Designing Biomimetic Robots: Researching the impact of an interdisciplinary bio-engineering-computational design curriculum on middle school engineering and science education

该项目由STEM+计算计划资助，该计划旨在推动将计算思维和计算活动整合到科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)学科的应用研究，在从高中到高中的幼儿教育(Pre-K-12)中。在大多数中学，学习是按学科划分的--科学在一个班级教授，而工程学或计算机则在另一个班级教授，如果真的有的话。然而，今天的发现和创新是跨学科的，学生需要使用多学科领域的技能和实践来解决问题。设计仿生机器人项目将开发和研究一个整合了科学、工程和计算的教育项目，通过让学生参与仿生设计挑战来支持学生发展计算思维和科学推理，以及工程设计实践，同时练习跨学科解决问题的技能。学生们将研究自然界，了解动物和植物如何完成不同的任务，然后设计一个受到他们所学知识启发的机器人。例如，他们可能会利用他们所学到的不同动物如何捡起物品的知识来设计一种机器人，可以帮助坐轮椅的人捡起被丢弃的物品。此外，该项目将展示教师如何促进跨学科学习，并在不同环境下扩大中学生对科学、工程和计算机的参与。该项目将开发创新干预措施，通过一系列仿生设计挑战支持跨学科STEM知识和实践的发展。该计划将包括：a)为期4周的模块化和灵活的课程，将受生物启发的工程设计、机器人和计算机编程的内容和实践整合到中学STEM课堂中；b)教师专业发展计划；c)支持将仿生机器人融入中学的网络资源。目标是让所有参与的学生发展符合工程和科学标准以及计算思维原则的知识、实践和技能，并展示对计算增强STEM实践和知识发展的理解。参与的教师将学习如何通过整合STEM和计算机来实施跨学科教学，以及如何创建支持所有学生参与的任务结构和论述实践。该项目将对跨学科和参与式学习环境的理论做出贡献，该环境可以促进学生学习计算、工程和仿生学的交叉学科。该项目将与24名中学教师和大约3200名学生合作，他们分布在马萨诸塞州、马里兰州和缅因州的城市、郊区和农村地区，这些地区的学生人口结构不同。

The project is funded by the STEM+Computing program, which seeks to advance applied research on the integration of computational thinking and computing activities within the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in early childhood education through high school (preK-12). In most middle schools, learning is segregated by discipline - science is taught in one class, and engineering or computing are taught in another, if at all. Yet today discovery and innovation are interdisciplinary and students need to use skills and practices from multiple subject areas to solve problems. The Designing Biomimetic Robots project will develop and study an education program that integrates science, engineering, and computing by engaging students in biomimicry design challenges to support students in developing computational thinking and scientific reasoning, as well as engineering design practices, while practicing interdisciplinary problem solving skills. Students will study the natural world to learn how animals and plants accomplish different tasks and then engineer a robot that is inspired by what they learned. For example, they may use what they learn about how different animals pick up objects to design a robot that can assist wheelchair-bound people in picking up dropped items. In addition, the project will demonstrate how teachers can foster interdisciplinary learning, and can broaden participation in science, engineering and computing among middle school students in diverse settings.The project will develop an innovative intervention to support the development of interdisciplinary STEM knowledge and practices through a series of biomimetic design challenges. The program will include: a) a 4-week modular and flexible curriculum that integrates bio-inspired engineering design, robotics, and computer programming content and practices into middle school STEM classrooms, b) a teacher professional development program, and c) web resources to support integration of biomimetic robotics into middle schools. The goal is for all participating students to develop knowledge, practices, and skills consistent with engineering and science standards, and computational thinking principles, and demonstrate an understanding that computing enhances STEM practice and knowledge development. Participating teachers will learn how to enact interdisciplinary instruction through integrating STEM and computing, and how to create task structures and discursive practices that support the participation of all students. The project will contribute to theory about interdisciplinary and participatory learning environments that can foster students' learning about the intersections of computation, engineering, and biomimicry. The project will work with 24 middle school teachers and approximately 3,200 students in urban, suburban, and rural districts in Massachusetts, Maryland, and Maine that have diverse student demographics.