Development of a University-Community Partnership to Offer Informal Computer Science Opportunities to Children and Youth Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder

发展大学与社区的合作伙伴关系，为诊断患有自闭症谱系障碍的儿童和青少年提供非正式的计算机科学机会

• 批准号: 2313418
• 负责人: Amy Hutchison
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-07-01 至 2024-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2313418&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Development; University; Community; Partnership; Offer

The purpose of this project is to establish and foster a new partnership between the University of Alabama and Arts n’ Autism, a community organization that provides supervised after-school care and outreach to children and youth with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). There have been limited opportunities for youth with ASD diagnoses to engage in many learning opportunities due to pre-existing societal barriers for individuals with disabilities, such as stigma and a lack of accommodations. There are also additional barriers specific to individuals with ASD diagnoses, such as sensory sensitivities and diminished social communication, which impede their full participation. Partnering with an organization that serves children and youth with ASD will provide an innovative structure to tailor the delivery of an informal learning program focusing on robotics and coding. The goal of this project is to engage with stakeholders, including staff (n=4), children and youth ages 10-14 with a diagnosis of ASD (n=5-10), and the parents of individuals diagnosed with ASD (n=10-20) to determine and document their needs and preferences for engaging in informal computer science learning. The project will develop novel informal learning opportunities for children and youth with ASD diagnoses via robotics and coding as the means of engagement to build capacity and community in STEM. The objectives for this project are to: 1) Gather and inventory stakeholder input; 2) Determine the needs and preferences of partners and constituents and the necessary components of a viable partnership; 3) Facilitate partnership check-ins and lead workshop planning discussions on future planning; and 4) Collaboratively plan a future informal research and development project aimed at implementing and evaluating robotics and coding with children diagnosed with ASD to generate opportunities and interest in STEM. Data collected for this project will include: 1) Parent interviews and questionnaires that will help the researchers determine appropriate ways to engage youth with ASD in robotics and coding in an informal setting, 2) Observations during unstructured assessments of preferences as youth with ASD engage with robotics and coding, 3) Observations, field notes, and transcripts from partnership planning meetings. Data will be analyzed using a concurrent mixed methods design. The project will produce a new STEM-focused partnership with an organization that serves children and youth diagnosed with ASD. This Partnership Development and Planning project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which supports projects that: (a) contribute to research and practice that considers informal STEM learning's role in equity and belonging in STEM; (b) promote personal and educational success in STEM; (c) advance public engagement in scientific discovery; (d) foster interest in STEM careers; (e) create and enhance the theoretical and empirical foundations for effective informal STEM learning; (f) improve community vibrancy; and/or (g) enhance science communication and the public's engagement in and understanding of STEM and STEM processes. This project is also partially 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.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.

该项目的目的是建立和建立和建立阿拉巴马大学和艺术自闭症大学之间的新合作伙伴关系，该组织是一个社区组织，该组织为自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）诊断的儿童和青少年提供了监督的课后护理和宣传。由于对残疾人（例如污名和缺乏住宿的人）的社会障碍，因此，患有ASD诊断的年轻人的机会有限。还有其他特定于有ASD诊断的人的障碍，例如感官敏感性和社交交流减少，这会阻碍他们的全部参与。与一个为儿童和青少年提供ASD的组织合作，将提供创新的结构，以量身定制针对机器人技术和编码的非正式学习计划的交付。该项目的目的是与利益相关者（包括员工（n = 4），10-14岁的儿童和青少年，诊断为ASD（n = 5-10），以及被诊断为ASD（n = 10-20）的个人的父母（n = 10-20），以确定和记录他们从事非正式计算机科学学习的需求和偏好。该项目将通过机器人技术和编码为儿童和青少年提供新的非正式学习机会，作为在STEM中建立能力和社区的参与手段。因为该项目是：1）收集和库存利益相关者的意见； 2）确定合作伙伴和构成的需求和偏好以及可行伙伴关系的必要组成部分； 3）促进有关未来计划的合作伙伴签到和领导研讨会的计划讨论； 4）协作计划未来的非正式研发项目，旨在实施和评估机器人技术，并与被诊断为ASD的儿童进行编码，以引起对STEM的机会和兴趣。为该项目收集的数据将包括：1）父母访谈和问卷调查，这些调查将帮助研究人员确定适当的方法使年轻人在机器人技术和编码中与非正式环境中进行编码，2）观察在对ASD的青年偏好评估期间的观察结果，因为ASD的年轻人与机器人的编码和编码相关，3）观察结果，现场笔记，现场笔记，现场笔记，和转录的态度。数据将使用并发混合方法设计分析。该项目将与一个为被诊断为ASD的儿童和青少年服务的组织建立新的以STEM为中心的伙伴关系。该伙伴关系开发和计划项目由前进的非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划提供资金，该计划支持：（a）有助于研究和实践，以考虑非正式的STEM学习在股权中的作用并属于STEM； （b）在STEM中促进个人和教育成功； （c）提高公众参与科学发现； （d）促进对STEM职业的兴趣； （e）为有效的非正式STEM学习创建和增强理论和经验基础； （f）改善社区活力；和/或（g）增强科学交流以及公众对STEM和STEM过程的参与和理解。 This project is also partially 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.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed precious of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual优点和更广泛的影响审查标准。