A Virtual Learning World for Urban Tweens to Experience Possible Selves

为城市青少年体验可能的自我的虚拟学习世界

• 批准号: 8713454
• 负责人: Laverne Morrow Carter
• 金额: $ 18.78万
• 依托单位: RESEARCH AND EVALUATION SOLUTIONS, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-09-25 至 2015-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8713454
• 关键词: Adolescence; Adolescent; Adult; Affect; Age; American; Attention; Behavior; Behavioral; Cellular Phone; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.); Child; Childhood; Communities; Complex; Computers; Critical Thinking; Custom; Development; Dreams; E-learning; Economics; Education; Environment; Ethnic Origin; Evaluation; Exercise; Face; Family member; Focus Groups; Foundations; Friends; Fright; Funding; Future; Gender; Geography; Goals; Health; Healthy People 2020; Home environment; Incentives; Individual; Informal Social Control; Institute of Medicine (U.S.); Internet; Intervention; Knowledge; Learning; Libraries; Life; Life Style; Low income; Motivation; Names; Neighborhoods; Online Systems; Outcome; Parents; Participant; Pathway interactions; Perception; Performance; Performance at work; Personal Satisfaction; Phase; Poverty; Pre-Post Tests; Problem Solving; Qualitative Methods; Race; Randomized; Recruitment Activity; Reporting; Research; Research Personnel; Resources; Risk Behaviors; Risk Reduction; Schools; Sea; Self Concept; Series; Services; Site; Small Business Innovation Research Grant; Social Class; Social Identification; Social Interaction; Strategic Planning; Structure; Teenagers; Testing; Time; Travel; Tweens; Violence; Youth; after-school program; base; digital; early onset; evidence base; experience; family structure; improved; interest; post intervention; programs; prototype; psychosocial; psychosocial development; public health relevance; racial and ethnic; research study; role model; simulation; skills; social; social space; socioeconomics; theories; usability; virtual

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): POSSIBLY ME DIGISODES: Adolescence is a crucial period of transition between childhood and adulthood, with teens following more uncertain and complex paths based on gender, race, ethnicity, social class, and geography (Furstenberg et al., 2006 & Osgood et al., 2005). Youth residing in urban environments face persistent personal and institutional challenges, such as violence, broken family structures, poverty and under-resourced schools that complicate their paths to adulthood. The passage to adulthood is varied based on a complex web of factors, which include social, socioeconomic, and cultural contexts (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Research studies have established that growing up in poverty and living in low-income neighborhoods can seriously threaten a teen's successful passage to adulthood (Guldi, Page, & Stevens, 2007; Osgood et al., 2005). Researchers have uncovered very separate and unequal pathways to adulthood for teens-one for the "haves", one for the "have-nots", and a path for those who are in-between (Furstenberg, 2006). Social structures affect the perceptions that children and youth have about what they and others like them can achieve and who they can become. Possible identities reflect how individuals think about their potential and their future (Oyserman et al., 2002). Recent studies also show that possible identities, self-regulatory styles, and behavioral strategies have strong associations with social identity (Lee and Oyserman, 2009). Unfortunately, youth in low socioeconomic settings are exposed to a plethora of adult role models who have failed to attain their positive possible identities. After-school/out-of- school-time programs have been identified as key venues for youth to gain knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about challenges and their progression to adulthood (Manlove et al., 2004). Virtual learning environments offer simulations and authentic learning that support critical thinking, problem solving and social engagement (Warren et al., 2009). The use of the Internet by youth is at an all-time high with 95% of teens of all ethnicities and socioeconomic levels using the Internet (Pew Internet and American Life Project, 2012). Emerging studies are finding a decrease in the racial, ethnic, and economic digital divide-while adults and teens from low-income homes and under-resourced communities may not have computers and Internet access in their homes, they access the Internet daily through school labs, out-of-school-time program sites, community libraries, family members, friends and their cell phones (Boyar et al., 2011; Rideout et al., 2010; & Zikhur and Smith, 2012). This Phase I SBIR project concentrates on the Possibly Me Digisodes, which is proposed as one of four educational game series on an Internet-based virtual environment platform that will carry the commercial name of After School Virtually-MILYFE". MILYFE" will be a virtual health and psychosocial learning and social interaction environment for urban early adolescents, ages 11-14. This product will serve as an adjunct to current after-school and out-of-school-time program activities, with programs purchasing annual subscriptions for a designated number of staff, youth and parent users. The goal of the Possibly Me Digisodes is to offer an evidence-based and appealing experience for urban adolescents to identify and construct their hoped-for and feared identities, along with strategic plans for behaviors to practice and avoid, in the domains of academic performance and well-being. Possibly Me will revolve around four digisodes, each represented by four game sites-1) My World of Dreams, 2) The Valley of Others, 3) Disappointments Bridge and 4) The Sea of Hope. Two primary aims guide Phase I of the project: 1) Develop the Possibly Me Digisodes Prototype through Elicitation Activities with Experts and End-Users and 2) Evaluate the Possibly Me Digisodes Prototype Using Quantitative and Qualitative Methods. The Phase I activities involve a transdisciplinary team of experts and will provide the foundation for the construction of a full and final set of components for all four digisodes in Phase II. Additionally, the Phase II activities will consist o a multi-site randomized controlled evaluation that focuses on behavioral outcomes in the domains of academic performance and well-being.

