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

作为其整体战略的一部分，以加强在非正式环境中的学习，推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划旨在推进新的方法，并以证据为基础的理解，在非正式环境中的STEM学习的设计和开发。这包括提供多种途径，以扩大获得和参与STEM学习经验，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入学习的理解。这一试点可行性项目旨在满足失聪或听力有困难的青年（10-19岁）的需要，他们喜欢使用英语或美国手语作为交流方法。 该项目将开发和研究来自STEM工作人员的聋人或听力障碍者的视频故事。 青少年将在家中或课外活动中观看这些视频。 这些故事将帮助年轻人意识到STEM职业的范围以及他们在这些职业中追求和成功的潜力。 失聪或重听的年轻人面临的最大挑战之一是没有STEM劳动力成员的榜样。 如果没有这些榜样，他们就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方面取得成功可以增强自信心。 接触聋人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Gallaudet大学区域中心，东北聋人听力服务，男孩女孩俱乐部的林恩，马，和桥梁多媒体。 该项目将增进非正式环境中聋人教育领域的知识。 研究问题是：1）失聪或听力困难的青少年如何整合和使用STEM劳动力成员的第一手故事的数字版本？ 2)家长和扶轮社领导人如何利用这些故事？3)什么样的结果是可能通过使用的故事，如在STEM职业的兴趣4）什么修改和额外的将改善故事，使他们更有用和有效？5)什么样的传播策略可以最大限度地利用故事？ 该项目将利用30个家庭团体和10名男孩和女孩参与者的样本对试点录像进行形成性评价。 家庭将根据他们居住的地方与其中一个合作机构（Gallaudet University Regional Center East，Northeast Deaf Hard of Hearing Service或TERC）的研究人员会面。 研究人员将与一个家庭或青少年在同一时间。 他们将在电脑上观看视频，而研究人员观察和记录数据。 在观看视频后，研究人员会询问他们学到了什么，可能会增加，改变或改进什么。 他们将被要求稍后在家用电脑上观看视频，并做一些事情，例如选择STEM职业进行进一步研究。 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NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估。

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.