PFI-RP: Mobile Technology to Improve Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) College and Career Awareness for Underserved High School Students

这一创新-研究伙伴关系(PFI-RP)项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力在于它能够通过手机游戏让未得到充分服务的学生接触到中学后的可能性，并允许学生想象自己在教育和职业空间中的情况。在美国，低收入、少数族裔和第一代(第一代)学生往往学术准备不足，对未来生活的教育和职业机会缺乏现实的理解。这种知识的缺乏可能会对成年后的就业机会、工资、健康和福祉产生严重的长期后果。虽然一些教育技术已经被用来帮助少数族裔和低收入家庭的学生在大学和职业道路上导航，但这一领域严重的移动游戏化已经成熟，可以进行开发和系统评估。该项目的独特之处在于，它开发了一款专门针对大学和职业规划的移动应用程序，以进一步个性化学生的目标、时间表和资源。鉴于移动应用程序技术的成本效益性质，该项目有可能通过正规课堂、职业咨询或校外非正式环境中难以获得的即时反馈来快速传播信息，同时将费用保持在最低水平，使其成为服务不足的学生的宝贵资源。拟议的项目旨在为服务不足的低收入和少数族裔学生开发一种数字干预措施，创造独特的学习机会，学生可以在玩一系列为此目的设计的手机游戏时获得与教育和职业道路相关的知识和技能。这一创新的教育资源已被证明有助于学校、社区组织、当地企业和大专院校之间的协同、信息合作伙伴关系，以分享和提供资源，促进学生在STEM大学和职业道路上的认识和进步。对该游戏的进一步实证评估将有助于不断增长的研究和实践，以扩大针对低收入和少数族裔学生的STEM职业道路，并允许研究团队迭代游戏原型。来自该项目的数据将支持将基于应用的技术和战略规划纳入高中项目，这些项目可以增强和改善对STEM的参与，同时直接支持业务计划开发、客户发现和商业化服务将原型推向市场的努力。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation – Research Partnerships (PFI-RP) project lies in its ability to expose underserved students to postsecondary possibilities through mobile games and allows students to envision themselves in educational and occupational spaces. Low-income, minority, and first-generation (first-gen) students in the U.S. often have inadequate academic preparation and an unrealistic understanding of the education and career opportunities for their future lives. This lack of knowledge can have severe long-term consequences for job opportunities, wages, health and well-being in adulthood. While some educational technologies have been used to assist minority and low income students with navigating their college and career pathways, serious mobile gamification in this field is ripe for development and systematic evaluation. This project is unique in that it develops a mobile application that focuses exclusively on college and career planning to further personalize a student’s goals, timelines, and resources. Given the cost-effective nature of mobile app technology, this project has the potential to quickly disseminate information with instant feedback not readily available in formal classrooms, career counseling, or informal settings outside of school while keeping expenses to a minimum, making it a valuable resource for underserved students. The proposed project aims to develop a digital intervention for underserved low income and minority students that creates unique learning opportunities where students can build knowledge and skills related to education and career pathways as they play a series of mobile games designed for that purpose. This innovative educational resource has shown to facilitate synergistic, informational partnerships among schools, community organizations, local businesses, and postsecondary institutions to share and provide resources that advance students’ awareness and progress in STEM college and career pathways. Further empirical evaluation of the game will contribute to the growing body of research and practice to expand STEM career pathways for low income and minority students and allow the research team to iterate the game prototype. Data derived from this project will support the inclusion of application-based technology and strategic planning for high school programs that can enhance and improve participation in STEM while directly supporting efforts of business plan development, customer discovery, and commercialization services to bring the prototype to market.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.