Collaborative Research: Preparing Students for the New Manufacturing Economy: An Integrative Learning Approach

该项目将推进学生和教师创新技术体验（ITEST）计划的努力，以更好地理解和促进提高学生在科学，技术，工程或数学（STEM）领域追求职业生涯的动机和能力的实践。该项目旨在为学生为未来的工作世界做好准备，这需要他们开发和整合多个领域的技能和知识，这些技能和知识可以灵活地部署在差异很大且不断变化的工作要求中。目前的教育制度强调在具体学科内发展技能和知识，这并不反映未来工作的多学科性质。该项目调查了为期2年的职业和技术教育（CTE）学习经验，将多个技术领域的知识和技能与真实任务相结合。这种学习模式与未来工作的愿景相吻合，有利于灵活和创新的个人，对一系列技术有全面的理解。CTE学习体验将提高学生的技术素养，职业准备，成长心态和STEM（科学，技术，工程和数学）认同感。 在大三的第一学期，学生将专注于学习三项基本技术（3D设计和制造，基于微处理器的电子和计算机编程）。 然后，学生将在基于项目的学习周期中应用这些技术，他们将准备教育科学工具包，并将其部署在当地小学课堂上。作为高中毕业生，学生将通过一系列毕业设计和创新挑战转向创新和创业。 当地的商业和制造业代表将提供讲座，现场参观和挑战问题，以增加真实性，并为学生提供榜样。 该研究将有助于了解综合学习模式如何支持学生发展整体技术理解和STEM身份。在CTE中，该项目将推进有关课程如何设计的知识，以有效地为高中生未来的工程创新和设计职业做好准备。该项目还将有助于理解STEM中身份的形成，特别是对于来自代表性不足的人群的学生。规则，理论基础的问卷调查，视频分析和访谈将被用来评估学习和身份形成。不参加CTE课程的学生将作为对照组。该项目将产生一些更广泛的影响。该项目将直接服务于一个以拉丁裔和非裔美国学生为主的经济弱势学区的学生，并为他们未来的工作做好准备。该项目开发的CTE课程将通过网络资源传播，使其他学校和研究人员能够实施类似的计划。来自不同学科的本科生和研究生（例如，计算机科学，工业工程，心理学和教育）将通过在高中CTE教室工作来指导和获得实践经验，这些教室主要服务于代表性不足的社区。项目研究将发表在期刊和会议上，涉及各个领域的研究人员和从业人员。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得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来支持。

This project will advance efforts of the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program to better understand and promote practices that increase student motivations and capacities to pursue careers in fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM). The project is designed to prepare students for the future world of work that will require them to develop and integrate multiple areas of skill and knowledge that can be flexibly deployed across widely varying and ever-changing work requirements. The current education system emphasizes the development of skills and knowledge within specific disciplines, which does not reflect the multidisciplinary nature of future work. The project investigates a 2-year Career and Technical Education (CTE) learning experience that integrates knowledge and skills across multiple technology areas with authentic tasks. This model of learning dovetails with a vision of future work that favors individuals who are flexible and innovative with a holistic understanding of a range of technologies. The CTE learning experience will enhance students' technology literacy, career preparedness, growth mindset, and sense of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) identity. In the first semester of their Junior year, students will focus on learning three basic technologies (3D design and fabrication, microcontroller-based electronics and computer programming). Students will then apply these technologies in project-based learning cycles where they will prepare educational science kits and deploy them in local elementary school classes. As high school Seniors, students will move on to innovation and entrepreneurship through a series of graduated design and innovation challenges. Local business and manufacturing representatives will provide talks, site visits and challenge problems to add authenticity and provide role models to the students. The research will contribute to the understanding of how an integrated learning model supports student development of holistic technology understanding and STEM identities. In CTE, the project will advance knowledge regarding how curricula may be designed to effectively prepare high school students for future careers in engineering innovation and design. The project will also contribute to the understanding of how identities are formed in STEM, especially for students from underrepresented populations. Rubrics, theoretically grounded questionnaires, video analysis, and interviews will be used to assess both learning and identity formation. Students who do not take part in the CTE course will serve as the comparison group. The project will have a number of broader impacts. The project will directly serve students in an economically disadvantaged school district with predominantly Latinx and African American students and prepare them for the future world of work. The CTE curricula developed by the project will be disseminated through a web resource that will enable other schools and researchers to implement similar programs. Undergraduate and graduate students from different disciplines (e.g., computer science, industrial engineering, psychology, and education) will mentor and gain practical experiences by working in high school CTE classrooms that serve predominantly underrepresented communities. Project research will be published in journals and conferences reaching both researchers and practitioners of the various fields representedThis 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.