SBIR Phase I: A Game-Based Neuro-Cognitive Assessment Tool for School Readiness

SBIR 第一阶段：基于游戏的神经认知评估工具，用于入学准备

• 批准号: 1648440
• 负责人: Grace Wardhana
• 金额: $ 22.5万
• 依托单位: Kiko Labs Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-12-15 至 2017-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1648440&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Game; Based; Neuro

This Phase I project's objective is to promote school readiness for Pre-K and Kindergarten students by providing support for neuro-cognitive skills, such as executive functioning and reasoning, shown to be critical for school success. The first aim is to build a prototype of a game-based assessment tool for these skills that can be implemented in classrooms to measure these skills as a baseline and to track and measure progress over time. If proven feasible, the prototype is expected to assess a child's skills in five neuro-cognitive areas in 10-15 minutes with minimal adult intervention and provide recommendations for further support. Phase I of this project will focus on developing the prototype, testing usability and feasibility with Pre-K students and teachers, and collecting data to calibrate the tool using factor analysis and item-response theory. The broader impact of this research is to gather rich data that will advance the scientific community's understanding of cognitive development in relation to multiple factors and to increase the ability to evaluate the impact of targeted interventions. In addition, commercialization of the proposed tool will help increase teachers' and caregivers' awareness of these skills and shift classroom practices towards fostering the critical underlying skills for school readiness. This project will build a prototype using constructs that are based on neuropsychological tasks designed to target these skills in lab research. Five skills will be included in the prototype: working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, reasoning and spatial skills. First, results from a convergent reliability study fielded in spring 2016 comparing Pre-K students' performance in these constructs vs. normed reference tests will be used to refine and improve the reliability of the constructs. Next, the prototype will undergo usability and feasibility testing with Pre-K students and teachers. The goal is to optimize the experience such that it can be completed in a single 15-minute session with minimal adult intervention. Finally, data will be gathered to calibrate the tool using factor analysis and item-response theory to refine the test branching algorithms. At the end of Phase I, the prototype will be ready for further research to normalize the results nationally.

这个第一阶段项目的目标是通过为学前班和幼儿园学生提供神经认知技能的支持，如执行功能和推理，促进他们的入学准备，这对学校的成功至关重要。第一个目标是为这些技能建立一个基于游戏的评估工具的原型，可以在课堂上实施，以衡量这些技能作为基线，并跟踪和衡量一段时间内的进展。如果被证明是可行的，该原型有望在10-15分钟内评估儿童在五个神经认知领域的技能，并提供进一步支持的建议，而成年人的干预最少。该项目的第一阶段将侧重于开发原型，在学前班学生和教师中测试可用性和可行性，并收集数据，使用因子分析和项目反应理论来校准工具。这项研究的广泛影响是收集丰富的数据，这些数据将促进科学界对与多种因素相关的认知发展的理解，并提高评估有针对性干预措施影响的能力。此外，拟议工具的商业化将有助于提高教师和护理人员对这些技能的认识，并将课堂实践转向培养入学准备的关键基础技能。该项目将使用基于神经心理学任务的结构来构建一个原型，这些任务旨在在实验室研究中针对这些技能。原型将包括五种技能：工作记忆、抑制控制、认知灵活性、推理和空间技能。首先，2016年春季进行的一项趋同信度研究的结果将用于比较学前班学生在这些构念与规范参考测验中的表现，以完善和提高构念的信度。接下来，原型将在学前班学生和老师中进行可用性和可行性测试。目标是优化体验，使其可以在一个15分钟的会话中完成，成年人的干预最少。最后，将收集数据，使用因子分析和项目响应理论来校准工具，以完善测试分支算法。在第一阶段结束时，原型机将准备好进行进一步的研究，以使结果在全国范围内标准化。