Collaborative Research: High School Students' Climate Literacy Through Epistemology of Scientific Modeling

探索研究K-12计划(DRK-12)旨在通过研究和开发创新资源、模型和工具(RMT)，显著提高K-12学龄前学生和教师在科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)方面的学习和教学。DRK-12计划中的项目建立在STEM教育的基础研究和先前的研究和开发努力的基础上，这些研究和开发工作为拟议的项目提供了理论和经验证明。这个项目将专注于学习科学中基于模型的推理，并将为高中生开发、实施、研究和完善一个为期6周的气候科学模块。该模块将使用基于网络的气候建模应用程序，项目团队将在学生中收集和分析基于模型的气候现象推理的证据。科学家经常使用基于计算机的数据密集型模型来研究复杂的自然现象，建模已成为当前科学课程标准的核心目标。该项目将提供关于学生使用科学模型来理解自然现象的新见解，并促进关于课程、教学和评估实践的知识，以促进学生基于模型的推理。这个为期4年的设计和开发项目将研究基于网络的气候建模工具的使用，该工具旨在为非科学家提供高中地球科学课堂中的气候建模经验。在教学创新和教育研究的迭代周期中，将使用基于设计的研究、教学设计和评估开发的理论基础和经验测试的方法来寻找两个研究问题的答案：1)中学生如何发展关于气候的认知和概念知识？2)中学科学教师如何支持学生使用气候模型应用程序来发展关于气候的认知性和概念性知识？与概念性和认知性知识、嵌入课程的建模任务、访谈和教学录像观察相关的数据将被用来研究新课程模块对55名高中科学教师和3000名学生的影响。项目参与者包括来自低社会经济人口的学生和在STEM领域代表性不足的其他群体。该课程还将作为美国自然历史博物馆现有的在线专业发展课程的资源，该课程面向全国教师。

The Discovery Research K-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools (RMTs). Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects. This project will focus on learning about model based reasoning in science, and will develop, implement, study, and refine a 6-week climate science module for high school students. The module will feature use of a web-based climate modeling application, and the project team will collect and analyze evidence of model-based reasoning about climate phenomena among students. Scientists routinely use data-intensive, computer-based models to study complex natural phenomena, and modeling has become a core objective of current science curriculum standards. The project will provide new insights about student use of scientific models to understand natural phenomena, and advance knowledge about curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices that promote model-based reasoning among students.This 4-year Design and Development project will examine use of a web-based climate modeling tool designed to provide non-scientists experiences with climate modeling in high school geoscience classrooms. A theoretically-grounded and empirically tested approach to design-based research, instructional design, and assessment development will be used in an iterative cycle of instructional innovation and education research to find answers to two research questions: 1) How do secondary students develop epistemic and conceptual knowledge about climate? And 2) How do secondary science teachers support student use of climate modeling application to develop epistemic and conceptual knowledge about climate? Data associated with conceptual and epistemic knowledge, curriculum-embedded modeling tasks, interviews, and videorecorded observations of instruction will be used to study impacts of the new curriculum module on 55 high school science teachers and 3,000 students. Project participants include students from low socioeconomic populations and other groups underrepresented in STEM fields. The curriculum will also serve as a resource for an existing, online professional development course at the American Museum of Natural History that engages teachers nationwide.