Collaborative Research: Engineering Children's Learning with Physical and Social Tools

近年来，对科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)感兴趣的美国学生数量的减少受到了相当大的关注。美国国家科学基金会将此称为STEM教育问题。这项研究探索了一种解决STEM问题的方法，通过研究儿童如何在很小的时候就培养对STEM的兴趣和技能。这项工作将侧重于这样一个事实，即许多针对儿童的早期STEM体验旨在鼓励通过动手活动进行学习，例如制作建筑或其他结构的模型。虽然通过这些动手活动，孩子们可以通过自己的工作学到很多东西，但当他们在这些活动中与父母交谈时，他们的学习可以得到改善。在国家科学基金会的支持下，芝加哥洛约拉大学的凯瑟琳·哈登博士和西北大学的大卫·乌塔尔博士将研究亲子动手活动中的对话互动如何影响孩子的STEM学习。研究人员还将确定亲子对话和亲身实践活动是否有助于孩子记住他们所学的东西，并将其应用于新的情况。这项研究将在芝加哥儿童博物馆内的一个特别展览中进行，该展览专门为促进STEM学习而设计。展览的重点是建筑施工，并包括实践活动，这些活动可能会促进对简单的工程原理的早期理解，如支撑，以及与科学方法相关的更一般的原理。通过两项研究，共有640名年龄分别为4岁、6岁和8岁的儿童与父母一起建造摩天大楼。假设特定类型的对话(如涉及什么、如何和为什么的问题)将与更多的实践活动、更多的工程原理学习和对科学方法的更好理解联系在一起。对这一假设的一个重要检验是观察父母的对话和孩子在第一个建设项目期间的亲身实践学习如何以及何时导致更好地建造第二个结构(塔或桥)。据预测，父母的谈话和孩子的理解会因孩子的年龄而不同。在研究二中，研究人员将根据研究一的发现，尝试向父母传授帮助孩子学习STEM的最好方法。该研究将有助于理解和改进幼儿的STEM教育和学习。对于年幼的孩子来说，数学、科学和工程基本原理的学习是交织在一起的。及早接触有趣、有创意和有意义的工程经验可能会提高学生的兴趣，并最终追求工程和技术教育途径。例如，刺激建筑的展览有可能将儿童与科学过程的乐趣和挑战联系起来(建造一座能够独立矗立的建筑)，以及工程与他们日常生活的相关性。这项研究将推荐家长和其他教育工作者在STEM学习环境中可以使用的方法，以促进对科学方法的早期理解，发展与STEM相关的概念知识，并可能增加对未来科学教育和职业选择的兴趣。

The decrease in the number of US students interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has received considerable attention in recent years. The National Science Foundation refers to this as the STEM education problem. This research explores one way to address the STEM problem, by studying how children develop interest and skill in STEM, even at a young age. The work will focus on the fact that many early STEM experiences for children are designed to encourage learning through hands-on activities, such as making models of buildings or other structures. Although children can learn a great deal by working on their own through these hands-on activities, their learning can be improved when they are engaged in conversations with their parents during these activities. With support from the National Science Foundation, Catherine Haden, Ph.D., of Loyola University Chicago and David Uttal, Ph.D., of Northwestern University will examine how parent-child conversational interactions during hands-on activities impact children's STEM learning. The researchers will also determine whether parent-child conversations and hands-on activities help children remember what they have learned and apply it to new situations. The research will take place in a special exhibit within the Chicago Children's Museum that was designed specifically to advance STEM learning. The exhibit focuses on building construction and includes hands-on activities that may promote early understanding of simple engineering principles, such as bracing, as well as more general principles associated with the scientific method. Across two studies, a total of 640 children, ages 4, 6, and 8 will observed building skyscrapers with their parents. It is hypothesized that specific kinds of conversations (such as those that involve What, How, and Why questions) will be linked to more hands-on activity, as well as more learning of engineering principles and a better understanding of the scientific method. An important test of this hypothesis is seeing how and when parents' conversations and children's hands-on learning during the first construction project results in better construction of a second structure (tower or bridge). It is also predicted that parents' talk and children's understanding will differ by age of the child. In Study 2, the researchers will attempt to teach parents the best ways to help their children's STEM learning, based on the findings of Study 1. The research will contribute to understanding and improving young children's STEM education and learning. For young children, the learning of mathematics, science, and elementary principles of engineering is intertwined. Early exposure to fun, creative and meaningful engineering experiences may boost interest and the eventual pursuit of engineering and technology education paths by students. Exhibits stimulating building construction, for example, have the potential to connect children with the joys and challenges of the scientific process (building a building that will stand on its own), as well as the relevance of engineering to their everyday lives. The research will recommend methods that parents and other educators can use with young children in STEM learning situations to foster early understanding of the scientific method, develop knowledge of STEM-related concepts, and potentially increase interest in future science education and career options.