Collaborative Research: Strategies: The Robot Algebra Project

机器人代数项目创建了三个可扩展的中学级别的单元，用于非正式环境。这些单元是围绕基本的机器人运动概念设计的，但强调比例推理-这是数学中的一个重要概念。全美有超过12000支乐高联盟球队声称使用机器人作为激励因素，让学生参与STEM。然而，在大多数情况下，学生使用猜测和检查程序阻碍了学习STEM内容的机会。正在开发的单元建立在模型启发活动、基于项目的学习和数学教育的基础上，以具体提高学生对几个关键数学概念的理解。机器人的编程是脚手架的，这样学生就可以集中精力学习数学。除了动手活动，学生们还为其他学生制作工具包，让他们进行类似的实验。基于纸的应用题的开发是为了将在机器人环境中学习的数学与通用的数学问题解决策略联系起来。专业发展是通过面对面和通过网络研讨会向早期采用者提供的，这些人也接受了向其他人提供专业发展的培训。编写补充专业发展的材料，以支持教师和非正式教育工作者理解学生材料所依据的理论基础、议程、数学和观点，并支持他们预测学生对任务的反应。这些材料可以在线更新。在标准机器人项目中，针对控制组的前后测试用于提供形成性和终结性评估。每年有10名学生接受采访，了解这些经历如何影响他们的职业选择。通过对教师的观察和访谈来衡量单元使用的可扩展性。在第三年，这些单位将用于测试网站。目前的建议的基本目标是提高中学生的代数推理能力，特别是他们对比例的理解。一个次要但关键相关的目标是提高非正规教育者在代数推理能力方面的教学内容知识。

The Robot Algebra Project creates three scalable, middle school level units for use in informal settings. The units are designed around fundamental robot movement concepts but emphasize proportional reasoning - a big idea in mathematics. There are over 12,000 FIRST Lego League teams across the U.S. that purport to use robots as a motivator to engage students in STEM. However, most of the time the students use guess and check procedures thwarting the opportunity to learn STEM content. The units being developed build upon model eliciting activities, project-based learning and mathematics education to specifically improve student understanding of a few key mathematics concepts. The programming of robots is scaffolded so that students concentrate on the mathematics. Rather than only doing hands-on activities, the students also produce toolkits for other students to engage in similar experiments. Paper- based word problems are developed to bridge the mathematics learned in the context of robotics to generalized mathematical problem-solving strategies. Professional development is provided both face-to-face and through webinars to early adopters who are also trained to provide professional development to others. Materials to supplement the professional development are produced to support teachers and informal educators understanding of the rationale, the agenda, the mathematics and the perspectives that underlie the student materials as well as to also support them in anticipating student responses to the tasks. The materials can be updated online. Pre and post tests against a control group in standard robotics programs are used to provide formative and summative evaluation. Ten students are interviewed each year about how the experiences affect their career choice. The scalability of the use of the units is measured through observation of and interviews with teachers. In the third year the units will be used in beta sites.The fundamental goal of the current proposal is to improve middle school level student's algebraic reasoning ability, specifically their understanding of proportionality. A secondary but critically related goal is to improve informal educator's pedagogical content knowledge with respect to algebraic reasoning ability.