Research: Badges for college credit (BCC): Motivating learning in informal science programs through a digital badge system

大学学分徽章项目的设计和研究：1.一个数字徽章系统，它将大学学分作为研究如何将徽章与学习计划相结合的背景，2.如何评估与徽章相关的学习，以及3.徽章如何促进学习途径和促进科学认同的形成。该项目是开发一个将非正式科学学习与大学学分联系起来的系统的首批努力之一。该项目将与太平洋科学中心、飞行的未来和水族馆的西雅图三个地区性非正式科学机构合作，这些机构将促进参与者与非正式科学学习和赚取徽章有关的活动。该项目使用iRemix平台，一个社交学习平台，作为一个交付系统，将参与者引导到支持项目学习目标的材料、资源和活动。在系统内获得的徽章可以导出到Mozilla Open徽章平台。参与者可以获得三种类型的徽章，自动徽章(基于参与)、社区徽章(基于对建立在线社区的贡献)和技能徽章(基于对科学和传播的掌握)。利用学习生态框架，该项目将调查青年如何以及为什么参与科学学习和决策的多重影响。项目研究采用定性和定量的方法，包括观察、访谈、案例研究、调查、学习分析数据和数据分析。项目评估将侧重于合作的性质和功能，以及创新和扩展的扩大方面，方法是：(1)分析和记录有效的程序，以及传播该模式的最佳环境；(2)分析非正式科学组织与高等教育之间的合作。

The Badges for College Credit project designs and researches: 1. a digital badge system that leads to college credit as the context for investigating how to integrate badges with learning programs, 2. how to assess learning associated with badges, and 3. how badges facilitate learning pathways and contribute to science identity formation. The project is one of the first efforts to develop a system to associate informal science learning with college credit. The project will partner with three regional informal science institutions, the Pacific Science Center, the Future of Flight, and the Seattle of Aquarium, that will facilitate activities for participants that are linked to informal science learning and earning badges. The project uses the iRemix platform, a social learning platform, as a delivery system to direct participants to materials, resources, and activities that support the learning goals of the project. Badges earned within the system can be exported to the Mozilla Open Badges platform. Participants can earn three types of badges, automatic (based on participation), community (based on contributions to building the online community), and skill (based on mastery of science and communication) badges. Using a learning ecologies framework, the project will investigate multiple influences on how and why youth participate in science learning and making decisions. Project research uses a qualitative and quantitative approach, including observations, interviews, case studies, surveys, and learning analytics data, and data analytics. Project evaluation will focus on the nature and function of the collaboration, and on the scale-up aspects of the innovation and expansion, by: (1) analyzing and documenting effective procedures,and optimal contexts for the dissemination of the model and (2) by analyzing the collaboration between informal science organizations and higher education.