STEM Workforce Stories for Adolescents Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

作为加强非正式环境中学习的总体战略的一部分，推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划旨在推进非正式环境中STEM学习的设计和开发的新方法和基于证据的理解。这包括提供多种途径，扩大STEM学习经验的获取和参与，推进非正式环境中STEM学习的创新研究和评估，以及发展参与者对深度学习的理解。这个试点和可行性项目解决了10-19岁的失聪或重听青年的需求，他们使用英语或美国手语作为首选的交流方式。该项目将开发和研究STEM工作人员耳聋或听力障碍者的视频故事。年轻人可以在家或在课外活动中通过网络观看这些视频。这些故事将帮助年轻人了解可用的STEM职业范围以及他们在这些职业中追求和成功的潜力。失聪或有听力障碍的年轻人面临的最大挑战之一是没有STEM劳动力中的榜样。如果没有这些榜样，他们就不会意识到自己在这些领域工作的可能性。几项研究表明，看到其他残疾人在STEM领域取得成功会增强自信心。接触聋人的榜样可以让聋人学生认同成功的聋人，从而相信他们自己可以实现他们以前认为遥不可及的目标。项目合作者包括加劳德特大学区域中心、东北聋人和重听服务中心、马萨诸塞州林恩的男孩和女孩俱乐部以及桥多媒体。该项目将促进非正式环境中聋人教育领域的知识。研究问题是：1)失聪或有听力障碍的青少年如何整合和使用来自STEM工作人员的第一手故事的数字版本？2)家长和社团领导如何利用这些故事？3)使用诸如对STEM职业的兴趣之类的故事可以产生什么样的结果？ 4)哪些修改和补充可以改进这些故事，使其更有用和有效？5)什么样的传播策略能最大限度地利用故事？该项目将使用30个家庭小组和10名男孩和女孩参与者作为样本，对试点录像进行形成性评价。家庭将根据他们的居住地与合作机构（加劳德特大学东部区域中心，东北聋人和听力障碍服务中心或TERC）的研究人员会面。研究人员将每次与一个家庭或青少年一起工作。当研究人员观察和记录数据时，他们将在电脑上观看视频。看完视频后，研究人员会问他们学到了什么，可以增加、改变或改进什么。他们将被要求在他们的家用电脑上观看视频，并做一些事情，比如为进一步的研究选择一个STEM职业。额外的数据收集将包括完成青少年及其父母的使用后在线调查。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并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，被认为值得支持。

As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants. This pilot and feasibility project addresses the needs of youth (ages 10-19) who are deaf or hard of hearing and use either English or American Sign Language as their preferred method of communication. The project will develop and study video stories from members of the STEM workforce who are deaf or hard of hearing. Youth will view these videos on the web at home or at an afterschool program. These stories will help the youth become aware of the range of STEM careers that are available and their potential to pursue and succeed in these occupations. One of the biggest challenges young persons who are deaf or hard of hearing face is not having role models who are members of the STEM workforce. Without these role models they are not aware of the possibility that they could work in these fields. Several studies indicate that seeing other people with disabilities having success in STEM boosts self-confidence. Exposure to deaf role models allows deaf student to identify with successful deaf people and consequently believe they themselves could accomplish goals they previously thought out of their reach. Project collaborators include Gallaudet University Regional Center, Northeast Deaf & Hard of Hearing Service, Boys & Girls Club of Lynn, MA, and Bridge Multimedia. The project will advance knowledge in the field of deaf education in informal settings. The research questions are: 1) How do adolescents who are deaf or hard of hearing integrate and use digital versions of firsthand stories from members of the STEM workforce? 2) How do parents and club leaders make use of the stories? 3) What kind of outcomes are made possible by using the stories such as interest in STEM careers 4) What modifications and additional would improve the stories to make them more useful and effective? 5) What dissemination strategies would maximize story use? The project will do a formative evaluation of the pilot videos using a sample of 30 family groups and 10 boys’ and girls’ participants. Families will meet with researchers at one of the collaborating institutions (Gallaudet University Regional Center East, Northeast Deaf & Hard of Hearing Service or TERC) depending on where they live. The researcher will work with one family or adolescent at a time. They will view the videos on a computer while the researchers observe and record data. After viewing the videos, researchers will ask them questions about what they learned, what might be added, changed, or improved. They will be asked to look at the videos later on their home computers and do things such as select a STEM career for further research. Additional data collection will involve completing a post-use online survey for adolescents and their parents.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.