Development of a University-Community Partnership to Offer Informal Computer Science Opportunities to Children and Youth Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder

发展大学与社区的合作伙伴关系，为诊断患有自闭症谱系障碍的儿童和青少年提供非正式的计算机科学机会

• 批准号: 2313418
• 负责人: Amy Hutchison
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-07-01 至 2024-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2313418&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Development; University; Community; Partnership; Offer

The purpose of this project is to establish and foster a new partnership between the University of Alabama and Arts n’ Autism, a community organization that provides supervised after-school care and outreach to children and youth with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). There have been limited opportunities for youth with ASD diagnoses to engage in many learning opportunities due to pre-existing societal barriers for individuals with disabilities, such as stigma and a lack of accommodations. There are also additional barriers specific to individuals with ASD diagnoses, such as sensory sensitivities and diminished social communication, which impede their full participation. Partnering with an organization that serves children and youth with ASD will provide an innovative structure to tailor the delivery of an informal learning program focusing on robotics and coding. The goal of this project is to engage with stakeholders, including staff (n=4), children and youth ages 10-14 with a diagnosis of ASD (n=5-10), and the parents of individuals diagnosed with ASD (n=10-20) to determine and document their needs and preferences for engaging in informal computer science learning. The project will develop novel informal learning opportunities for children and youth with ASD diagnoses via robotics and coding as the means of engagement to build capacity and community in STEM. The objectives for this project are to: 1) Gather and inventory stakeholder input; 2) Determine the needs and preferences of partners and constituents and the necessary components of a viable partnership; 3) Facilitate partnership check-ins and lead workshop planning discussions on future planning; and 4) Collaboratively plan a future informal research and development project aimed at implementing and evaluating robotics and coding with children diagnosed with ASD to generate opportunities and interest in STEM. Data collected for this project will include: 1) Parent interviews and questionnaires that will help the researchers determine appropriate ways to engage youth with ASD in robotics and coding in an informal setting, 2) Observations during unstructured assessments of preferences as youth with ASD engage with robotics and coding, 3) Observations, field notes, and transcripts from partnership planning meetings. Data will be analyzed using a concurrent mixed methods design. The project will produce a new STEM-focused partnership with an organization that serves children and youth diagnosed with ASD. This Partnership Development and Planning project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which supports projects that: (a) contribute to research and practice that considers informal STEM learning's role in equity and belonging in STEM; (b) promote personal and educational success in STEM; (c) advance public engagement in scientific discovery; (d) foster interest in STEM careers; (e) create and enhance the theoretical and empirical foundations for effective informal STEM learning; (f) improve community vibrancy; and/or (g) enhance science communication and the public's engagement in and understanding of STEM and STEM processes. This project is also partially funded by the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program, which supports projects that build understandings of practices, program elements, contexts and processes contributing to increasing students' knowledge and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and information and communication technology (ICT) careers.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.

该项目的目的是在阿拉巴马大学和 Arts n' Autism 之间建立和培育新的合作伙伴关系，Arts n' Autism 是一个社区组织，为诊断为自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的儿童和青少年提供受监督的课后护理和外展活动由于残障人士先前存在的社会障碍（例如耻辱和缺乏住宿），患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）诊断的青少年参与许多学习的机会有限。此外，患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）诊断的青少年还面临其他特定障碍，例如。作为感官敏感性和社交沟通的减少阻碍了他们的充分参与。与一个为患有自闭症谱系障碍的儿童和青少年提供服务的组织合作，将提供一个创新的结构来定制以机器人技术和编码为重点的非正式学习计划。与利益相关者合作，包括工作人员 (n=4)、诊断为 ASD 的 10-14 岁儿童和青少年 (n=5-10) 以及诊断为 ASD 的个人的父母 (n=10-20)，以确定和记录他们参与非正式计算机科学学习的需求和偏好。该项目将通过机器人技术和编码为患有 ASD 诊断的儿童和青少年开发新颖的非正式学习机会，作为参与 STEM 能力和社区的手段。目的是： 1) 收集和盘点利益相关者的意见； 2) 确定合作伙伴和三方成员的需求和偏好以及可行的合作伙伴关系的必要组成部分； 3) 促进合作伙伴关系检查并领导研讨会对未来规划的规划讨论；合作规划一个未来的非正式研究和开发项目，旨在对诊断为自闭症谱系障碍的儿童实施和评估机器人技术和编码，以创造对 STEM 的机会和兴趣。为此项目收集的数据将包括：1) 家长访谈和问卷调查，以帮助研究人员确定。在非正式环境中让患有自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的青少年参与机器人技术和编码的适当方法，2) 在对患有自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的青少年参与机器人技术和编码时的偏好进行非结构化评估期间的观察结果，3) 观察结果、现场笔记和伙伴关系规划的记录该项目将使用并行混合方法设计来分析数据，并与一个为患有 ASD 的儿童和青少年提供服务的组织建立新的合作伙伴关系。 AISL）计划，支持以下项目：(a) 促进考虑非正式 STEM 学习在 STEM 公平和归属感中的作用的研究和实践；(b) 促进 STEM 中的个人和教育成功；(c) 促进公众参与科学发现； （四）培养对 STEM 职业的兴趣；(e) 为有效的非正式 STEM 学习奠定理论和经验基础；(f) 提高社区活力；和/或 (g) 加强科学传播以及公众对 STEM 和 STEM 的参与和理解。该项目还部分由学生和教师创新技术体验 (ITEST) 计划资助，该计划支持加深对实践、计划要素、背景和流程的理解的项目，有助于增加学生对科学、技术、工程，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。