GSE-RES: Gender Research on Adult-child Discussion in Informal Engineering eNvironmenTs (GRADIENT)

GSE-RES：非正式工程环境中成人与儿童讨论的性别研究（GRADIENT）

• 批准号: 1136253
• 负责人: Zdanna King
• 金额: $ 52.47万
• 依托单位: Science Museum of Minnesota
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-01-01 至 2015-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1136253&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: GSE; RES; Gender; Research; Adult

Intellectual Merit: The Science Museum of Minnesota and Purdue University's Institute for P-12 Engineering Research and Learning are conducting a study within out-of-school contexts that will explore gender differences in the development of engineering interest and understanding in children between the ages of 4 and 11. During the study, the researchers will closely examine three specific informal environments: a pre-school program where parents and children can engage with engineering focused activity, a family-oriented engineering event for elementary students and their parents, and an engineering exhibit within a science museum. These settings, each featuring a high level of parent-child interaction, have been intentionally chosen due to an emerging trend in engineering education research that identifies the parent as playing a crucial role in girls' decisions regarding engineering careers. The project will examine the ways in which engineering practices (such as the iterative design, build, and test cycle) impact the development of interest and understanding. The study focuses on studying children during the critical years before middle school, when girls have been shown to have significantly lower levels of interest in engineering than boys.Broader Impacts: Investigating the processes by which girls develop early interest and understanding in engineering is essential to addressing the persistent underrepresentation of women in engineering fields. Informal learning experiences, such as interactions in the home, visits to museums, and other everyday encounters, represent a rich array of settings for the development of engineering interest that have been minimally researched. The project will share results from the study through traditional academic channels, and also through parent and practitioner workshops for informal science educators that disseminate useful practices and techniques for engaging girls in engineering at a young age. In addition, the partnership between the Science Museum of Minnesota and Purdue University creates a strong foundation for subsequent collaborative projects focused on researching informal engineering education. The project has the potential to significantly impact the ways in which girls begin to cultivate a lifelong interest in engineering, which may ultimately encourage more women to pursue engineering careers in the future.

智力优势：明尼苏达科学博物馆和普渡大学P-12工程研究与学习研究所正在校外环境中进行一项研究，该研究将探讨4至11岁儿童在工程兴趣和理解方面的性别差异。在研究过程中，研究人员将仔细研究三个特定的非正式环境：一个学前计划，家长和孩子可以参与以工程为重点的活动，一个面向家庭的工程活动，为小学生和他们的父母，和一个工程展览在科学博物馆。这些设置，每一个都具有高层次的亲子互动，是有意选择的，因为在工程教育研究的一个新兴趋势，确定家长在女孩的工程职业的决定发挥着至关重要的作用。该项目将研究工程实践（如迭代设计，构建和测试周期）影响兴趣和理解发展的方式。这项研究的重点是研究儿童在中学前的关键几年，当女孩已被证明有显着较低的水平，在工程的兴趣比boy.Broader影响：调查的过程中，女孩发展早期的兴趣和理解工程是必不可少的，以解决持续不足的妇女在工程领域。非正式的学习经验，如在家里的互动，参观博物馆，和其他日常接触，代表了丰富的设置为工程兴趣的发展，已经很少研究。该项目将通过传统的学术渠道分享研究成果，并通过为非正式科学教育工作者举办的家长和从业人员讲习班，传播让女孩在年轻时参与工程的有用做法和技术。此外，明尼苏达科学博物馆和普渡大学之间的合作伙伴关系为随后的合作项目奠定了坚实的基础，重点是研究非正式工程教育。该项目有可能对女孩开始培养对工程学的终身兴趣的方式产生重大影响，这可能最终鼓励更多妇女在未来从事工程职业。