EXP: Collaborative Research: Using Smartphone-Based Participatory Simulations to Engage Children in Scientific Thinking

EXP：协作研究：使用基于智能手机的参与式模拟让儿童参与科学思维

• 批准号: 1123965
• 负责人: Elliot Soloway
• 金额: $ 55万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-09-01 至 2014-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1123965&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EXP; Collaborative; Research; Using; Smartphone

This project is investigating the potential that the combination of mobile devices and cloud computing offers to engage middle school children in scientific exploration using the same simulations and other tools that scientists employ to decompose, visualize, and understand complex systems, e.g. the spread of infectious disease or the sourcing, production, and use of energy across the globe. Drawing on Learner-centered Design (LCD) guidelines and research on motivation and learning, the project team is developing the Participatory Simulations Software Factory (PSimSF) which would produce Participatory Simulations (PSims) for various science processes that run on a broad range of mobile devices. The investigators posit that personal participation in the simulation, where a broad range of visualizations are employed, increases student engagement - with greater time on task and real-time conversation amongst the students, which in turn increases student achievement. The intellectual merit of the project rests in its team's combination of expertise and experience in working with emergent technologies, cutting-edge science methodology, and inquiry-based learning. Moreover, in creating and testing a number of prototype PSims, the project is helping the larger educational community to understand better what is the potential for these new technologies to support active, project-based learning. Finally, the mobile learning environment with its multi-player, game-like interactions builds on the characteristics of today's digital natives. The broader impacts of the project lie in the freely distributed PSims that the project is creating along with grade-level appropriate curriculum materials. The project is also aiming to make the work scalable and sustainable, with a specific focus on potential commercialization.

该项目正在研究移动设备和云计算的结合所提供的潜力，让中学生使用与科学家用来分解、可视化和理解复杂系统（例如系统）相同的模拟和其他工具来参与科学探索。传染病的传播或全球能源的采购、生产和使用。借鉴以学习者为中心的设计 (LCD) 指南以及关于动机和学习的研究，项目团队正在开发参与式模拟软件工厂 (PSimSF)，该工厂将为在各种移动设备上运行的各种科学过程生成参与式模拟 (PSims)。研究人员认为，个人参与模拟（采用广泛的可视化）可以提高学生的参与度——学生可以花更多的时间完成任务并进行实时对话，从而提高学生的成绩。该项目的智力优势在于其团队在新兴技术、尖端科学方法和探究式学习方面的专业知识和经验的结合。此外，通过创建和测试多个 PSim 原型，该项目正在帮助更大的教育界更好地了解这些新技术支持主动、基于项目的学习的潜力。最后，具有多人游戏式交互的移动学习环境建立在当今数字原住民的特征之上。该项目更广泛的影响在于该项目正在创建的免费分发的 PSim 以及适合年级的课程材料。该项目还旨在使工作具有可扩展性和可持续性，特别关注潜在的商业化。