Developing STEM Achievement and Motivation: The Role of Spatial Skills and Parent-Child Interactions

STEM学习对于准备充分的劳动力来说至关重要，但许多学生在STEM中没有发挥他们的潜力。这些个体差异的根源可以追溯到学校入学。空间技能--在心理上表达和操纵空间信息--强烈地预测STEM的成就、选课和职业。到了一年级，孩子们的空间技能差异很大，这表明家庭环境起着至关重要的作用。这项拟议的研究由天普大学的一组研究人员领导，将调查亲子互动对一年级和二年级学生空间技能的影响。重要的是，不仅是技能，还有动机--感知的能力、对挑战的享受和低焦虑--影响着儿童的STEM轨迹。不幸的是，关于父母对孩子STEM技能和动机的支持的研究一直在平行进行，尽管有证据表明它们相互加强。先前的研究也受到短期结果、父母自我报告措施或非因果设计的限制。拟议的研究将采用纵向和实验方法进行以下几个方面的研究。1)确定亲子互动的特定方面，这些方面可以预测儿童的空间技能以及STEM学习和动机。2)建立父母认知支持与儿童空间技能和动机之间的因果关系。3)建立父母的动机支持与儿童空间技能和动机之间的因果关系。该项目由EHR核心研究(ECR)计划资助，该计划支持推进STEM学习基础研究文献的工作。该项目将对父母对儿童空间技能和STEM成就的认知和动机支持的综合模型进行实证检验。研究一将使用NICHD早期托儿和青少年发展研究的视频数据来测试在一年级空间活动中直接观察到的父母行为(认知和动机支持)是否可以预测孩子在18岁之前的STEM成就和动机。研究2a和2b将通过实验性的父母主导的空间阅读和空间活动干预来测试父母的认知支持对孩子的空间和数学技能和动机的因果影响。研究3将测试增加父母的动机支持对孩子的空间、数学技能和动机的影响。在一个单一的概念框架中研究这些因素，对于了解它们是否对儿童的发展具有相加或可能相乘的影响至关重要。例如，提供高动机支持的父母可能会更适应他们孩子的技能水平，从而提供更高质量的认知支持。此外，同时获得认知和动机支持可能会产生特别的影响。总而言之，这些研究不仅将直接测试父母认知和动机支持的综合理论，而且还将为旨在提高所有儿童的空间技能和STEM成就和动机的更大规模的家长导向干预奠定基础。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

STEM learning is crucial for a well-prepared workforce, yet many students do not reach their potential in STEM. The roots of these individual differences can be traced back to school entry. Spatial skills - mentally representing and manipulating spatial information - strongly predict STEM achievement, course-taking, and careers. By 1st grade, children vary widely in spatial skills, pointing to the home environment's crucial role. The proposed research, led by a team of researchers at Temple University, will investigate the impact of parent-child interactions on spatial skills among 1st and 2nd graders. Importantly, not only skill but motivation- perceived competence, enjoyment of challenges, and low anxiety - impacts children's STEM trajectories. Unfortunately research on parents' support for children's STEM skills and motivation has proceeded in parallel, despite evidence that they reinforce one another. Prior research is also limited by short-term outcomes, parent self-report measures, or non-causal designs. The proposed studies will use longitudinal and experimental methods to 1carry out the following. 1) Identify specific aspects of parent-child interactions that predict children's spatial skills and STEM learning and motivation. 2) Establish causal relations between parents' cognitive support and children's spatial skills and motivation. 3) Establish causal relations between parents' motivational support and children's spatial skills and motivation. The project is funded by the EHR Core Research (ECR) program, which supports work that advances the fundamental research literature on STEM learning. This project will empirically test an integrated model of parents' cognitive and motivational support for children's spatial skills and STEM achievement. Study 1 will use video data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development to test whether directly-observed parenting behaviors (cognitive and motivational support) during spatial activities in 1st grade predict children's STEM achievement and motivation through age 18. Studies 2a and 2b will test causal effects of parents' cognitive support on children's spatial and math skills and motivation via experimental parent-led spatial book-reading and spatial activity interventions. Study 3 will test the impact of increasing parents' motivational support on children's spatial and math skills and motivation. Investigating these factors in a single conceptual framework is crucial to understand whether they have additive, or possibly multiplicative, effects on children's development. For example, a parent who provides high motivational support may be more attuned to their child's level of skill, and therefore provide higher-quality cognitive support. Further, receiving both cognitive and motivational support may be especially impactful. Together, these studies will not only directly test the integrated theory of parents' cognitive and motivational support, but will have the added benefit of setting the foundation for larger parent-directed interventions aimed at improving all children's spatial skills and STEM achievement and motivation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.