GSE/RES: Promoting Competence in Mathematics Through Collaboration, Reflection, and Role Models

南加州大学正在研究新的工具，使高中学生的数学学习。这些工具是内置于智能导师中的特定功能：聊天以进行协作，捕获文本以反思问题解决，以及通过基于代表各种性别，种族，文化和语言背景的真实的科学家的虚拟角色模型进行数学辅导。 这些特点是为了解决女生的学习偏好，并吸引少数民族学生。参加许多STEM研究领域需要一定水平的数学能力，而GRE-数学和SAT-数学等高风险考试是进入这些课程的“关键过滤器”。不幸的是，许多学生，包括年轻女性以及传统上在科学和工程领域代表性不足的少数民族学生，由于在数学成绩测试中表现不佳而处于不利地位。最近的研究指出，男性和女性在解决数学问题时采取的策略存在差异。男性更常使用的策略预测在成就测试中的得分更高。另一方面，其他研究表明，合作学习、探究和发现型活动以及与导师和榜样的互动有显著的学习效益：女生更经常采用和喜欢的策略。因此，在拟议的项目中解决的中心研究问题是评估的好处，女性首选的学习策略的数学能力在高中女生通过创新的软件工具集成到Wayang前哨站，智能辅导系统提供个性化的教学在数学问题解决。此外，该项目将评估增强软件对学生的好处这三个具体目标的重点是创造，实施和评估创新的新软件工具，以促进合作，反思，以及通过虚拟角色模型进行数学指导。评估研究将侧重于不同版本的辅导软件对学生数学学习成果和对STEM职业态度的影响。评估研究的参与者将是在加州帕萨迪纳高中就读的学生，代表了加州城市的巨大多样性--近50%的西班牙裔，30%的非洲裔美国人，33%的英语水平有限，66%的人接受补贴午餐。 该项目的成果将产生广泛的社会影响，通过免费的网络辅导，提高传统上代表性不足的群体的学生参与STEM研究领域的能力。该研究的智力价值将是对支持女性和学生在数学学习中容易受到刻板印象威胁的学习风格和策略的教学益处进行仔细的实证评估，并评估代表真实的STEM专业人员的虚拟角色模型角色对学生数学学习成果的潜在益处。

University of Southern California is studying new tools for enabling math learning in high school students. The tools are particular features built into an intelligent tutor: chat for collaboration, capturing text for reflection on problem solving, and mathematics mentoring through virtual role models based on real scientists representing a range of gender, ethnic, cultural, and language backgrounds. The features are introduced to address learning preferences of female students and to appeal to ethnic minority students.A certain level of mathematical competence is required for participation in many STEM fields of study, and high-stakes test such as the GRE-Math and SAT-Math serve as "critical filters" for access to such programs. Unfortunately, many students, including young women as well as students from ethnic groups traditionally under represented in science and engineering, are at a disadvantage due to poor performance on mathematicsachievement tests.Recent research points to differences in the strategies that males and females adopt in mathematics problem solving. Strategies that are used more often by males predict higher scores on achievement tests. On the other hand, other research suggests that there are significant learning benefits to collaborative learning, inquiry and discovery-oriented activities, and interaction with mentors and role models: strategies that female students more often adopt and prefer. Therefore, the central research question addressed in the proposed project is to evaluate the benefits of female-preferred learning strategies for mathematical competence in high school girls through innovative software tools integrated into Wayang Outpost, an intelligent tutoring system providing individualized instruction in mathematics problem solving. In addition, the project will evaluate the benefits of the enhanced software for students (males as well as females) who find potential failure in mathematics to be threatening, particularly those from ethnic groups that have been traditionally under-represented in STEM participation.The three specific objectives focus on the creation, implementation and evaluation of innovative new software tools for promoting collaboration, reflection, and mathematics mentoring through virtual role models. Evaluation studies will focus on the effects of different versions of the tutoring software on student learning outcomes in mathematics and on attitudes towards STEM careers. Participants in the evaluation studies will be students attending high schools in Pasadena CA, representing the great diversity of urban California - nearly 50% Hispanic, 30% African American, 33% with limited English proficiency, and 66% receiving subsidized lunches. The results of the project will have broad societal impact by enhancing the ability of students from traditionally under represented groups to participate in STEM fields of study through freely-accessible web-based tutoring. The intellectual merit of the research will be the careful empirical evaluation of the benefits of instruction that supports learning styles and strategies preferred by females and students vulnerable to stereotype threat in mathematics learning, and the evaluation of the potential benefits of virtual role model characters representing real STEM professionals for student learning outcomes in mathematics.