Integrating Human Computer Interaction, Machine Learning, Game Design, and Educational Assessment in a STEM+C Curriculum

将计算整合到K-12级别的科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)教育中，对于培养一支能够满足未来计算思维需求的具有竞争力的创新劳动力至关重要。事实证明，提高人们对数学和数据科学的内在兴趣的努力很难在性别、种族和社会经济因素中均匀应用。这项研究项目将通过扩大学生对数据科学的兴趣，帮助建立一支更稳定、更有道德、更具包容性的数据科学队伍。这项研究通过将基于STEM+C的课程直接整合到《我的世界》中，涵盖了游戏设计、人机交互、机器学习、课程设计和教育评估等领域。它促进了基于游戏的学习的知识，并产生了一个基础设施，该基础设施将作为初中和高中教育工作者的重要计算资源，并将在当前项目之后持续下去。随着计算已经成为科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)实践中不可或缺的一部分，STEM+计算计划寻求通过将计算思维和计算活动应用于STEM教与学的应用整合来应对计算STEM领域的新挑战。STEM+C的一个关键举措是为国家的下一代数据科学家、信息科学家和工程师培养技能。虚拟世界提供了一种以有趣和直观的方式吸引下一代学生的技术。虚拟世界是围绕基本活动或游戏原子开发的，这些活动通过试错反馈循环反映经验学习过程。这些原子以多种方式结合在一起，略有不同，形成了一组相关的活动，称为博弈机制。这些活动将与教育标准相对应，以引入或强化各种STEM+C概念。该项目使用基于设计的研究方法，通过有意义地整合包括教师和学生在内的教育利益攸关方的反馈，反复开发和改进活动。这项研究的主要结果包括学生在STEM+C中的兴趣、态度、信念和自我效能感的变化，参与协作的开放式解决方案的制作，以及相关计算和数学概念的成就。这项研究将有助于将对计算的兴趣扩大到更多不同的学生池中。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。

Integrating computing into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education at the K-12 level is critical to creating a competitive, innovative workforce that is capable of the computational thinking needs of the future. Efforts to increase intrinsic interest in math and data science have proven difficult to apply evenly across gender, race, and socio-economic factors. This research project will assist in creating a more stable, ethical, and inclusive data science workforce by broadening interest in data science to a more diverse population of students. This research spans the fields of game design, human computer interaction, machine learning, curriculum design and educational assessment by integrating a STEM+C based curriculum directly into Minecraft. It advances knowledge in game-based learning and produces an infrastructure that will serve as a vital computing resource for middle and high school educators that will be sustained beyond the current project. As computing has become integral to the practice of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), the STEM+Computing program seeks to address emerging challenges in computational STEM areas through the applied integration of computational thinking and computing activities within STEM teaching and learning in early childhood education through high school (preK-12).A key initiative of STEM+C is to cultivate the skills for the next generation of data scientists, information scientists, and engineers in the nation. A virtual world provides a technique to engage the next generation of students in a fun and intuitive manner. A virtual world is developed around fundamental activities, or gameplay atoms, which reflect the experiential learning process through a trial and error feedback loop. These atoms are combined in multiple ways with slight variations to form a group of related activities referred to as game mechanics. These activities will be mapped to education standards to introduce or reinforce various STEM+C concepts. This project uses design-based research methodology to iteratively develop and refine the activities through meaningfully integrating feedback from educational stakeholders, including teachers and students. Key outcomes from this research include changes in students' interest, attitudes, beliefs, and self-efficacy in STEM+C, engagement in collaborative open-ended solution making, and achievement in related computing and mathematics concepts. This research will help broaden interest in computing to a more diverse pool of 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.