Broadening Participation in STEM Through Virtual Reality Career Exploration: Introducing Underrepresented Students to High Need STEM Careers

通过虚拟现实职业探索扩大对 STEM 的参与：向代表性不足的学生介绍高需求的 STEM 职业

• 批准号: 2000865
• 负责人: Sarah Ferguson
• 金额: $ 49.7万
• 依托单位: Rowan University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-07-01 至 2024-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2000865&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Broadening; Participation; STEM; Through; Virtual

The project will examine the efficacy of an intervention designed to increase self-efficacy and motivation to pursue STEM careers among rural high school students. Researchers will use a design-based approach to partner with rural school districts tointroduce students to high-need STEM career fields using virtual reality technology and career exploration modules. They will also guide students in assessing their potential fit for these fields. The researchers hypothesize that student career decision making self-efficacy and career outcome expectations will statistically improve as a result of the intervention. The project will beimplemented in two stages: development of the curriculum modules and then implementation of the interventionwith research being conducted concurrently. The project is designed to broaden participation in the STEM workforce for those in rural communities, particularly women and underrepresented groups, by exposing students and school counselors to potential high-need careers.Guided by social cognitive career theory, the researchers will employ an experimental design with randomization within clusters to measure the effectiveness of the intervention by investigating four research questions: (1) What is the magnitude of theeffect of a STEM career exploration intervention using virtual reality technology on student career decision making self-efficacy, career outcome expectations, and knowledge of the targeted careers? (2) How do student inputs of gender, race/ethnicity,and personality impact the effects of participation in the career intervention on outcomes of career decision making self-efficacy, career outcome expectations, and knowledge of the targeted careers? (3) How does student socio-economic status impact the effects ofparticipation in the career intervention on outcomes of career decision making self-efficacy, career outcome expectations, and knowledge of the targeted careers? and (4) How do students characterize the effectiveness of the career exploration interventionin developing their understanding of, and interest in, the target careers? Data will be collected pre- and post-intervention. Additionally, student focus groups will be used to collect data from a representative sample of students from the treatmentcondition at each school. The project will produce a proof-of-concept for the efficacy of virtual reality technology in rural educational settings.The project is funded by the EHR Core Research (ECR) program that supports fundamental research focused on STEM learning and learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM professional workforce development.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.

该项目将研究旨在提高农村高中生追求STEM职业的自我效能和动机的干预措施的有效性。研究人员将使用基于设计的方法与农村学区合作，利用虚拟现实技术和职业探索模块向学生介绍高需求的STEM职业领域。 他们还将指导学生评估他们是否适合这些领域。研究人员假设，学生的职业决策自我效能和职业结果的期望将作为干预的结果统计改善。该项目将分两个阶段实施：制定课程模块，然后实施干预措施，同时进行研究。该项目旨在通过让学生和学校辅导员接触潜在的高需求职业，扩大农村社区的STEM劳动力参与，特别是妇女和代表性不足的群体。在社会认知职业理论的指导下，研究人员将采用随机分组的实验设计，通过调查四个研究问题来衡量干预的有效性：（1）使用虚拟现实技术的STEM职业探索干预对学生职业决策自我效能、职业结果期望和目标职业知识的影响程度如何？(2)学生的性别，种族/民族，和个性的投入如何影响职业干预的参与对职业决策自我效能，职业结果期望和目标职业知识的影响？(3)学生的社会经济地位如何影响参与职业干预对职业决策自我效能、职业结果期望和目标职业知识的影响？（4）学生如何评价职业探索干预在发展他们对目标职业的理解和兴趣方面的有效性？将在干预前和干预后收集数据。此外，学生焦点小组将被用来收集数据，从一个有代表性的样本的学生在每个学校的治疗条件。该项目将为虚拟现实技术在农村教育环境中的有效性提供概念验证。该项目由EHR核心研究（ECR）计划资助，该计划支持以STEM学习和学习环境为重点的基础研究，扩大STEM的参与，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的学术价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

项目成果

How do you know if this is for you? Exploration and awareness of technical STEM careers

你怎么知道这是否适合你？

• DOI: 10.1111/ssm.12577
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: School Science and Mathematics
• 影响因子: 1.1
• 作者: Ferguson, Sarah L.;Ieva, Kara P.;Winkler, Christopher J.;Ash, Kimelle;Cann, Theresa
• 通讯作者: Cann, Theresa