Measuring the Effectiveness of Middle School STEM-Innovation and Engineering Design Curricula

将工程纳入下一代科学标准，增加了K-12学生学习工程相关概念和技能的机会，并了解工程职业道路。然而，一个持续的挑战是缺乏高质量的，以研究为基础的工程课程资源，符合科学和数学教育标准。此外，K-12学生学习制造业以及制造业如何与工程，数学和科学相关的机会有限。来自格鲁吉亚理工学院的研究人员开发了一个为期三年的中学工程和技术课程序列，向学生介绍先进的制造工具，如计算机辅助设计（CAD）和3D打印，结合工程概念，如机械学，机器人和航空学，提高学生对职业道路的认识，并解决技术雇主希望工人解决问题，团队合作，和沟通技巧。这个DRK-12影响研究项目将调查STEM创新和设计（STEM-ID）课程在大约29所中学的有效性，目标是格鲁吉亚的29名工程教师和大约5，000名中年级学生。这项影响研究将确定STEM-ID课程在正常实施条件下是否在不同的人口群体和学校环境中同样有效，以及这些课程是否有潜力对全国各地的大量学生产生积极影响，特别是那些努力保持STEM教育的学生。这是将在NSF支持下开发的STEM-ID课程从研究实验室转移到学校大规模实践的更大努力的重要组成部分。为了促进大规模实施，该项目将把所有课程和教师支持材料转移到在线传播网站，开发即时教师支持材料以嵌入课程，创建在线专业发展平台，并在国家的多个领域进行专业学习。 然后，项目团队将评估STEM-ID课程的可转移性，并确定影响实施的教师成果。他们还将通过测量学生在STEM学业成绩和社会情感量表上的成果来检查课程的普遍性。本项目的研究问题包括：1）影响规模的环境因素; 2）实施的忠实性、课程的适应性和可持续性; 3）专业发展对教师工程自我效能和教学实践的影响; 4）参与对学生数学和科学学业成绩的影响; 5）参与对学生社会情感结果的影响;以及5）STEM ID的实施方式与学生成绩之间的关系。 为了研究STEM-ID对成就和成就增长的影响，研究人员将使用多层次增长模型和中介分析来探讨干预对成就的影响是否由学生的参与度，学术自我效能感和/或对STEM的兴趣介导。此外，他们将借鉴世纪和Cassata的实施框架（FOI），研究影响不同学校环境中STEM-ID课程实施的一系列因素。发现研究preK-12计划（DRK-12）旨在显著提高preK-12学生和教师的科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）的学习和教学，通过研究和开发创新资源、模式和工具。DRK-12项目中的项目建立在STEM教育的基础研究以及为拟议项目提供理论和经验依据的先前研究和开发工作的基础上。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。

Inclusion of engineering in the Next Generation Science Standards has led to increased opportunities for K-12 students to learn engineering related concepts and skills, and learn about engineering career paths. However, a persistent challenge is the lack of high-quality, research-based engineering curricular resources that align with science and math education standards. Further, the opportunities for K-12 students to also learn about manufacturing and how manufacturing is related to engineering, math, and science are limited. Researchers from Georgia Tech have developed a three-year middle school Engineering and Technology course sequence that introduces students to advanced manufacturing tools such as computer aided design (CAD) and 3D printing, incorporates engineering concepts such as pneumatics, robotics and aeronautics, increases student awareness of career paths, and addresses the concerns of technical employers wanting workers with problem solving, teamwork, and communication skills. This DRK-12 Impact Study project will investigate the effectiveness of STEM-Innovation and Design (STEM-ID) curricula in approximately 29 middle schools, targeting 29 engineering teachers and approximately 5,000 students across middle grades in Georgia. This impact research study will determine whether STEM-ID courses are equally effective across different demographic groups and school environments under normal implementation conditions and whether the courses have the potential to positively impact a vast number of students around the country, particularly students who have struggled to stay engaged with their STEM education. It is a critical part of a larger effort to move the STEM-ID curricula, developed with NSF support, from the research lab to large-scale practice in schools.To facilitate large-scale implementation, the project will transfer all curriculum and teacher support materials to an online dissemination site, develop just-in-time teacher support materials to embed within the curriculum, create an online professional development platform, and conduct professional learning in multiple areas of the state. The project team will then assess the transferability of the STEM-ID curricula and identify teacher outcomes that affect the implementation. They will also examine the generalizability of the curriculum by measuring student outcomes in STEM academic achievement and on social-emotional scales. The project’s research questions consider 1) contextual factors that influence scaling; 2) the fidelity of implementation, curriculum adaptations and sustainability; 3) the effects of professional development on teachers’ engineering self-efficacy and instructional practices; 4) the effect of participation on student academic performance in mathematics and science; 5) the effect of participation on student social-emotional outcomes; and 5) the relationship between the way STEM-ID is implemented and the student outcomes. To examine the effects of STEM-ID on achievement and achievement growth, the investigators will use a multilevel growth model and mediation analysis to explore if the intervention’s effect on achievement was mediated by students’ engagement, academic self-efficacy, and/or interest in STEM. Additionally, drawing upon Century and Cassata’s Fidelity of Implementation framework (FOI), they will examine the array of factors that influence implementation of the STEM-ID curricula across diverse school settings.The Discovery Research preK-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools. Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects.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.