Transforming Preschoolers’ Spatial Orientation: Leveraging New Technologies for Learning in Early Childhood Classrooms and at Home

空间定位（SO）技能的发展——在空间中识别物体位置的能力——是数学技能和以后在学校的成功和学术成就的一个强有力的预测指标。然而，尽管越来越多的证据表明SO技能对儿童的重要性，但它们很少被纳入幼儿园和小学的课程。这让孩子们处于严重的学习劣势；在入学数学技能方面落后于同龄人的儿童很有可能继续落后。因此，在孩子进入正规学校之前培养SO技能可以为他们以后的数学学习奠定坚实的基础。在这个项目中，来自教育发展中心和数字承诺全球的学习科学家团队，以及来自WGBH教育基金会的公共媒体制作人，将开发和研究一个学前数学课程补充。它将利用数字触摸屏平板电脑和增强现实技术，以及其他实际操作的、适合发展的空间学习活动。这些活动旨在提高学龄前儿童的学习能力和STEM认同，特别是对于代表性不足和服务不足的群体。该项目将邀请39名教师、50个家庭和大约585-780名学龄前儿童参加SO课堂和家庭SO学习活动。此外，该项目还将生成一个新的增强现实平板应用程序、一个幼儿园教室的数字教师指南、一个数字家庭指南和一个经过验证的幼儿园学生SO评估。本研究的结果将阐明该方法在学龄前儿童SO学习中的潜力。该研究还将增加有关如何设计促进学习和知识的数字活动的文献，该领域可以为其他领域和年龄组利用这些活动。通过这项工作，该团队寻求扩大幼儿、家长和学前教师对增强STEM身份的强大数学和技术学习体验的参与。该项目将使用基于设计的研究方法来开发和测试空间定向（SO）干预。研究问题集中在4个方面：1)可用性和可理解性：学习活动（课堂和家庭）中的哪些设计元素或框架确保可用性和可理解性？2)教学支持：哪些教学活动要素或教师和护理人员的脚手架与学龄前儿童成功参与SO活动有关？3)增强现实的潜力：增强现实数字活动的哪些方面提高了学龄前儿童理解SO概念的能力？4)学生学习和STEM认同：与没有经历干预的学生相比，参与这些教学活动是否会导致学龄前儿童随着时间的推移增加他们的SO知识和STEM认同？额外的家庭SO学习经验是否能提高学龄前儿童的SO知识和技能？研究人员将收集来自儿童（评估、观察）、教师（观察、访谈和调查）和顾问（建议）的数据。通过定性数据分析软件对教师访谈数据进行分析，对学生学习任务数据进行定量分析。学生和课堂观察数据以及教师调查将使用定量和定性软件进行分析。除了基于研究的文件外，该项目还将生成学习蓝图和猜想图，以通知开发团队。为了确保项目活动的持续质量，外部形成性和总结性评价将设法记录项目对拟议的研究和开发计划的遵守情况，在发展和实施技术干预方面的成功和挑战，以及对该领域知识的贡献。该项目由“面向学生和教师的创新技术体验”（ITEST）项目资助，该项目支持有助于提高学生对科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）以及信息和通信技术（ICT）职业的知识和兴趣的实践、项目要素、背景和过程的理解。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。

The development of spatial orientation (SO) skills – the ability to identify the position of objects in space – is a strong predictor of math skills and later school success and academic achievement. However, even with the increasing evidence in the importance of SO skills for children, they are rarely included in kindergarten and primary school curriculum. This puts children at a severe learning disadvantage; children who lag behind their peers in school-entry mathematical skills are at high risk to continue to do so. Thus, fostering SO skills before children enter formal schooling provides them with a sound foundation for later mathematical learning. In this project, a team of learning scientists from the Education Development Center and Digital Promise Global, and public media producers from WGBH Educational Foundation, will develop and research a preschool mathematics curriculum supplement. It will leverage digital touch-screen tablets and augmented reality technologies with other hands-on, developmentally appropriate spatial learning activities. These activities are aimed to increase preschoolers’ SO learning and STEM identity, particularly for underrepresented and underserved groups. The project will engage 39 teachers, 50 families, and approximately 585-780 preschool children in SO classroom and family SO learning activities. In addition, the project will generate a new augmented reality tablet app, a digital teachers’ guide for preschool classrooms, a digital family guide, and a validated SO assessment for preschool students. Findings from this study will illuminate the potential for this approach on preschoolers’ SO learning. The study will also add to the literature on how to design digital activities that foster learning and knowledge that the field can capitalize on for other domains and age groups. Through this work, the team seeks to broaden the participation of young children, parents, and preschool teachers in robust math and technology learning experiences that increase STEM identities.The project will use a design-based research approach to develop and test a spatial orientation (SO) intervention. The research questions are focused around 4 areas: 1) Usability and Comprehensibility: What design elements or scaffolds within the learning activities (classroom and home) ensure usability and comprehensibility? 2) Instructional Supports: What instructional activity elements or teacher and caregiver scaffolds are associated with successful engagement in SO activities with preschool children? 3) Potential for Augmented Reality: What aspects of the augmented reality digital activities increase preschoolers’ ability to understand SO concepts? 4) Student Learning and STEM Identity: Does engagement in these instructional activities lead preschool children to increase their SO knowledge and STEM identity over time and in comparison to students who do not experience the intervention? And do additional SO learning experiences at home increase preschoolers’ SO knowledge and skills? Researchers will collect data from children (assessments, observations), teachers (observations, interviews, and surveys), and advisors (recommendations). Data from teachers’ interviews will be analyzed through qualitative data analysis software, and student learning task data will be analyzed quantitatively. Student and classroom observation data, and teacher surveys, will be analyzed with quantitative and qualitative software. In addition to documents based on the research, the project will generate a learning blueprint and a conjecture map to inform the development team. To ensure ongoing quality of the project activities, external formative and summative evaluations will seek to document the project’s adherence to the proposed plans for research and development, successes, and challenges in developing and implementing a technology-infused intervention, and contributions of knowledge to the field. This project is funded by the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program, which supports projects that build understandings of practices, program elements, contexts and processes contributing to increasing students' knowledge and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and information and communication technology (ICT) careers.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.