Leveraging the Power of Reflection and Visual Representation in Middle-Schoolers' Learning During and After an Informal Science Experience

在中学生非正式科学体验期间和之后的学习中利用反思和视觉表征的力量

• 批准号: 2115603
• 负责人: Amanda Dickes
• 金额: $ 118.66万
• 依托单位: Gulf of Maine Research Institute
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-10-01 至 2025-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2115603&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Leveraging; Power; Reflection; Visual; Representation

This project addresses a longstanding problem in informal science education: how to increase the likelihood of consequential science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning from short duration experiences such as field trips. Although informal learning experiences can greatly contribute to interest in and knowledge of science, there is a shared concern among educators and researchers that students may have difficulty recalling and using scientific information and practices emphasized during these experiences, even though doing so would further their science learning. Nonetheless, science learning is rarely, if ever, a "one-shot deal." Children acquire knowledge about science cumulatively across different contexts and activities. Therefore, it is important that informal science learning institutions identify effective practices that support the consolidation of learning and memory from exhibit experiences to foster portable, usable knowledge across contexts, such as from informal science learning institutions, to classrooms, and homes. To this end, this Research in Service to Practice project seeks to harness the power and potential of visual representations (e.g., graphs, drawings, charts, maps, etc.) for enhancing learning and encouraging effective reflection during and after science learning experiences. The project promises to increase learning for the 9,000+ 5th and 6th grade students from across the rurality and growing diversity of the state of Maine who annually participate in LabVenture, a 2.5-hour exploration of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem at Gulf of Maine Research Institute. The research will provide new and actionable informal science learning practices that promote engagement with visual representations and reflection, and science understandings that can be applied broadly by informal science institutions. This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) and the Discovery Research PreK-12 (DRK-12) programs. It supports the AISL program goals to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. It supports the DRK-12 program goal of enhancing the learning and teaching of STEM by preK-12 students and teachers.The project is grounded in the idea that visual representations, including drawings, can both enhance science learning and encourage reflection on doing science that can support extension of that learning beyond a singular informal science experience. The project uses design-based research to address the following research questions: (1) Does reflection during an informal science learning experience promote students’ retention and subsequent use of science information and practices that are part of the experience? (2) Does interpreting and constructing visual representations, such as drawings, improve students’ understanding and retention of information, and if so, how and when? and (3) Does combining visual representations and narrative reflections confer benefits on students’ science learning and engagement in science practices both during the informal learning experience, and later in their classrooms and at home? These questions will be pursued in collaboration with practitioners (both informal educators and classroom teachers) and a diverse team of graduate and undergraduate student researchers. Approximately 600 student groups (roughly 3000 individual students) will be observed during the LabVenture experience, with further data collection involving a portion of these students at school and at home. The project will yield resources and video demonstrations of field-tested, empirically based practices that promote engagement with visual representations and reflection, and science understandings that can travel within students' learning ecosystem. In support of broadening participation, the undergraduate/graduate student researchers will gain wide understanding and experience connecting research to practice and communicating science to academic and nonacademic audiences.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.

该项目解决了非正式科学教育中一个长期存在的问题：如何增加有关科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）学习的可能性（STEM），从短时间的经验（例如实地考察）学习。尽管非正式的学习经历可以极大地有助于对科学的兴趣和知识，但教育者和研究人员之间存在着一个共同的关注，即学生在这些经验中可能很难回忆和使用科学信息和实践，即使这样做会进一步进一步进一步学习科学学习。尽管如此，科学学习很少是“单次交易”。儿童在不同的环境和活动中累积地了解科学的知识。因此，重要的是，非正式的科学学习机构确定有效的实践，这些实践可以支持从暴露经验中巩固学习和记忆的巩固，从而培养跨环境，例如非正式科学学习机构，教室和家庭的可用知识。为此，这项在实践项目中进行的研究旨在利用视觉表示的力量和潜力（例如图形，图纸，图表，地图等），以增强学习和鼓励在科学学习经验期间和之后的有效反思。该项目有望增加来自整个农村的9,000多名5年级和六年级的学生的学习，并每年都会参加缅因州缅因州生态系统的2.5小时探索缅因州的缅因州多样性。这项研究将提供新的，可行的非正式科学学习实践，以促进视觉表现和反思的参与，以及非正式科学机构可以广泛应用的科学理解。该项目由前进的非正式STEM学习（AISL）和Discovery Research Prek-12（DRK-12）计划提供资金。它支持AISL计划的目标，以推进非正式环境中STEM学习的新方法和基于证据的理解。它支持DRK-12计划的目标，即增强PreK-12学生和老师对STEM的学习和教学。该项目的基础是，包括图纸在内的视觉表现形式可以增强科学学习，并鼓励对进行科学的反思，以支持扩展该学习超出奇异非正式科学经验的学习。该项目使用基于设计的研究来解决以下研究问题：（1）在非正式科学学习经验期间的反思是否会促进学生的保留率，并随后使用科学信息和实践，这是经验的一部分？ （2）解释和构建视觉表示，例如图纸，改善学生对信息的理解和保留，如果是，则如何以及何时？ （3）在非正式的学习经历，后来在他们的教室和家里，将视觉表现和叙事思考结合给学生科学学习和参与科学实践的会议是否有益？这些问题将与实践者（非正式教育者和课堂老师）和一支由毕业生和本科生研究人员合作提出。在Labventure经验期间，将观察到大约600个学生群体（大约3000名个人学生），进一步的数据收集涉及这些学生在学校和家里的一部分。该项目将产生基于现场测试的，基于经验的实践的资源和视频演示，以促进参与视觉表现和反思，以及可以在学生学习生态系统中传播的科学理解。支持扩大参与的支持，本科/研究生研究人员将获得广泛的理解和经验，将研究与学术和非学术受众联系起来并将科学联系起来。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的审查标准来通过评估来获得支持的。