STTR Phase I: Making Waves: Educational Technologies Combining STEM and Music Learning

这一小型企业技术转让(STTR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响是通过开发教育交付系统来增强儿童的分析和创造技能，在该系统中，学生使用动手学习的科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)来设计和制造乐器，然后通过音乐教育在乐器上创作和表演原创音乐作品。NSF之前的研究表明，STEM领域的成就与艺术的学习和实践以及高危青年更大的学术成就之间存在很强的相关性。现场实践活动与远程STEM和艺术专家的独特结合，承诺以其他方法无法接触到的方式吸引学生，而不会给现场讲师带来不切实际的专业发展负担。该项目将系统地建立一个由STEM专家和音乐教师组成的分布式网络，该网络可以同时反映广泛学生的文化多样性，同时还将为现场组织者提供通常仅适用于复杂城市中心精英校外项目的教学专业知识和专业人才水平。拟议的项目将为STEM和音乐教育综合计划开发技术，当在完全在线或混合学习环境中提供时，该计划将对学生和教师都具有极高的吸引力和回报。研究目标将侧重于开发和评估学习模块，其中包括使用实物动手工具包和操作工具以及在线工具和模拟，由远程教员使用视频会议和可选的现场成人辅导员授课。核心内容将集中在从公认的国家标准中提取的材料，这些标准涉及的概念包括分数、波特性，以及应用于乐器分析和设计以及音乐创作的工程设计过程。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。

The broader impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is the enhancement of analytic and creative skills of children through the development of a educational delivery system, where students design and build musical instruments using hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning, and then compose and perform original musical works on the instruments via music education. Previous NSF research has shown strong correlations between achievement in the STEM fields and the study and practice of the arts, as well as greater academic success for at-risk youth. The unique integration of physical hands-on activities with live, remote STEM and arts experts promise to engage students in ways that other approaches have failed to reach, without burdening the at-site instructor with unrealistic required professional development. This project will enable systematic establishment of a distributed network of expert STEM and music instructors that can simultaneously reflect the cultural multiplicities of a broad range of students, while also supporting the on-site organizer with the level of instructional expertise and professional talent normally available to only to elite out-of-school programs in sophisticated urban centers. The proposed project will develop technology for an integrated STEM and music education program that will be highly engaging and rewarding for both students and instructors when delivered in a fully online or hybrid learning environment. The research objectives will focus on the development and assessment of learning modules that incorporate the use of physical hands-on kits and manipulatives as well as online tools and simulations, taught by remote instructors using videoconferencing with optional onsite adult facilitators. The core content will center upon material drawn from the accepted national standards involving concepts which include fractions, wave properties, and the engineering design process as applied to both musical instrument analysis and design and music composition.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.