Middle Grades Career Mentors: Digital Resources for Effective CTE STEM Mentoring

该项目将推动学生和教师创新技术体验（ITEST）计划的努力，以更好地理解和促进提高学生在科学，技术，工程，或数学（STEM），开发一套数字化工具，旨在支持围绕技能的积极信息-为基础的教育和职业，并改善导师与中学适龄青年学员的沟通。保持美国的经济优势需要吸引人才到高增长，高需求的技能为基础，STEM相关的职业，传统上通过职业和技术教育（CTE）实现。用新的、更准确的CTE信息取代旧的负面看法，然后在高中之前用这些信息接触年轻人是至关重要的。 以职业为重点的辅导是传递这些信息和支持青年探索CTE作为自己生活的可能道路的一种手段。调查人员将探讨的假设，通过那些最好的定位，以阐明行业需求（导师）和那些最容易接受填补需要（学员）之间的强有力的连接，这个项目将提高青年的意识和兴趣CTE和有价值的职业生涯，提供给他们。研究和开发活动将在波士顿和纽约市的非正式学习环境中合作进行，通过以职业为重点的辅导方案，为来自代表性不足社区的中学生提供服务。该项目团队由WGBH教育基金会的媒体制作人领导，包括全球战略集团的市场研究人员和传播战略家，教育发展中心的学习科学家，以及SkillsUSA，Learning for Life的中学探险家俱乐部和美国童子军的Scoutreach的导师计划合作伙伴。如果有希望的话，SkillsUSA、Learning for Life和Boy Scouts of America的以职业为中心的辅导计划将纳入信息路线图和数字化工具，以支持他们的辅导课程，这些课程每年影响超过100万年轻人。研究人员将从全国范围内的800名中学生和30名来自技能型STEM行业的导师样本中研究对以STEM为重点的CTE的看法。在第二阶段，调查人员将与来自SkillsUSA、Explorer Clubs、Scoureach和其他辅导项目的6名项目负责人和30名导师合作，记录导师在进入辅导过程时对支持的需求。第三阶段将让导师方案负责人和36名导师参与一套数字化工具的迭代开发，这些工具将支持围绕技能教育和职业的积极信息传递，并将改善导师与青年学员的沟通。此外，一项前后指导计划试点研究将探索数字化工具的承诺，以有效支持导师与学员的沟通，提高青年对以STEM为重点的CTE和以技能为基础的STEM相关职业的认识和兴趣。36名导师和288名青年学员将参加试点研究。研究的数据来源包括对项目负责人、导师和学员的访谈和调查，以及在在线数字工具环境中跟踪导师活动。这项研究将推动了解导师如何影响弱势青年的看法和兴趣CTE和技能为基础的，干职业道路，目前很少有证据表明导师准备如何塑造能力，积极影响青年的成果。主要成果将包括：a）更深入地了解青年和导师对CTE的看法，以及导师支持其与学员开展工作的需求; B）信息路线图和数字化工具，使导师为与中学生开展工作做好准备; c）关于数字化工具有效支持导师与学员沟通的潜力的实证研究结果，这些工具可提高青年对CTE的认识和兴趣，STEM相关职业研究成果将通过社交媒体、合作伙伴网络、会议演示和研究出版物，在地方和全国范围内广泛分享给研究、教育和行业社区。一个咨询委员会将对项目活动进行独立审查。

This project will advance efforts of the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program to better understand and promote practices that increase students' motivations and capacities to pursue careers in fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) by developing a suite of digital tools designed to support positive messaging around skill-based education and careers and to improve mentors' communication with middle school-aged youth mentees. Maintaining U.S. economic advantage requires attracting talent to high-growth, high-demand skill-based, STEM-related careers that are traditionally attained through Career and Technical Education (CTE). Replacing old negative perceptions with new, more accurate messages about CTE and then reaching youth with these messages before high school is essential. Career-focused mentoring is a vehicle for delivering these messages and supporting youth exploration of CTE as a possible path for their own lives. Investigators will explore the hypothesis that through strong connections between those best positioned to articulate industry needs (mentors) and those most receptive to filling that need (mentees), this project will improve youth awareness and interest in CTE and the rewarding careers that are available to them. Research and development activities will be carried out collaboratively in informal learning environments in Boston and New York City that serve middle school-aged youth from underrepresented communities, through career-focused mentoring programs. The project team, led by media producers of the WGBH Education Foundation, includes market researchers and communications strategists at Global Strategy Group, learning scientists at Education Development Center, and mentorship program partners at SkillsUSA, Learning for Life's Middle School Explorer Clubs, and Boy Scouts of America's Scoutreach. If promising, the career-focused mentoring programs of SkillsUSA, Learning for Life, and Boy Scouts of America will incorporate the messaging roadmap and digital tools to support their mentoring curricula, which impact greater than one million youth in each year.In the first phase of research, investigators will study perceptions of STEM-focused CTE from a nationwide sample of 800 middle school-aged youth and 30 mentors from skill-based STEM industries. In the second phase, investigators will work with six program leaders and 30 mentors from SkillsUSA, Explorer Clubs, Scoutreach, and other mentoring programs to document the needs of mentors for support as they enter into the mentoring process. The third phase will engage mentorship program leaders and 36 mentors in the iterative development of a suite of digital tools that would support positive messaging around skill-based education and careers and that would improve mentors' communication with youth mentees. In addition, a pre-post mentorship program pilot study will explore the promise of the digital tools for effectively supporting mentor-mentee communications that improve youth awareness and interest in STEM-focused CTE and skill-based, STEM-related careers. Thirty six mentors and 288 of their youth mentees will participate in the pilot study. Data sources for research include interviews and surveys of program leaders, mentors, and mentees, as well as tracking mentor activity within the online digital tool environment. This research would advance knowledge of how mentors influence disadvantaged youth perceptions of and interest in CTE and skill-based, STEM career pathways, in which there is currently little evidence as to how mentor preparation shapes ability to positively impact youth outcomes. Major outcomes will include a) deeper understandings of youth and mentor perceptions of CTE and mentors' needs for supporting their work with mentees, b) a messaging roadmap and digital tools that prepare mentors for their work with middle school youth, and c) empirical findings regarding the potential of the digital tools for effectively supporting mentor-mentee communications that improve youth's awareness and interest in CTE and skill-based, STEM-related careers. Outcomes will be shared widely to research, education, and industry communities, locally and nationally, through social media, partner networks, conference presentations, and research publications. An advisory board will provide independent review on the project activities.