实验室，该实验室将重点放在系外行星教育上。这项基于网络的活动有可能吸引数百万学习者，并将帮助他们了解行星的形成方式以及支持生命的要求。使用实验室的学习者将有机会发明自己的系外行星并将其导出以进行第一人称探索。第三，该项目的研究人员将设计和实施基于人工智能的教学剂，以支持学习和促进兴趣。这些代理商将与学习者一起居住在模拟中，充当教练和指导，并根据学习者的偏好而设计为文化响应和个性化。第四，以互动系外行星为中心的天文馆展示将涉及与模拟的实时相互作用，将在Fiske Planetarium（Boulder，CO）举行。最后，该项目将开发基于服务器的基础架构，用于跟踪和支持STEM中的长期发展。该后端将跟踪细粒度的行为，包括动作，动作和模拟中的通信。这样的数据将揭示有关兴趣发展的方式，学习者如何从事自由选择学习活动以及他们如何与计算机模拟中的代理商和同龄人互动的模式。将采用基于设计的研究方法来评估这些不同经验的力量，以引发兴趣并促进天文学的学习。因此，将考虑和评估一系列不同的茎兴趣途径。研究将衡量这些经验的力量，以引发对STEM的兴趣并随着时间的推移促进重新参与。创新在于使用引人入胜的智能技术和发人深省的教学法用作扩展STEM年轻学习者参与的方法。项目研究和教育资源将通过同行评审的研究期刊，会议演讲，非正式的STEM教育网络，儿童博物馆，Fab Labs和Planetariums和Planetariums和Planetariums和Planetariums和PlaneTariums和PlaneTariums以及公众媒体（如公共电视台的Nova Science Progration re Restion the Inders deem at deem at deem to deem to deem to and deem），将广泛向研究人员，设计师开发人员和公众广泛分解向研究人员，设计师开发人员和公众。智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准。

项目成果

期刊论文数量（3）

专著数量（0）

科研奖励数量（0）

会议论文数量（0）

专利数量（0）

Identifying and Coding STEM Interest Triggers in a Summer Camp

在夏令营中识别和编码 STEM 兴趣触发器

DOI：
发表时间：
2021
期刊：
15th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS
影响因子：
0
作者：
Yi, Sherry;Gadbury, Matthew;Lane, H. Chad
通讯作者：
Lane, H. Chad

Triggering STEM interest with Minecraft in a hybrid summer camp.

在混合夏令营中通过 Minecraft 激发 STEM 兴趣。

DOI：
10.1037/tmb0000077
发表时间：
2022
期刊：
and Behavior
影响因子：
0
作者：
Lane, H. Chad;Gadbury, Matthew;Ginger, Jeff;Yi, Sherry;Comins, Neil;Henhapl, Jack;Rivera-Rogers, Aidan
通讯作者：
Rivera-Rogers, Aidan

MineObserver: A Deep Learning Framework for Assessing Natural Language Descriptions of Minecraft Imagery

MineObserver：用于评估 Minecraft 图像自然语言描述的深度学习框架