Collaborative Research: Exploring the Impact of Robotic Telescope-Based Observing Experiences on Students' Learning and Engagement in STEM

合作研究：探索基于机器人望远镜的观测体验对学生学习和参与 STEM 的影响

• 批准号: 2013295
• 负责人: Tiffany Stone Wolbrecht
• 金额: $ 62.52万
• 依托单位: Associated Universities, Inc.
• 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: 2020-09-01 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2013295&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Exploring; Impact; Robotic

Using scientific instruments to make discoveries and solve problems in STEM classrooms enables undergraduates to experience how professional scientists actually work. Such experiences increase students’ engagement, learning, and excitement about science. In many disciplines, instructors have redesigned courses to embed authentic research experiences. For example, more that a decade ago, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill introduced the Skynet network of robotic (remote-controlled) telescopes into introductory astronomy courses. Skynet allowed the students to use real telescopes to do the science they were learning in class. Over five years, the Skynet-based laboratory curriculum (Our Place in Space!) resulted in a doubling of enrollment in the astronomy course and an approximately three-fold increase in astronomy majors and minors. The curriculum has since been adopted by a dozen other colleges and universities. A previous NSF award (DUE-1245383) funded a study across ten of those adopting institutions, and showed that the Skynet-based labs led to a statistically significant improvement in students' attitudes toward science. For context, traditional telescope labs and non-telescope labs, as well as in-class activities known to yield learning gains, did not have a similar effect on student attitudes. This project will follow up on that first study by conducting a large-scale case study that involves approximately 19,000 students at 35 institutions. This research will measure changes in students' attitudes toward science, confidence in their abilities, conceptual understanding, and career intentions in both traditional and Skynet-based introductory astronomy courses. The research will include further development and assessment of student-outcome metrics that are specific to astronomy. To support this research, the investigators will also provide professional development to help approximately 40 astronomy instructors from the participating institutions learn how to incorporate Skynet-based activities into their courses and will update the curriculum and its supporting technologies.Although there have been multiple reports of positive impacts of robotic telescope networks in education at different levels, the studies have been limited in rigor and generalizability. This project aims to assess reliably the common claim that the use of research-grade robotic telescopes leads to improvements in students' STEM attitudes and self-efficacy and changes in their career aspirations. The investigators will also address key questions connected with the design of the curriculum and the technology, such as: How is the effect of using research-grade robotic telescope networks different from that of smaller, more local, telescope experiences? Does student ownership of data affect student outcomes? How does learning with archival data compare to learning with data that students collect themselves? By the third year of the project, the curriculum-development and technology-development aspects of the project are expected to impact around 5,000 introductory-level students per year, primarily non-STEM majors. The investigators will also expand the reach of the curriculum by enhancing its accessibility to students with disabilities and making it available to public audiences without cost. This collaborative project includes investigators at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Award DUE-2013300) and Associated Universities, Inc. (Award DUE-2013295). The project is funded by the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE: EHR) program, which supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.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.

使用科学仪器在STEM教室中进行发现和解决问题，使本科生能够体验专业科学家的实际工作方式。 这样的经历增加了学生的参与，学习和对科学的兴奋。在许多学科中，教师重新设计了课程，以嵌入真实的研究经验。例如，十多年前，位于查佩尔山的北卡罗来纳州大学在天文学入门课程中引入了天网机器人（遥控）望远镜网络。 天网允许学生们使用真实的望远镜来做他们在课堂上学习的科学。五年多来，基于天网的实验室课程（我们在太空中的位置！）天文学课程的入学人数增加了一倍，天文学专业和未专业的学生增加了大约三倍。此后，该课程已被其他十几所学院和大学采用。之前的NSF奖项（DUE-1245383）资助了一项针对10所采用机构的研究，并表明基于天网的实验室导致学生对科学的态度在统计上显着改善。在背景下，传统的望远镜实验室和非望远镜实验室，以及课堂上的活动，已知产生学习收益，并没有对学生的态度产生类似的影响。该项目将对第一项研究采取后续行动，开展一项涉及35所院校约19 000名学生的大规模个案研究。这项研究将衡量学生对科学的态度，对自己的能力，概念的理解和职业生涯的意图在传统和基于天网的天文学入门课程的信心的变化。该研究将包括进一步开发和评估特定于天文学的学生成果指标。为了支持这项研究，研究人员还将提供专业发展，帮助来自参与机构的大约40名天文教师学习如何将基于天网的活动纳入他们的课程，并将更新课程及其支持技术。尽管有多份报告表明机器人望远镜网络对不同层次的教育产生了积极影响，这些研究在严谨性和普遍性方面受到限制。该项目旨在可靠地评估研究级机器人望远镜的使用导致学生STEM态度和自我效能的改善以及职业抱负的变化的共同主张。研究人员还将解决与课程设计和技术相关的关键问题，例如：使用研究级机器人望远镜网络的效果与较小，更本地的望远镜体验有何不同？学生对数据的所有权是否会影响学生的成绩？如何与档案数据学习相比，学生自己收集的数据学习？到该项目的第三年，该项目的技术开发和技术开发方面预计每年将影响约5，000名入门级学生，主要是非STEM专业的学生。调查人员还将扩大课程的覆盖面，使残疾学生更容易获得课程，并免费向公众提供课程。 这个合作项目包括查佩尔山的北卡罗来纳州大学的研究人员（DUE-2013300奖）和联合大学公司。（奖项DUE-2013295）。 该项目由改善本科STEM教育（IUSE：EHR）计划资助，该计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。该奖项反映了NSF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。