SBIR Phase I: Immersive Video Game Platform for Helping Students Learn in Statistics.

这个SBIR第一阶段项目将开发一个引人入胜的视频游戏学习计划，用于服务不足的高中学生，以增长他们在数据科学和统计方面的知识，技能和性格，并为他们在STEM相关领域的大学和职业生涯做好准备。该项目解决了质量方面的严重缺陷，从而解决了当今使用的大多数教育游戏的参与度和有效性。最重要的是，该项目旨在防止美国学生在STEM教育方面进一步落后，并失去进入未来几十年不断扩大的技术和数据科学经济的机会，我们公共生活的战略部门受到影响，包括科学研究，技术，工程，医学，金融和人工智能。科学的进步和这个国家的繁荣需要美国公民，根据NSF的法定使命，找到解决数据科学人力资源短缺的方法。该项目旨在利用该国视频游戏行业的工程和设计优势，重新夺回并保持统计和数据科学研究和教育的全球领导地位。学习游戏和底层平台的全面建设预计将每年创造就业机会和高额税收。该项目使用中心辐射模式开发核心视频游戏客户端和服务器基础设施，从而最大限度地提高整个游戏创作的效率。未来的游戏将建立在这个系统的核心框架上，因此只需要生成一小部分内容就可以制作新游戏。这个项目的沉浸式3D数字游戏将与现代工业标准相媲美。根据统计推断的原则，游戏活动将让学生参与创建统计公式，原始数据和分析自己的游戏数据，而不是要求学生应用教师提供的公式和数据。本研究的目标是建立游戏的技术可行性和可用性，并收集初步证据的有效性的游戏干预对学生的表现和兴趣的统计采用混合方法的研究设计与迭代的最终用户测试试验。游戏干预的影响将与传统的统计学学习进行比较。在干预过程中，将进行总结性和形成性评估以及实施研究的保真度。学生，教师和专家的反馈和观察结果将用于开发视频游戏。该奖项反映了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。

This SBIR Phase I project will develop an engaging video game learning program useful for underserved high school students to grow their knowledge, skills, and disposition in data science and statistics, and to prepare them for college and careers in STEM related fields. This project addresses the serious shortcomings in the quality, and hence engagement and effectiveness of most of educational games in use today. Above all this project seeks to prevent American students from falling further behind in STEM education and losing access to the expanding technology and data science economy of the next several decades, where strategic sectors of our public life are affected, including scientific research, technology, engineering, medicine, finance, and artificial intelligence. The progress of science and the prosperity of this nation require U.S. citizens, in line with the statutory mission of the NSF, to find solutions to this shortage of human resources in data science. This project seeks to capitalize on the engineering and design superiority of this country's video game industry to recapture and retain global leadership in statistics and data science research and education. The full build of the learning game and the underlying platform is expected to generate jobs and the high amount of tax revenue annually. This project develops the core video game client and server infrastructure using a hub and spoke paradigm, which maximizes efficiency across the entire creation of the game. Future games will be built upon this established core skeleton of systems, whereby only a fraction of content will need to be generated to produce a new game. The immersive 3D digital game of this project would be comparable to modern industry standards. With the principle of statistical inference, instead of asking the student to apply formulas and data that a teacher provides, the game activities will engage the student in the creation of statistical formulas, raw data and analysis on their own game data. The goals of this study are to establish technical feasibility and usability of the game and gather preliminary evidence of effectiveness of the game intervention on student performance and interest in statistic employing a mixed methods research design with iterative end-user testing trials. The impact of the game intervention will be compared with that of the traditional learning in statistics. During the intervention, summative and formative assessments and fidelity of implementation study will be conducted. Student, teacher, and expert feedback and observation findings will be used to develop the video game.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.