Fostering Interest in Science through Interactive Exploration of Astronomy What-If Simulations

作为加强非正式环境学习总体战略的一部分，推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）项目为各种环境中使用的创新资源提供资金。该项目将推进沉浸式数字模拟学习游戏中科学兴趣触发器设计方面的知识。当学习者对一个话题感兴趣时，它会对他们的学习质量产生深远的影响。尽管非正式学习经历如何促进对STEM的兴趣已经广为人知，但很少有研究涉及技术使用和兴趣发展之间的联系。这个探索性路径项目将调查(1)中学学习者使用娱乐技术对STEM兴趣发展的影响，(2)专门为激发天文学兴趣而设计的互动教育技术，以及(3)随时间持续与STEM内容互动的非正式学习资源。特别是，学习者将有机会通过“如果”问题，如“如果地球没有月亮会怎么样？”或“如果地球是现在的两倍大会怎么样？”，互动地探索考虑地球的其他版本的科学后果。在使用模拟时，学习者将被邀请进行观察，并对他们看到的不同之处提出科学的解释。鉴于最近在整个银河系中发现了可能适合居住的世界，这些问题与围绕太空探索、生命必要条件和人类长期未来的公共话语高度相关。研究将在三种非正式的学习环境中进行：博物馆展览、课外活动和夏令营，并由以下研究问题驱动：基于技术的兴趣触发因素对兴趣的影响最大？哪些背景因素对支持长期兴趣发展最重要？并且，什么样的基于技术的触发器对来自STEM中代表性不足的受众的学习者最有效？这项研究将产生一种经过经验检验的培养兴趣的方法，使教育工作者能够在自己的工作中利用“如果”教学法，以及适合在非正式和正式学习环境中使用的可下载材料。计划中的研究将确定有效激发兴趣的特征，重点关注STEM中代表性不足的群体，并详细说明让学习者参与解释性对话和为兴趣发展服务的重要性。据推测，以这种新颖的方式进行互动可以激发人们对天文学、物理学以及其他潜在STEM领域的兴趣。设计迭代还将研究不同形式的学习支持，例如来自促进者的指导、协作和模拟中可用的自动指导，并确定特征如何随学习环境而变化。收集的数据将包括访谈和调查数据，以跟踪兴趣发展，测量天文学和物理学知识，以及模拟使用的日志文件，以更好地了解模拟中的行为如何与声明的兴趣一致。这些研究的结果将促进对兴趣发展及其与互动体验关系的理论理解，并将通过识别激发中学学习者兴趣的关键特征，对非正式环境中技术的部署具有实际意义。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学习的设计和开发的新方法和基于证据的理解。这包括提供多种途径，扩大STEM学习经验的获取和参与，推进非正式环境中STEM学习的创新研究和评估，以及发展参与者对深度学习的理解。

As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds innovative resources for use in a variety of settings. This project will advance knowledge in the design of interest triggers for science in immersive digital simulation learning games. When learners are interested in a topic, it can have a profound impact on the quality of their learning. Although much is known about how informal learning experiences can promote interest in STEM, much less research has addressed links between technology use and interest development. This Exploratory Pathways project will investigate (1) the impact of entertainment technology use by middle school learners on STEM interest development, (2) the design of interactive educational technologies created specifically to trigger interest in astronomy, and (3) informal learning resources for sustained interaction with STEM content over time. In particular, learners will have the opportunity to interactively explore the scientific consequences of considering alternative versions of Earth via "What if?" questions, such as "What if the earth had no moon?" or "What if the earth were twice its current size?". While using the simulations, learners will be invited to make observations and propose scientific explanations for what they see as different. Given recent discoveries of potentially habitable worlds throughout the Galaxy, such questions have high relevance to public discourse around space exploration, conditions necessary for life, and the long-term future of the human race. Studies will occur across three informal learning settings: museum exhibits, afterschool programs, and summer camps, and are driven by the following research questions: What technology-based triggers of interest have the strongest influence on interest? Which contextual factors are most important for supporting long-term interest development? And, what kinds of technology-based triggers are most effective for learners from audiences who are underrepresented in STEM? This research will result in an empirically tested approach for cultivating interest that will allow educators to leverage the "What if?" pedagogy in their own work, as well as downloadable materials suitable for use in both informal and formal learning settings. Planned studies will identify features that are effective in triggering interest, with an emphasis on groups underrepresented in STEM, and elaborate on the importance of engaging learners in explanatory dialogues and in service of interest development. It is hypothesized that interacting in such novel ways can act as a trigger for interest in astronomy, physics, and potentially other areas of STEM. Design iterations will also investigate different forms of learning supports, such as guidance from facilitators, collaboration, and automated guidance available within the simulations, and identify how features vary with respect to learning contexts. Data collected will include interview and survey data to track interest development, measures of knowledge in astronomy and physics, and log files of simulation use to better understand how behaviors in the simulations align with stated interests. Results of the studies will advance the theoretical understanding of interest development and its relationship to interactive experiences, and will also have practical implications for the deployment of technology in informal settings by identifying features critical for triggering the interest of middle school learners. This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants.