This project team is developing and testing a prototype of the Teachley Analytics Library, a platform intended to host third party-developed mathematics game apps for students in kindergarten through Grade 8. The prototype will include a dashboard to host games and generate formative assessment data to inform teacher instruction. In the Phase I pilot study, the team will examine whether the prototype functions as planned with 40 Grade 1 and 2 math teachers. The study will test if teachers are able to implement games within the classroom and utilize data to inform practice, and whether students are engaged by gameplay.
This project team will develop and test a prototype of LifeSim, intended to be a financial literacy game app for high school students to strengthen mathematical skills and practical life knowledge. In the game, high school students will manage hypothetical investment funds and be challenged to understand compounded interest and debt. The app will include materials for math teachers to integrate the game within instructional practice. At the end of Phase I in a pilot study with 50 students, the researchers will examine whether the prototype functions as planned and if students are engaged during gameplay.
The project team is developing and testing a prototype of a computer science game-based intervention intended for Grade 1 students. The prototype will include physical robots that will be designed and controlled on a game board by students through a blue-tooth enabled smartphone app. The product will include teacher resources and suggestions to facilitate classroom integration. In the Phase I pilot research with 5 classrooms and 150 students, the researchers will examine whether the prototype functions as planned, if teachers are able to implement it with small groups of students, and whether
In prior research and development, the team developed the Mathalicious intervention for middle and high school students to improve mathematical thinking. Each Mathalicious lesson revolves around applying a real world example to learn math (e.g., Is college worth the cost). In this project, the team will develop and test a prototype of an adaptive platform through which students will need to demonstrate mastery prior to being able to advance to more complicated procedural, conceptual, and analytical levels. In the Phase I pilot research with three Grade 8 classrooms, the team will examine whether the prototype functions as planned, if teachers are able to implement it with students, and whether students are engaged.
In prior research and development, the team developed WuzzitTrouble, an iPhone and iPad gaming app where players solve problems using number sense mathematical strategies. This project will develop and test a prototype of an adaptive engine for this game, intended to tailor gameplay to the skill levels of individual students and to provide support (or scaffold learning) for students with weaker skills. The Phase I pilot will involve six Grade 6 classrooms and 100 students. The study will examine whether the prototype functions as planned, and if students of different skill levels are engaged and able to play the game with the support of the prototype’s adaptive engine.
Purpose: Purpose: This project team will fully develop and test Teachley Connect, a platform that syncs a variety of third-party math games to give elementary schools formative assessment data and intervention support. Mobile math games provide opportunities for students to access educationally-meaningful content in and out of the classroom and to supplement instruction. There are a number of examples of math apps that show promise for supporting and assessing student learning in different areas of mathematics, yet few apps in the marketplace provide meaningful data that teachers can use. Many games provide an overall score at the end of the session, but do not help teachers know what skills students are struggling with or how to provide additional support.
Project Activities: During Phase I, (completed in 2015), the team developed a prototype of Teachley Connect, which enables the secure transfer of game and learning data between third-party math games and the Teachley servers. At the end of Phase I, researchers completed a pilot study with 20 students and two teachers and demonstrated that the prototype operated as intended with important trends indicating that the system promotes student engagement and less time spent seeking help. In Phase II, the team will add additional third party math apps to the platform, strengthen the backend management system to tag user game-play data, and build out the teacher reporting dashboard to inform instruction and identify apps to address particular student and class needs. After development is complete, the research team will conduct a larger pilot study to assess the feasibility and usability, fidelity of implementation, and the promise of the Teachley Connect for teachers to use formative assessment data to inform classroom practice, select apps to address individual student needs, and support student math learning. The study will include 12 (grade K to 3) classrooms and randomly assign them into one of three groups: 1) apps only, 2) Teachley-enabled apps, or 3) Teachley-enabled apps + data. Researchers will compare pre-and-post scores of student's math learning, classroom observations, and teacher surveys/interviews.
Product: Teachley Connect will be a mobile tablet-based platform that uses games to give elementary schools rich formative assessment data and intervention support. Teachley Connect will permit students to continue playing exactly where they left off on any tablet. The platform will also connect apps into a single teacher dashboard, providing teachers detailed reports on student performance across games, with insights for informing individual or whole group instruction. The platform will include teacher resources to support the alignment of game play with learning goals and to support implementation.
In prior research and development, the project team and partners developed Cyberchase, a multimedia story-based series for students to practice and learn math. Researchers will develop and test a prototype of a mobile app-based fractions game to be integrated within the multimedia series. The prototype will adjust to students of different skill levels, and will present fractions in different representations (pictures, numbers, and words) to support different modes of learning. In the Phase I pilot, researchers will work with two grade 3 classrooms, and will examine whether the prototype functions as planned, if teachers are able to integrate the game into classroom practice, and whether the prototype shows promise for improving student learning of fractions.
