CAREER: Broadening Participation in Computing through Virtual Identities

今天的技术，包括视频会议软件、视频游戏和虚拟现实，已经成为教育不可或缺的一部分。这些技术允许个人通过虚拟身份来代表自己。然而，这些虚拟身份可能会在不经意间引发刻板印象威胁--一种心理状态，即个人感到有风险确认与其社会群体相关的负面刻板印象，并因此在教育上表现不佳。因此，解决虚拟环境中的刻板印象威胁至关重要。这项研究的具体目标是：1)调查不同视觉和听觉虚拟身份对刻板印象威胁的影响；2)开发虚拟化身定制系统，通过利用来自第一个目标的见解来减轻刻板印象威胁。通过对照研究，本项目对以下几个领域产生了新的见解：1)不同视觉和听觉虚拟身份对不同在线学习者刻板印象威胁的影响；2)如何开发旨在减少在线教育环境中刻板印象威胁的虚拟化身定制系统；3)这些系统在提高不同学习者的表现方面的有效性；以及4)研究结果在两种不同的教育环境中的普遍性：游戏平台和虚拟会议平台。这项工作将被整合到许多课程和学习平台中，接触到大量不同的学习者。这一奖项反映了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。

Today's technologies, including videoconferencing software, video games, and virtual reality, have become integral to education. These technologies allow individuals to represent themselves through virtual identities. However, these virtual identities can inadvertently trigger stereotype threat--a psychological state where individuals feel at risk of confirming negative stereotypes related to their social group and can underperform educationally as a result. Thus, addressing stereotype threat in virtual environments is crucial. This project aims to create computational interventions and virtual representations that reduce stereotype threat in online educational settings, thereby contributing to the development of a diverse and globally competitive workforce.The specific objectives of this research within the context of educational settings are: 1) Investigate the impact of different visual and auditory virtual identities on stereotype threat, and 2) Develop avatar customization systems that mitigate stereotype threat by leveraging insights from the first objective. Through controlled studies, this project generates new insights into several areas: 1) The effects of different visual and auditory virtual identities on stereotype threat among diverse online learners, 2) How to develop avatar customization systems aimed at reducing stereotype threat in online educational settings, 3) The effectiveness of these systems in improving performance for diverse learners, and 4) Generalizability of the findings across two distinct educational settings: gaming platforms and virtual meeting platforms. The work will be integrated into a number of courses and learning platforms, reaching a large audience of diverse learners.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.