Collaborative Research: Investigating Gender Differences in Digital Learning Games with Educational Data Mining

协作研究：利用教育数据挖掘调查数字学习游戏中的性别差异

• 批准号: 2201796
• 负责人: Bruce McLaren
• 金额: $ 105.12万
• 依托单位: Carnegie-Mellon University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-07-01 至 2025-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2201796&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Investigating; Gender; Differences

Despite evidence that gender differences in math achievement have narrowed or disappeared in recent decades, stereotypes about men being better than women at math emerge early in childhood and persist through adulthood. These perceptions appear to influence female students’ interest and performance in math, as well as their pursuit of STEM careers. Given the potential motivational benefits of digital learning games, games might provide a pathway for reducing math anxiety for female students while increasing their self-efficacy and interest in math. This project will explore whether digital learning games can lead to less math anxiety and better learning in female students, while not hurting male student learning. It will study learning with two existing digital learning games: Decimal Point, which teaches foundational math concepts (decimal numbers and operations) to 5th and 6th grade students; and Angle Jungle, which targets a similar age range (4th and 5th graders) and has a similar thematic design (i.e., a game map, cartoon characters), but with different game mechanics, content (angles), and instructional approach. The study will explore how and why Decimal Point has, over the course of several experiments spanning multiple years, consistently produced a learning advantage for female students. In doing so, investigators will identify principles regarding the relationship between gender and game features that can be shared with game developers and used in other games, starting with Angle Jungle.This work will go beyond the traditional gender binary of male and female, analyzing multiple dimensions of gender, including gender identity (e.g., how much students feel like a boy, a girl, both, neither), gender typicality (e.g., How much students like to do the same things as other girls [boys], How much students feel they look like boys [girls]), and gender-typed interests, activities, and traits (e.g., how much a student feels affectionate or adventurous). The study will also investigate two pathways hypothesized to lead to gender differences: first, that the playful features of the games reduce the saliency of the math content, making it less likely to cue math stereotype threat (the stereotype threat hypothesis); and second, that the games’ thematic details are more appealing to learners who identify (more) as females, making the games more engaging for them compared to learners who identify (more) as boys (the engagement hypothesis). In Year 1, educational data mining will be used to infer students’ cognitive and affective processes while playing Decimal Point and compare data to the distinct processes predicted by these two pathways. In Year 2, investigators will assess whether the hypothesized pathways and gender differences replicate in the context of Angle Jungle. In Year 3, hypotheses will be further tested by manipulating Decimal Point’s emphasis on math content in one version of the game and enjoyment and playful features in another. The project will compare learning outcomes between the two versions to more deeply explore the stereotype threat and engagement hypotheses. The ultimate aim of this work is to provide insights into gender-based differences in learning from digital games, providing principles and guidance for other researchers and game designers in developing and revising digital learning games. Thus, the project has the potential to transfer Decimal Point’s success with girls’ learning outcomes to other digital learning games and advance knowledge on the multidimensionality of gender. Furthermore, findings will allow investigators to revise both games and make them available to thousands of late elementary and middle school students across the country. Even during this project, approximately 1,950 students—including many from districts with diverse populations and low math proficiency¬—will benefit from learning with Decimal Point and Angle Jungle.This project is supported by NSF's EHR Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. The program supports the accumulation of robust evidence to inform efforts to understand, build theory to explain, and suggest intervention and innovations to address persistent.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.

尽管有证据表明，近几十年来，数学成绩上的性别差异已经缩小或消失，但关于男性数学成绩优于女性的刻板印象在童年早期就出现了，并持续到成年，这些看法似乎也影响了女学生对数学的兴趣和表现。鉴于数字学习游戏的潜在激励作用，游戏可能会提供一种减少女学生数学焦虑的途径，同时提高她们的自我效能感和对数学的兴趣。减少女学生的数学焦虑并提高学习效果，它将通过两个现有的数字学习游戏来研究学习：“小数点”，向五年级和六年级的学生教授基础数学概念（小数和运算）；以及“角度丛林”，目标是类似的年龄范围（四年级和五年级学生）并具有相似的主题设计（即游戏地图、卡通人物），但具有不同的游戏机制、内容（角度）和教学方法。该研究将探讨小数点的方式和原因。经过多年的多次实验，始终为女学生带来学习优势。在此过程中，研究人员将确定有关性别和游戏功能之间关系的原则，这些原则可以与游戏开发者共享并在其他游戏中使用。这项工作将超越传统的男性和女性的性别二元论，分析性别的多个维度，包括性别认同（例如，学生在多大程度上感觉自己像男孩、女孩、两者、两者都不是）、性别典型性（例如，学生有多喜欢做该研究还将调查与其他女孩（男孩）相同的事情，学生觉得自己看起来像男孩（女孩）的程度，以及性别类型的兴趣、活动和特征（例如，学生有多少深情或爱冒险的感觉）。导致性别差异的途径有两条：第一，游戏的趣味性降低了数学内容的显着性，使其不太可能暗示数学刻板印象威胁（刻板印象威胁假设）；第二，游戏的主题；细节更多吸引（更多）为女性的学习者，与（更多）为男孩的学习者相比，游戏对他们来说更具吸引力（参与度假设）。在第一年，教育数据挖掘将用于推断学生的认知和认知能力。在玩《小数点》时的情感过程，并将数据与这两种路径预测的不同过程进行比较。在第二年，研究人员将评估所挖掘的路径和性别差异是否在《角度丛林》的背景下得到复制。在第三年，假设将得到进一步测试。通过操纵小数点该项目将比较两个版本之间的学习成果，以更深入地探索刻板印象威胁和参与假设。这项工作的最终目的是提供见解。数字游戏学习中基于性别的差异，为其他研究人员和游戏设计师开发和修改数字学习游戏提供原则和指导。因此，该项目有可能将 Decimal Point 在女孩学习成果方面的成功转移到其他数字学习游戏中。并增进对性别多维性的认识。研究结果将使研究人员能够修改这两款游戏，并将其提供给全国数千名高年级小学生和中学生，即使在这个项目期间，大约 1,950 名学生（其中许多来自不同人口和数学水平较低的地区）也将受益。使用 Decimal Point 和 Angle Jungle 进行学习。该项目由 NSF 的 EHR 核心研究 (ECR) 计划支持。ECR 计划强调基础 STEM 教育研究，在关键领域进行投资。重要的、广泛的和持久的：STEM 学习和 STEM 学习环境、扩大 STEM 的参与以及 STEM 劳动力发展。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。