CAREER: Alternate Routes to Technology and Science

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This study explores the conjecture that students can develop STEM understanding and interest in STEM using computational tools to participate in professional practice. The investigator hypothesizes a chain of reasoning in which a) computational tools make it possible for students to engage in meaningful projects; b) such projects connect students to the norms, activities and patterns of interaction in communities of professional practice; c) the resulting processes of reflective practice develop students' understanding of fundamental STEM concepts and skills; and d) this process, in turn, creates progressively larger and more stable islands of STEM expertise. The project will use design research to test these hypothesis. Students will use the Digital Zoo to model the practice of biomechanical engineering to learn physics and biology by designing virtual creatures. Ecology 2020 would be used to solve urban planning problems. The education plan consists of working with high school students in an after school program; developing undergraduate and graduate courses and working with graduate students in the research.