Culturally situated immersive virtual learning and engineering design to build STEM capacity in Dine communities

该项目的目标是开发和测试混合式沉浸式学习环境，让Diné(纳瓦霍)中学生参与基于地点的虚拟科学调查、动手物理实验和工程设计项目。课程单元将支持技术灌输的科学学习，内容涉及：(1)纳瓦霍民族的能源(特别是从煤炭向其他能源的过渡)；和(2)水(短缺和质量问题)。课程将建立在迪内传统生态知识和实践的丰富历史基础上。身临其境的虚拟环境将通过情境、基于地点的调查、与文化和历史背景的联系以及现实环境中无法访问的可视化来支持科学调查。物理工程设计活动将涉及工程设计项目，以设计满足社区需求的解决方案。该项目是亚利桑那州立大学理工学院、哈佛教育研究生院、Ke‘yah先进农村制造联盟(Karma)、迪内教育部和整个纳瓦霍民族的一批中学之间的合作伙伴关系。这种方法有可能激励下一代Diné工程师和科学家利用他们的知识来加强他们的社区。该项目将直接影响纳瓦霍民族所有五个机构15所学校的1800名中学生和60名教师。该项目由学生和教师创新技术体验计划(ITEST)资助，该计划支持建立对实践、计划要素、背景和过程的理解的项目，这些项目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。该项目将为纳瓦霍民族的学校开发和测试两种混合的文化情境沉浸式学习环境，以能源和水的未来为中心。将使用基于社区参与设计的研究方法与Diné社区成员(包括长老、领导人、教师和工程师)合作共同设计和修订课程。这项研究将增进在文化背景下将虚拟3-D沉浸式学习环境与基于动手项目的学习相结合的知识，以支持学生设计能源和水的未来。它还将产生关于如何将Diné知识用于工程设计的新知识，并与STEM相交，并继续发展社区参与的研究方法。本研究将使用混合方法研究学生和教师对课程的体验和影响，通过以下研究问题：(1)教师和学生对混合学习环境的体验，(2)学生如何使用他们的文化资本，以及学生如何感知与STEM交叉的迪拜文化知识、技能和态度，以及(3)体验对学生学习和情感措施的影响。该项目还将为纳瓦霍民族的教师提供专业发展，以适应和实施课程，使用培训者培训模式来扩大和维持该计划在赠款期限之后的持续。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 goal of this project is to develop and test hybrid immersive learning environments to engage Diné (Navajo) middle school students in place-based virtual scientific investigations, hands-on physical experiments, and engineering design projects. The curriculum units will support technology-infused science learning on the past, present, and future of (1) energy in the Navajo Nation (specifically the transition from coal to other energy sources); and (2) water (both shortage and quality issues). The curriculum will build on the rich history of Diné traditional ecological knowledge and practices. The immersive virtual environment will support scientific investigation through situated, place-based investigation, with connections to cultural and historical context, and visualizations not accessible in real-world environments. The physical engineering design activity will involve engineering design projects to design solutions to meet community needs. This project is a partnership between Arizona State University Polytechnic School, Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Ke’yah Advanced Rural Manufacturing Alliance (KARMA), the Department of Diné Education, and a cohort of middle schools across the entire Navajo Nation. This approach has the potential to inspire the next generation of Diné engineers and scientists to use their knowledge to strengthen their communities. This project will directly impact 1800+ middle school students and 60+ teachers across 15+ schools across all five agencies of the Navajo Nation. 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.The project will develop and test two hybrid culturally-situated immersive learning environments for schools in the Navajo Nation centered around the energy and water futures. A Community Participatory Design-Based Research approach will be used to collaborate with Diné community members (including elders, leaders, teachers, and engineers) to co-design and revise the curriculum. This study will advance knowledge of blending virtual 3-D immersive learning environments with hands-on project-based learning in culturally-situated contexts to support students in designing energy and water futures. It will also generate new knowledge of how Diné knowledge can be used in engineering design and intersect with STEM and continue evolving community participatory approaches to research. The study will use mixed-method approaches to study student and teacher experiences with and impacts of the curriculum, through research questions on (1) teachers’ and students’ experiences with the hybrid learning environment, (2) how students use their cultural capital, and how students perceive Diné cultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes intersecting with STEM, and (3) the pre-post impacts of the experiences on student learning and affective measures. The project will also provide professional development to teachers in the Navajo Nation to adapt and implement the curricula, using a train-the-trainer model to scale and sustain the program beyond the duration of the grant.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.