Kukua - an innovative, fun, and engaging, early childhood STEM platform as a promotion intervention program for age 4-8 years old AA girls

Kukua - 一个创新、有趣、引人入胜的幼儿 STEM 平台，作为 4-8 岁 AA 女孩的促进干预计划

• 批准号: 10255019
• 负责人: Tony Xuyen Ma
• 金额: $ 39.35万
• 依托单位: BENTEN TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-06-01 至 2024-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10255019
• 关键词: 8 year old; Address; African American; Age; Attention; Black Panther; Caregivers; Child; Collaborations; Complex; Coupled; Development; Elephants; Engineering; Ensure; Family; Female; Foundations; Future; Gender; Hair Color; Home; Household; Image; Intervention; Learning; Names; Nursery Schools; Occupations; Parents; Perception; Persons; Phase; Play; Population; Primary Schools; Principal Investigator; Psychological reinforcement; Research; STEM career; STEM field; STEM game; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education; Scientist; Self Efficacy; Series; Sex Bias; Skin; Small Business Innovation Research Grant; Technology; Testing; Toothpaste; Toy; United States; Universities; Voice; Woman; aged; base; career; cultural competence; design; digital media; early childhood; elementary school; experience; experimental study; girls; innovation; interest; intervention program; mathematical ability; mathematical theory; mobile application; movie; parental involvement; primary caregiver; programs; prospective; prototype; racial bias; role model; scientific literacy; skill acquisition; skills; social model; success; usability

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT In the United States (US), 73% of scientists and engineers are white with less than 2% being African American (AA) women.1 While AA girls and women comprise 7% of the US population, they are significantly under- represented in STEM education and professions – with less than 2% of AA women in all STEM occupations. Research suggests that STEM promotion interventions for AA girls should occur during preschool/early-primary school, when the foundational “building blocks” of self-efficacy are first developed (e.g., mastery experiences, social modeling). For this Phase I SBIR project, we propose Kukua - an innovative, fun, and engaging, early childhood STEM as a promotion intervention program for African American girls (4–8 years-old). Kukua, meaning “grow” or “grow up” in Swahili, will be a culturally-relevant smart doll with corresponding daily interactive digital media, via videos, coupled with a primary caregiver app for engagement in STEM activities. Kukua will increase STEM skills development and interest from observational, play-based learning, and role modeling.21 Additionally, Kukua will challenge false assumptions about AA girls’ STEM abilities. Kukua will be designed and developed by Benten Technologies, led by Principal Investigator (PI) Tony Ma of Benten Technologies in collaboration with Dr. Natalie S. King (Co-I) of Georgia State University, Katie Chang (Co-I) of Benten Technologies, and Dr. Krystyna Isaacs (Project Manager) of Benten Technologies. The specific aims of this Phase I project are: 1) Develop a prototype of Kukua, including caregiver app and ten 15-minute interactive videos for the first 2-weeks of a 12-week program, using formative research with AA girls (4-8 years old) and primary caregivers; and 2) Conduct a 2-week pilot testing of Kukua with 20 AA girls (4-8 years old) and their primary caregiver to assess its feasibility (usability, acceptance, and engagement). Impact: In the short-term, this study will demonstrate the feasibility of the development and implementation of a play and observational learning-based intervention utilizing a smart doll alongside other interactive digital media that includes an interactive mobile application featuring interactive videos for promoting STEM interest and skills development among African American girls. In the long-term, African American girls will continue to engage in STEM education after elementary school, have a greater sense of belonging in STEM, and demonstrate increased confidence and interest in STEM. For Phase II, we plan to complete the development of the 12-week program and test the effects of Kukua on increasing STEM knowledge, interest, and identity among African American girls, and ultimately increase African American girls’ and women’s representation in STEM education and professions.

项目摘要/摘要 在美国（美国），有73％的科学家和工程师是白人，不到2％是非裔美国人 （aa）妇女。1虽然AA女子和妇女占美国人口的7％，但她们的情况大大不足 在STEM教育和专业中代表 - 在所有STEM占据中，只有不到2％的AA妇女。 研究表明，在学龄前/早期学期期间，应为AA女孩进行STEM促进干预措施 学校，首先开发了自我效能的基础“基础”时（例如，精通经验， 社会建模）。对于这个I阶段的SBIR项目，我们提出了Kukua - 一种创新，有趣和引人入胜的早期 童年时期作为非裔美国女孩的促进干预计划（4-8岁）。 Kukua，意思是 斯瓦希里语中的“成长”或“成长”将是一个与文化相关的智能娃娃，具有相应的日常互动数字 通过视频，媒体以及主要护理人员应用程序，用于参与STEM活动。 Kukua将会增加 STEM技能发展和来自观察性，基于游戏的学习和角色建模的兴趣。21此外， Kukua将挑战有关AA女孩的STEM能力的虚假假设。 Kukua将经过设计和开发 Benten Technologies由Benten Technologies的首席研究员（PI）与 佐治亚州立大学的Natalie S. King博士，Benten Technologies的Katie Chang（Co-I）和博士 Benten Technologies的Krystyna Isaacs（项目经理）。该阶段项目的具体目的是：1） 开发Kukua的原型，包括Caregiver App和第一个2周的十个15分钟的互动视频 在为期12周的计划中，使用AA女孩（4-8岁）和初级护理人员使用形成性研究；和2） 对Kukua进行了为期2周的飞行员测试，其中20个AA女孩（4-8岁）及其主要护理人员评估其 可行性（可用性，接受和参与）。 影响：在短期内，本研究将证明开发和实施的可行性 戏剧和观察性学习的干预措施，利用智能娃娃以及其他交互式数字 媒体包括一个交互式移动应用程序，其中包含用于促进STEM兴趣的交互式视频 和非洲裔美国女孩的技能发展。从长远来看，非洲裔美国女孩将继续 小学毕业后从事STEM教育，在STEM中具有更大的归属感，并且 表明对STEM的信心和兴趣增加。对于第二阶段，我们计划完成开发 为期12周的计划，并测试Kukua对越来越多的STEM知识，兴趣和身份的影响 在非洲裔美国女孩中，最终增加了非洲裔美国女孩和妇女的代表 STEM教育和专业人士。