Accelerating Higher Order Thinking and STEM Content Learning Among Students with Learning Disabilities

缩小成绩差距的需要和越来越多地采用严格的课程标准提高了对所有学生的期望，特别是对有学习障碍的学生。学生应该学习科学概念，并利用他们的理解，通过科学探究调查自然世界。他们还必须发展高阶推理技能，使用主要来源整合知识和想法，使用因果推理来理解事件链，描述和评估索赔，并评估论证中使用的推理。 科学课程的参与率和成绩较低，使有学习障碍的学生不太可能追求STEM学位，STEM职业，并在劳动力市场取得成功，在劳动力市场上，高阶思维技能和科学素养越来越重要。重要的是要开发基于循证实践的创新工具，并结合有前途的新技术，以改善STEM学科的学术轨迹。这个项目的目的是开发和完善一个创新的基于Google平台的应用程序，称为CORGI，用于中学生在物理，生命和地球科学课堂上使用。新版本CORGI_2将包括对内容学习和高阶思维的支持，并将与Google环境的基于云的应用程序配对，以提供多种表示，响应和参与方式以及视频，模型，解码支持和背景知识支持。该团队将完善CORGI，为合作团体的科学论证、概念掌握、协作策略和社交技能提供增强的功能和支持。 技术改进将包括多媒体输入和输出、写作支持（例如，句子启动器）、讨论线索以及对内容/课程的情感反应。该项目由Discovery Research PreK-12计划资助，该计划为STEM创新和方法的研究和开发提供资金。研究团队将与教师和学生一起开发综合单元，新的高阶思维程序，学习和协作策略，以及CORGI_2中的新技术功能。研究人员-实践者-学生设计团队将使用基于设计的干预研究（DBR）方法迭代：（a）确定要包含的科学内容，（B）开发生命、物理和地球科学的综合内容单元，（c）整合额外的高阶思维和学习策略，以促进高阶思维和推理，以及（c）为CORGI_2设计和实现额外的UDL和移动的功能。参与者将包括30名中学教师和大约200名有学习障碍的学生，包括阅读障碍的学生。 研究人员将从教师和学生那里收集形成性评估数据，以检查普通教育和特殊教育学生在中学课堂上的可用性，科学内容学习，高阶思维技能，参与和动机。专业发展模块将被开发，以支持DBR周期，以及支持更广泛的采用和所有学生使用。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

The need for reduction in achievement gaps and the growing adoption of rigorous curriculum standards has raised expectations for all students, but especially for students with learning disabilities. Students are expected to learn science concepts and use their understanding to investigate the natural world through scientific inquiry. They must also develop higher-order reasoning skills, integrate knowledge and ideas using primary sources, use causal reasoning to understand the chain of events, delineate and evaluate claims, and assess the reasoning used in arguments. Lower participation and achievement in science courses makes students with learning disabilities less likely to pursue STEM degrees, STEM careers, and succeed in the labor market where higher order thinking skills and scientific literacy are increasingly important. It is important to develop innovative tools that build on evidence based practices in combination with promising new technologies to improve the academic trajectory in STEM disciplines. The purpose of this project is to develop and refine an innovative Google-platform based application called CORGI for use with middle school students in physical, life, and earth science classrooms. The new version, CORGI_2, will include supports for content learning and higher order thinking and will pair with the cloud-based applications of the Google environment to offer multiple means of representation, response and engagement as well as videos, models, supports for decoding, and supports for background knowledge. The team will refine CORGI to offer enhanced functionality and supports for scientific argumentation, concept mastery, collaboration strategies and social skills for cooperative groups. Technology enhancements will include multimedia input and output, writing supports (e.g., sentence starters), discussion threads, and affective reactions to content/lessons. This project is funded by the Discovery Research PreK-12 Program, which funds research and development on STEM innovations and approaches. The research team will work with both teachers and students to develop integrated units, new higher order thinking routines, learning and collaboration strategies, and new technological functionality in CORGI_2. Researcher-practitioner-student design teams will use Design-Based Intervention Research (DBR) methods to iteratively: (a) identify the science content for inclusion, (b) develop integrated content units in life, physical, and earth science, (c) integrate additional higher order thinking and learning strategies to promote higher-order thinking and reasoning, and (c) design and implement additional UDL and mobile functionality for CORGI_2. Participants will include 30 middle school teachers and approximately 200 students with learning disabilities, including reading disabilities. Researchers will collect formative evaluation data from teachers and students to examine the usability, science content learning, higher order thinking skills, engagement, and motivation of general education and special education students in middle school classrooms. Professional development modules will be developed to support the DBR cycles as well as to support wider scale adoption and use by all students.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.