Collaborative Research: Developing STEM self-efficacy and science identities through authentic astrophysics research in online and face-to-face environments (STEM-ID)

研究表明，随着青少年进入高中，对科学的参与和兴趣开始下降。 这也是科学变得更加复杂并且对内容知识、数学能力以及计算机或计算知识的需求增加的时候。有证据表明，与没有这些经历的学生相比，参与原创科学研究的年轻人更有可能进入并维持科学职业。我们知道年轻人对太空科学感到兴奋。该项目（STEM-ID）借鉴了之前的工作，其中向高中生介绍了科学研究并为寻找脉冲星做出了贡献。学生能够发展所需的科学和数学知识以及计算机技能，使他们能够成功参与。 STEM-ID 建立在先前工作的基础上，有两个主要目标：将本地程序复制到分布式程序模型中，以及调查真实的研究经验在多大程度上建立了强大的科学身份和研究自我效能。更具体地说，该项目将支持（a）对位于不同人口社区的机构进行重大地理扩张，从而大量纳入服务不足的群体，（b）在线学习和发现环境，支持全国各地的青年通过在线活动参与，以及（c）在研究社区内更深入地参与研究和进步的机会。该项目由推进非正式 STEM 学习 (AISL) 计划资助，该计划旨在推进非正式环境中 STEM 学习设计和开发的新方法和理解。STEM-ID 将为课外俱乐部的 2000 名高中青少年和 200 名高中教师提供服务，并得到 30 名本科生和研究生以及 10 名学院/大学教师的支持。探索性教育研究将确定在线活动以及面对面和在线同伴导师教师与科学家互动影响科学身份、自我效能、动机和职业意图的广泛机制，以及对影响参与模式的机制的集中理解。我们将在大学的头两年对青少年进行纵向监测，以了解课外科学强化项目对 STEM 职业决策的长期影响。这些研究将加深对最佳实践的理解，通过在青少年进入大学之前参与真正的 STEM 项目，增强在大学中 STEM 的坚持。除了教育研究的好处外，该计划还可能引导参与者发现数十颗新的脉冲星。这些脉冲星将用于取得重大进展，例如测试广义相对论、限制中子星质量或探测引力波。由此产生的调查还将对零星脉冲星和河外爆发等瞬态信号敏感。该项目为来自不同地理位置的年轻人提供了参与真实研究体验的潜在模型。对于提供商来说，它将提供一种以较低成本交付项目的模型。研究结果将有助于更好地理解参与 STEM 的机制。这项工作由西弗吉尼亚大学和国家射电天文台领导。参与院校包括加州理工学院、康奈尔大学、埃尔帕索社区学院、霍华德大学、蒙大拿州立大学、宾夕法尼亚州立大学、德克萨斯理工大学、佛蒙特大学、华盛顿大学和范德比尔特大学。

Research shows that participation and interest in science starts to drop as youth enter high school. This is also the point when science becomes more complex and there is increased need for content knowledge, mathematics capability, and computer or computational knowledge. Evidence suggests that youth who participate in original scientific research are more likely to enter and maintain a career in science as compared to students who do not have these experiences. We know young people get excited by space science. This project (STEM-ID) is informed by previous work in which high school students were introduced to scientific research and contributed to the search for pulsars. Students were able to develop the required science and math knowledge and computer skills that enabled them to successfully participate. STEM-ID builds on this previous work with two primary goals: the replication of the local program into a distributed program model and an investigation of the degree to which authentic research experiences build strong science identities and research self-efficacies. More specifically the project will support (a) significant geographic expansion to institutions situated in communities with diverse populations allowing substantial inclusion of under-served groups, (b) an online learning and discovery environment that will support the participation of youth throughout the country via online activities, and (c) opportunities for deeper participation in research and advancement within the research community. This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program which seeks to advance new approaches to, and understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments.STEM-ID will serve 2000 high school youth and 200 high school teachers in afterschool clubs with support from 30 undergraduate and graduate students and 10 college/university faculty. Exploratory educational research will determine the broad mechanisms by which online activities and in-person and online peer-mentor teacher-scientist interactions influence science identity, self-efficacy, motivation, and career intentions, as well as a focused understanding of the mechanisms that influence patterns of participation. Youth will be monitored longitudinally through the first two years of college to provide an understanding of the long-term effects of out-of-class science enrichment programs on STEM career decisions. These studies will build an understanding of the best practices for enhancing STEM persistence in college through engagement in authentic STEM programs before youth get to college. In addition to the benefits of the education research, this program may lead participants to discover dozens of new pulsars. These pulsars will be used for fundamental advances such as for testing of general relativity, constraining neutron star masses, or detecting gravitational waves. The resulting survey will also be sensitive to transient signals such as sporadic pulsars and extragalactic bursts.This project provides a potential model for youth from geographical disparate places to participate in authentic research experiences. For providers, it will offer a model for program delivery with lower costs. Findings will support greater understanding of the mechanisms for participation in STEM. This work is being led by West Virginia University and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Participating sites include California Institute of Technology, Cornell University, El Paso Community College, Howard University, Montana State University, Penn State University, Texas Tech University, University of Vermont, University of Washington, and Vanderbilt University.