In prior research and development, the project team developed PocketLab, a set of web-based hands-on science simulations for middle school classrooms. With this Phase I funding, the team will develop and test a prototype of CloudLab, a classroom management platform to extend the functionality of PocketLab. The prototype will include a portal so that a class of students can collaborate on experiments, a lab notebook to analyze experimental data with graphing tools, and a teacher dashboard to monitor student progress in real time. In the Phase I pilot research, with six middle school teachers and 150 students, the project team will examine whether the prototype functions as planned, whether teachers are able to integrate it within the classroom environment, and whether students are engaged while using the prototype.
In prior research and development, the project team developed a StoryWorld, a computer-based intervention for English Learners (ELs) that presents children oral and written narratives in English while also providing the information in their first language. With this Phase I funding, the team will develop and test a prototype of a web-based dashboard that provides EL teachers real-time reports on children's progress in areas including for vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and proficiency. At the end of Phase I, in a pilot study in three first grade classrooms, the researchers will examine whether the prototype functions as planned, is easy to use, and provides information teachers can understand and use to inform their language and literacy instruction?
It’s important to communicate the excitement and value of NSF-funded research. This tool (formatted as a Prezi presentation) helps you do that with assistance from NSF public affairs experts, exploring options for communicating your research and broader impacts.
DESIGN SQUAD GLOBAL (DSG) is a web-based, mobile-accessible digital hub and outreach initiative that creates new opportunities to empower middle school youth to solve real-world problems and understand the impact of engineering in a global context. The project builds on the Design Squad model for engineering education (including a television show and website). The ultimate goals of Design Squad Global are to: (1) develop innovative ways to incorporate effective engineering education into informal learning environments; (2) inform the field about promising practices in cross-cultural
Co-led by the University of Washington and Science Gallery Dublin, this project aims to drive and transform the next generation of broadening participation efforts targeting teen-aged youth from communities historically underrepresented in STEM fields. This project investigates how out-of-school time (OST) programs that integrate epistemic practices of the arts, sciences, computer science, and other disciplines, in the context of consequential activities (such as creating radio segments, designing museum exhibitions, or building online games), can more broadly appeal to and engage youth who do not already identify as STEM learners. STEM-related skills and capacities (such as computational thinking, design, data visualizations, and digital storytelling) are key to productive and creative participation in many future civic and workplace activities, and are driving the 30 fastest-growing occupations in the US. But many new jobs will entail a hybrid blend of skills, such as programming and design skills that many students who have disengaged with academic STEM pathways may already have and would be eager to develop further. There is not currently a strong foundation of research-based evidence to guide the design, implementation, and evaluation transdisciplinary programs - in which STEM skills are embedded as tools for meaningful participation - or how such approaches relate to long-term outcomes. Hypothesizing that OST programs which effectively engage youth during their high-leverage teenage years can significantly impact youths' longer-term STEM learning trajectories, this project will involve: 1) Five 3-year studies documenting learning in different technology-rich contexts: Making Afterschool, Media Production, Museum Exhibition Design, Digital Arts Programs, and Pop-Up/Street Science Programs; 2) A 4-year longitudinal study, involving 100 youth from the above programs; 3) The creation of a number of practical measurement tools that can be used to monitor how programs are leveraging the intersections of the arts and sciences to support student engagement and learning; and 4) A Professional Development program conducted at informal science education conferences in the EU and US to engage the informal STEM field with emerging findings. This project is funded through Science Learning+, which is an international partnership between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Wellcome Trust with the UK Economic and Social Research Council. The goal of this joint funding effort is to make transformational steps toward improving the knowledge base and practices of informal STEM experiences to better understand, strengthen, and coordinate STEM engagement and learning. Within NSF, Science Learning+ is part of the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program that seeks to enhance learning in informal environments.
Transdisciplinary, equity-oriented OST programs can provide supportive social contexts in which STEM concepts and practices are taken up as the means for meaningful participation in valued activities, building students' STEM skills in ways that can propel their future academic, career, and lifelong learning choices. This project will build the knowledge base about these emerging 21st century transdisciplinary approaches to broadening participation investigating: 1) The epistemic intersections across a range of disciplines (art, science, computation, design) that operate to broaden appeal and meaningful participation for underrepresented youth; 2) How transdisciplinary activities undertaken in the context of consequential learning (e.g., producing a radio segment, designing an exhibition for the general public) can illuminate the relevance of STEM to young people's lives, concerns, and futures; and 3) How participation in such programs can propel students' longer-term life choices and STEM learning trajectories. The project is a collaboration of the University of Washington, Science Gallery Dublin, Indiana University, Youth Radio in Oakland California, Guerilla Science in New York and London, and the London School of Economics.