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)计划寻求促进非正式环境中STEM学习的设计和发展的新方法和基于证据的理解。这包括为扩大获得和参与STEM学习经验提供多种途径，推进对非正式环境中STEM学习的创新研究和评估，以及加深参与者对更深层次学习的理解。这一试点和可行性项目解决了聋哑人或重听人(10-19岁)的需要，他们使用英语或美国手语作为他们首选的交流方式。该项目将开发和研究STEM工作人员的视频故事，这些成员是聋人或重听人。年轻人会在家里或课外活动中在网络上观看这些视频。这些故事将帮助年轻人认识到STEM职业的范围，以及他们追求这些职业并取得成功的潜力。失聪或重听的年轻人面临的最大挑战之一是没有STEM劳动力的榜样。没有这些榜样，他们不知道自己有可能在这些领域工作。一些研究表明，看到其他残疾人在STEM中取得成功会增强自信。通过接触聋人榜样，聋人学生可以认同成功的聋人，并因此相信他们自己可以实现他们以前认为遥不可及的目标。该项目的合作者包括加洛德特大学区域中心、东北聋人和重听服务机构、马萨诸塞州林恩的男孩和女孩俱乐部以及Bridge多媒体。该项目将在非正式环境中增进聋人教育领域的知识。研究问题是：1)聋人或重听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)父母和俱乐部领导人如何利用这些故事？3)使用故事可能产生什么样的结果，例如对STEM职业生涯的兴趣4)哪些修改和附加将改进故事以使其更有用和有效？5)什么传播策略将最大限度地利用故事？该项目将对试点视频进行形成性评估，使用30个家庭小组和10名男孩和女孩参与者的样本。家属将在其中一个合作机构(加拉德特大学区域中心东部、东北聋哑人服务中心或TERC)会见研究人员，具体取决于他们住在哪里。研究人员将一次与一个家庭或青少年合作。他们将在电脑上观看视频，而研究人员则观察和记录数据。观看完视频后，研究人员会问他们关于他们学到了什么，哪些可能会增加、改变或改进的问题。他们将被要求稍后在家里的电脑上观看视频，并做一些事情，比如选择STEM职业进行进一步的研究。额外的数据收集将包括完成一项针对青少年及其父母的使用后在线调查。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。

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.