Intelligent Science Stations: Developing Adaptive Mixed-Reality Technology to Enhance Inquiry-based STEM Learning in Schools

该项目旨在开发和研究智能科学站，这是一种新型的互动科学体验。这个项目背后的动机是需要在课堂上为幼儿提供参与性的、基于探究的科学学习机会，以保持早期对科学的兴趣。智能科学站将为幼儿园到四年级的学生提供动手科学体验，并由智能代理提供基于人工智能（AI）计算机视觉的反馈。这些智能科学站包括地震表或天平等科学仪器，学生的行动由智能代理观察和评估。该代理以动画角色的形式出现在屏幕上，并提供交互式反馈，指导学生进行科学探究。这种创新方法为儿童提供基于证据的个性化支持和反馈，同时还帮助教师将更多基于探究的科学学习融入课堂。通过对提问、预测和解释科学现象等行为进行建模，交互式人工智能系统可以帮助教师提升课堂体验。该项目旨在开发四个智能科学站，每个站都配有课程计划、教师专业发展以及视频演示和学习材料等在线资源。涵盖的科学内容包括早期物理、平衡与稳定、力与运动、力与相互作用、探究和工程设计。开发和研究将在多所学校进行，学生来自不同背景，在三年的时间里，每学年估计有3000名学生。该项目的评价和研究部分有两个主要目标。首先，它试图通过调查学习支持特征来促进科学理解，这些特征有效地使儿童参与学校环境中涉及科学探究和工程设计的持续学习体验。其次，它旨在确定必要的课程和语言支持，以促进不同背景、学术优势和需求的儿童的参与和加强科学学习。以用户为中心的迭代设计研究、形成性评估和课堂观察将被用于设计混合现实系统，以最好地满足学生和教师在正式学习环境中的学习需求。通过课堂观察和对照实验，该项目将比较“一切照旧”的情况与智能科学站的使用情况，提供对学生探究过程、科学对话、学生参与和科学探究过程的见解。该项目还打算通过针对研究人员和开发人员的同行评审出版物分享其发现，并通过社交媒体和项目网站向教师和教育工作者提供广泛的专业发展资源和视频演示。探索研究preK-12项目（DRK-12）旨在通过研究和开发创新资源、模型和工具，显著提高preK-12学生和教师对科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）的学习和教学。DRK-12计划中的项目建立在STEM教育的基础研究和先前的研究和开发工作的基础上，为拟议的项目提供了理论和实证依据。 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 project aims to develop and research Intelligent Science Stations, a new genre of interactive science experiences. The motivation behind this project is the need for engaging, inquiry-based science learning opportunities for young children in the classroom, to sustain early interest in science. The Intelligent Science Stations will provide students in kindergarten to 4th grade with hands-on science experiences, augmented by an intelligent agent that offers feedback based on artificial intelligence (AI) computer vision. These Intelligent Science Stations incorporate scientific apparatuses such as earthquake tables or balance scales, and students' actions are observed and evaluated by the intelligent agent. The agent appears as an animated character on a screen and provides interactive feedback to guide students through scientific inquiry. This innovative approach offers evidence-based, personalized support and feedback to children, while also assisting teachers in integrating more inquiry-based science learning into their classrooms. By modeling behaviors like asking questions, making predictions, and explaining scientific phenomena, the interactive AI system helps teachers enhance their classroom experiences. The project aims to develop four Intelligent Science Stations, each accompanied by lesson plans, teacher professional development, and online resources such as video demonstrations and learning materials. The science content covered includes Early Physics, Balance and Stability, Forces and Motion, Forces and Interactions, Inquiry, and Engineering Design. The development and research will take place in multiple schools with students from diverse backgrounds, targeting an estimated 3,000 students per school year over a three-year period.The evaluation and research components of the project have two main objectives. First, it seeks to advance scientific understanding by investigating the learning support features that effectively engage children in sustained learning experiences involving scientific inquiry and engineering design in school settings. Second, it aims to determine the curricular and language supports necessary to foster engagement and enhance science learning for children with different backgrounds, academic strengths, and needs. User-centered iterative design research, formative evaluation, and classroom observations will be employed to design mixed-reality systems that best cater to student and teacher learning needs in formal learning environments. Through classroom observations and controlled experiments, the project will compare "business as usual" conditions with the use of Intelligent Science Stations, providing insights into student inquiry processes, science conversations, student engagement, and science inquiry processes. The project also intends to share its findings through peer-reviewed publications targeted at researchers and developers, as well as provide extensive professional development resources and video demonstrations to teachers and educators via social media and the project website.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.