Children's Learning from Multiple Media in Informal Mathematics Education

许多非正式的科学和数学教育项目使用多种媒体，假定教育效益将超出单一媒体的范围。然而，这一假设尚未得到全面的实证检验。这项研究使用了CyberChase(一种多媒体，研究问题：(1)从多种媒体学习数学与从单一媒体学习有何不同？(2)接触不同类型的媒体会产生什么结果，产生什么类型的协同作用？(3)如何开发可靠的研究方法来评估单个媒体的贡献及其相互作用？(4)非正式教育项目如何利用每种媒体的优势？(5)媒体组件如何设计和使用最好的互补性？这项研究分为四个阶段：(1)在父母同意的情况下，在全国范围内准备招募参与者。最后确定方法和措施。(2)600-800名三四年级学生对各种网络追逐媒体的自然主义使用情况。评估数学问题的解决和对数学的态度。(3)实验-通过将参与者(N=300-400)的子集分配给几个暴露于不同组合的Cyberchase媒体的实验条件来建立因果关系。测量从前测到后测在态度和解决问题方面的变化。(4)分析-采用适当的回归和模型拟合分析对自然数据和实验数据进行分析，并对两者进行综合。由于现有相关研究的匮乏，本研究将有助于全面了解网络追逐对教育的影响，以及多媒体非正式STEM教育方法的设计和评估。它将促进我们对儿童非正式数学学习的理论理解--具体地说，儿童如何从各种媒体学习，每种媒体带来什么优势，以及媒体之间可能存在什么协同作用-并为未来使用多种媒体的非正式项目的最佳实践设计和评估提供信息。

Many informal science and mathematics education projects employ multiple media, assuming that educational benefits will extend beyond those of a single medium. However, this assumption has not been tested empirically in a comprehensive way. This research uses Cyberchase (a multiple-media, informal mathematics project for 8- to 11-year-olds) to investigate synergy among multiple media components and how they interact to yield cumulative educational outcomes.Research questions: (1) How does mathematics learning from multiple media differ from learning from a single medium? (2) What outcomes derive from engagement with different types of media and what types of synergy occur? (3) How can reliable research methods be developed to assess contributions of individual media and their interactions? (4) How can informal education projects capitalize on the strengths of each medium? (5) How can media components be designed and employed to best complement each other?The research has four phases: (1) Preparatory - Recruit participants nationally with parental consent. Finalize methods and measures. (2) Naturalistic - Track naturalistic use of various Cyberchase media among 600-800 third and fourth graders. Assess mathematical problem solving and attitudes toward math. (3) Experimental - Establish causality by assigning a subset of the participants (N = 300-400) to several experimental conditions that are exposed to different combinations of Cyberchase media. Measure change in attitudes and problem solving from pretest to posttest. (4) Analysis - Employ appropriate regression and model fitting analyses to analyze the naturalistic and experimental data, and to synthesize the two.Because of the paucity of relevant existing research, this research will shed light on the educational impact of Cyberchase and on the design and assessment of multiple-media approaches to informal STEM education overall. It will advance our theoretical understanding of children's informal mathematics learning - specifically, how children learn from various media, what strengths each medium brings to bear, and what synergy might exist among media - and inform the best practice design and evaluation of future informal projects that use multiple media.