SBIR Phase II: Making Math Intuitive, Creative, and Social in Tile Farm Classroom

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目创建了一个数学教育应用程序，旨在改变幼儿与数学的关系。数学成绩差和对数学的消极态度在美国很普遍，几十年来一直是一个问题。这款应用的设计基于丰富的教育理论，这些理论对学生的数学和科学成就有积极的影响。这款应用教数学的方式让数学学习更直观、更吸引人，同时教孩子们成为坚持不懈、自信的问题解决者。此外，该应用程序还将数学与艺术、社会研究、计算机科学和工程等多种学科联系起来。最终，这款应用的目标是激励新一代的问题解决者，在从科学到艺术的各个领域贡献创造性的专业人士。这个小企业创新研究二期项目将创建一种新颖的数学教学法，该教学法独特地强调数学的可视化、学生的创造力和学生解决问题的能力的发展，同时使用人工智能来优化学生的学习和动力。此外，这项技术将允许年幼的孩子设计、构建和分享他们自己的数学学习游戏和谜题，并提供强大的社交学习体验。这款应用的设计基于大量的理论证据，这些理论证据表明，儿童空间、计算能力和批判性思维技能的早期发展，对学生日后的数学和科学成就产生了深远的积极影响。这种方法的新颖性为教育研究和神经科学领域的各种研究机会打开了大门。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。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project creates a math education app aimed at transforming the way young children relate to math. Poor math achievement and negative attitudes towards math are pervasive in the United States and have been problems for decades. The app's design is based on a wealth of educational theories known to have a positive influence on students' mathematical and scientific achievement. The app teaches math in a way that makes math learning more intuitive and engaging, while simultaneously teaching young children to become persevering and confident problem solvers. Furthermore, the app links math to diverse subjects such as art, social studies, computer science, and engineering. Ultimately, the app aims to inspire a new generation of problem solvers contributing as creative professionals in every field from science to art.This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will create a novel mathematics pedagogy that places a unique emphasis on the visualization of math, student creativity, and the development of students' problem-solving skills, while using artificial intelligence to optimize student learning and motivation. Furthermore, the technology will allow for young children to design, build, and share their own math learning games and puzzles, and provide a powerful social learning experience. The app’s design is based on a wealth of theoretical evidence that has shown how early development of children's spatial, numeracy, and critical thinking skills can have a profoundly positive influence on students' mathematical and scientific achievement later in life. The novelty of this approach opens doors to a wide variety of research opportunities in education research and neuroscience.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.