Transforming Elementary Science Learning through LEGO(TM) Engineering Design

该项目涉及改善小学年级科学学习和教学的需要。研究人员建议通过开发、实施和评估3-5年级以工程为基础的创新科学课程来满足这一需求。本活动的第一个具体目标是衡量学生从为基于标准的科学概念量身定做的工程设计挑战中学到了什么以及如何学到了什么。第二个目标是建立设计工程学课程的最佳做法，以便更有效地促进学生对科学内容的基本理解和兴趣。第三个目标是确定工程环境是否能改善小学教师的科学教学实践。在这项活动中，我们寻求推进小学工程教育这一新兴领域的理论、设计和实践，我们相信这可以激励和深化科学的学习。为了实现提议的目标，研究人员将与波士顿地区的参与教师密切合作。在第一年，研究人员将与教师合作开发一系列课程模块，这些模块构成工程设计挑战，其解决方案需要理解特定的科学内容。这些单元的学习目标将与K-4年级的国家科学教育标准(NSE)和3-5年级的马萨诸塞州科学技术/工程课程框架保持一致。教学和评估将根据三组要求进行设计：(1)合作课堂教师的关注和经验；(2)美国科学促进会制定的2061计划科学课程标准；(3)斯特恩伯格的三元智力理论的分析、创造性和实践领域。该课程将使用LEGO(TM)MINDSTORMS工具包进行原型构建，使用ROBOLAB(TM)软件进行算法开发。这些教学材料已经被证明是儿童工程的吸引人的和真实的工具。拟议课程模块的一个例子是“运动中的城市”，在这个模块中，学生们花六个课程来构建和编程典型城市车队的乐高(商标)机器人模型，包括汽车、扫雪机、自行车、火车和公共汽车。学生对他们的车辆进行编程，使其相互作用，并努力满足对重量、速度和强度的要求。在这个工程设计项目中取得成功的愿望将促使学生掌握NSES内容标准，包括“物体的位置和运动”、“物体和材料的属性”和“系统、秩序和组织”。教师和学生的研究数据将被分析以回答以下三个驱动力研究问题：(1)基于工程的科学教学是否提高了3-5年级学生与科学内容相关的分析、创造和实践能力，以及他们对科学内容的记忆？(2)使用工程设计问题教授科学是如何影响教师和学生的态度、参与度和自我效能感的？(3)基于工程的科学教学的有效性是否取决于学生的人口统计特征？拟议活动的主要智力价值包括(1)对初级工程教育对科学教学的有效性进行必要的系统研究的贡献，以及(2)为以工程为基础的科学教学开发新的、可能更有效的方法。拟议中的活动产生的更广泛的影响是，教育工作者将有权(1)让学生为一个越来越依赖对工程和技术的理解的社会做好准备，(2)培养学生对数学和科学的兴趣和能力。这一影响将通过传播教学材料、教学创新以及由合作研究人员和教师产生的研究成果来实现。

This project addresses the need for improved learning and teaching of science in the elementary grades. The investigators propose to address this need through the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative engineering-based science curriculum for grades 3-5. The first specific objective of this activity is to measure what and how students learn from engineering design challenges tailored to standards-based science concepts. The second objective is to establish best practices for designing engineering curricula that are more effective at promoting students' fundamental understanding of and interest in science content. The third objective is to determine whether engineering contexts improve elementary teachers' practice of science instruction. In this activity, we seek to advance theory, design, and practice in the emerging field of elementary-school engineering education, which we believe can motivate and deepen the learning of science. To accomplish the proposed goals, researchers will collaborate closely with participating Boston-area teachers. During year one, investigators will collaborate with teachers to develop a series of curriculum modules that pose engineering design challenges whose solutions require understanding of specific science content. The learning objectives of these modules will be aligned with the National Science Education Standards (NSES) for grades K-4 and the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Frameworks for grades 3-5. The instruction and assessments will be designed according to three sets of requirements: (1) the concerns and experience of the collaborating classroom teachers, (2) the Project 2061 criteria for science curriculum set forth by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and (3) the analytical, creative, and practical domains of Sternberg's Triarchic Theory of Intelligence. The curriculum will use the LEGO(TM) MINDSTORMS toolset for prototype construction and ROBOLAB (TM) software for algorithm development. These instructional materials have been proven to be engaging and authentic tools for children's engineering. One example of a proposed curriculum module is "Cities in Motion," in which students spend six sessions building and programming LEGO (TM) robotic models of a typical city's fleet of vehicles, including cars, snowplows, bicycles, trains, and buses. Students program their vehicles to interact with each other and work to meet requirements for weight, speed, and strength. Desire to succeed in this engineering design project will motivate students' mastery of NSES content standards about "Position and Motion of Objects," "Properties of Objects and Materials," and "Systems, Order, and Organization." The data from teacher and student studies will be analyzed to answer the following three driving research questions: (1) Does engineering-based science instruction improve 3rd-5th grade students' analytical, creative, practical abilities related to science content, as well as their memory of science content? (2) How are the attitude, engagement, and self-efficacy of both teachers and students affected by the use of engineering design problems to teach science? (3) Does the efficacy of engineering based science instruction depend on demographic characteristics of the students? The primary intellectual merit of the proposed activity includes (1) the contribution of needed systematic research on the efficacy of elementary-level engineering education for science instruction, and (2) the development of new and potentially more effective methods for engineering-based science instruction. The broader impact resulting from the proposed activity is that educators will be empowered to (1) prepare students for a society that is increasingly dependent on understanding of engineering and technology and (2) to build students' interest and competence in math and science. This impact will be achieved through the dissemination of the instructional materials, pedagogical innovations, and research findings generated by collaborating investigators and teachers.