描述（由申请人提供）：可能是：青春期是童年和成年之间的关键过渡时期，青少年根据性别、种族、民族、社会阶层和地理位置，走上更不确定和复杂的道路（Furstenberg et al., 2006 & Osgood et al., 2005）。生活在城市环境中的青年面临着持续的个人和体制挑战，如暴力、破碎的家庭结构、贫困和资源不足的学校，这些都使他们的成年之路复杂化。通往成年的道路是基于一个复杂的因素网络而变化的，其中包括社会、社会经济和文化背景（Bronfenbrenner, 1979）。研究表明，在贫困中成长和生活在低收入社区会严重威胁青少年成功进入成年期（Guldi, Page, & Stevens, 2007; Osgood et al., 2005）。研究人员发现，青少年通往成年的道路是非常独立和不平等的——一条是“富人”的，一条是“穷人”的，还有一条是介于两者之间的（Furstenberg, 2006）。社会结构影响着儿童和青年对他们和像他们一样的人可以取得什么成就以及他们可以成为什么样的人的看法。可能的身份反映了个人如何看待自己的潜力和未来（Oyserman et al., 2002）。最近的研究也表明，可能的身份、自我调节风格和行为策略与社会身份有很强的联系（Lee和Oyserman， 2009）。不幸的是，低社会经济背景下的年轻人接触到过多的成人榜样，这些榜样未能实现他们可能的积极身份。课后/课外活动已被确定为青少年获得知识和技能的关键场所，以做出有关挑战和成年进程的明智决策（Manlove et al., 2004）。虚拟学习环境提供模拟和真实的学习，支持批判性思维、解决问题和社会参与（Warren et al., 2009）。青少年对互联网的使用达到了历史最高水平，所有种族和社会经济水平的青少年中有95%使用互联网（皮尤互联网和美国生活项目，2012年）。新兴研究发现，种族、民族和经济数字鸿沟正在缩小——低收入家庭和资源不足社区的成年人和青少年可能在家没有电脑和互联网接入，他们每天通过学校实验室、校外项目网站、社区图书馆、家人、朋友和他们的手机访问互联网（Boyar等人，2011；Rideout等人，2010；Zikhur和Smith， 2012）。这个第一阶段的SBIR项目集中在“可能的我Digisodes”，这是一个基于互联网的虚拟环境平台上的四个教育游戏系列之一，将带有商业名称“After School virtual - milyfe”。“MILYFE”将为11-14岁的城市早期青少年提供虚拟健康、心理社会学习和社会互动环境。该产品将作为当前课后和课外项目活动的辅助，项目为指定数量的员工、青少年和家长用户购买年度订阅。“可能是我”的目标是为城市青少年提供一种基于证据和吸引人的体验，以确定和构建他们希望和害怕的身份，以及在学业表现和幸福领域练习和避免行为的战略计划。《可能的我》将围绕四个章节展开，每个章节由四个游戏站点代表：1)我的梦想世界，2)他人之谷，3)失望之桥和4)希望之海。两个主要目标指导项目的第一阶段：1)通过与专家和最终用户的启发活动开发可能的Me Digisodes原型；2)使用定量和定性方法评估可能的Me Digisodes原型。第一阶段的活动涉及一个跨学科专家小组，并将为第二阶段所有四个阶段的完整和最后一套组成部分的构建提供基础。此外，第二阶段的活动将包括一个多地点随机对照评估，重点关注学业成绩和幸福感领域的行为结果。