Building a Learning Ecology to Increase STEM Participation Among Middle School Girls

该项目将推进“面向学生和教师的创新技术体验”（ITEST）计划的工作，通过参与实地实践、实验室/项目创业任务和指导经验，更好地理解和促进提高学生在科学、技术、工程或数学（STEM）领域追求职业的动机和能力的实践。该项目旨在提高中等种族和社会经济多元化社区中学生在各种校外（OST）项目中的科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）参与。该项目将以现有的数字青年天后（DYD）项目模式为基础，研究和开发一个项目，重点是编码、设计数字设备（如传感器、触摸敏感设备）和数字艺术与设计，并有意解决女孩感兴趣的领域。该项目将与EvanSTEM合作，EvanSTEM是伊利诺伊州埃文斯顿的一个合作组织，提供STEM教育活动，创建一个社区主导的学习倡议，将STEM与艺术（STEAM）结合起来。STEAM项目生态系统将重点关注三个组成部分：由校外（OST）组织组成的DYD城市集体，为女孩提供STEM课程；DYD关怀成人网络（一个父母社区，专注于支持女孩的STEM活动）；以及Divas Circle（一个由来自埃文斯顿各地的5-8年级女孩组成的社区，她们参加DYD附属的节目和活动）。该项目利用与当地OST提供商、家长和教育工作者社区的合作，创建一个包含STEM学习机会、社会支持和技术基础设施的系统。该项目将调查几个关键的研究问题：(1)中学女生如何更好地与STEM学习机会联系起来，组织如何更有效地协调他们的产品并将其与女孩联系起来？(2)哪些因素有助于建立一个吸引和维持女孩对STEM的兴趣和参与的当地STEM生态系统？(3)父母（或其他照顾者）如何参与支持女孩参与STEM，他们的参与会产生什么影响？(4)参与对家庭STEM身份和女孩长期参与STEM活动和项目的兴趣有什么影响？该项目将使用多种研究方法和数据收集，包括：学区数据，如学生课程注册；青年调查评估参与水平、兴趣和影响；揭示参与程度和模式的在线参与数据；与学生、家长和提供者的访谈；以及参与家庭样本的案例研究数据。该项目将通过专业会议和期刊等学术场所与教育研究界广泛分享研究成果，并通过专业发展讲习班和在www.digitalyouthnetwork.org/divas网站上分享资源材料和课程，与从业人员广泛分享研究成果。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will advance efforts of the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program to better understand and promote practices that increase students' motivations and capacities to pursue careers in fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) by engaging in hands-on field experience, laboratory/project-based entrepreneurship tasks and mentorship experiences. The project is designed to increasie the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) participation of middle-school aged girls across various out-of-school (OST) programs in a midsized racially and socioeconomically diverse community. The project will research and develop a program, building on the existing Digital Youth Divas (DYD) program model, that focuses on coding, designing digital devices (e.g., sensors, devices sensitive to touch), and digital arts and design and that will intentionally address areas that are of interest to girls. The project will collaborate with EvanSTEM, a collaborative of Evanston, Illinois, community organizations that offer STEM education activities, to create a community-led initiative learning initiative that combines STEM with the arts (STEAM). The project STEAM ecosystem will focus on three components: the DYD city collective that consists of out-of-school (OST) organizations that provide STEM programming for girls; DYD Caring Adult Network (a community of parents focused on supporting STEM activities among girls); and the Divas Circle (a community of 5-8th grade girls from across Evanston who participate in DYD affiliated programming and events). This project leverages collaboration with a local community of OST providers, parents, and educators to create a system of STEM learning opportunities, social supports and technical infrastructure.The project will investigate several key research questions: (1) How can middle school girls better connect with STEM learning opportunities and how can organizations more effectively coordinate their offerings and connect them to girls?(2) What factors contribute to the creation of a local STEM ecosystem that engages and sustains girls' STEM interest and participation?(3) How can parents (or other caregivers) be engaged in supporting girls' participation in STEM and what impact does their involvement have?(4) What impact does participation have on family STEM identity and on girls' long term participation and interest in STEM activities and programs?The project will use a variety of research methods and date collection including: school district data such as student course registrations; youth surveys assessing participation levels, interest, and impacts; online participation data that will reveal levels and patterns of involvement; interviews with students, parents, and providers; and case study data of a sample of participating families. The project will share research findings widely with the educational research community through academic venues such as professional conferences and journals and with practitioners through professional development workshops and by sharing resource materials and curriculum on the www.digitalyouthnetwork.org/divas website.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.