I-Corps: A Hundred Tiny Hands

随着美国人在STEM领域接受高等教育的人数下降（在美国获得博士学位的工程师中，超过67%不是美国公民，只有18%的工程师是女性），很明显，培养多样化、合格、有准备的学生是至关重要的任务。理解，积极参与，并保留具有批判性思维技能的各种好奇的学生群体是至关重要的。最近的研究表明，主动学习，即让孩子参与活动，与同龄人互动，而不是被动倾听，强调高阶思维，并导致更好的理解和表现。为了解决这个全国性的问题，这个团队开发了“一百只小手”，专注于以一种有趣和合作的方式教授现代科学概念，通过物理发明家？s Toolboxes和一个在线社交媒体平台。《一百只小手》提出了3种推广途径：直接面向消费者；与课外/外展和儿童组织（包括女童子军和大哥大姐会）合作；从私立学校，特许学校到公立学区。Inventor’s Toolboxes（初始）的典型用户是6-10岁的儿童（尤其是女孩）。然而，这三种不同情况的买家是非常不同的。对于直接面向消费者的方法，买家将是父母，通常是受过高等教育、拥有可支配收入、以技术为导向的专业人士，他们了解STEM素养的重要性。为了接触到更广泛的人群，以及那些本来无法接触到这些玩具的儿童，该团队与各种儿童建立了关系。S项目，外展/低收入项目，以及课后/夏令营。最后，该团队正在与学区和特许学校的关键决策者合作，以获得STEM课程的采用。

With a decline in Americans pursuing advanced education in STEM fields (more than 67% of engineers receiving Ph.Ds in the U.S. are not U.S. citizens and only 18% of engineers are female, it became apparent that priming the pipeline with diverse, qualified, and prepared students is mission critical. Understanding, actively engaging, and retaining a diverse population of inquisitive students prepared with critical thinking skills is paramount. Recent studies have shown that active learning, which engages children in activities and involves interactions with peers, as opposed to passive listening, emphasizes higher-order thinking and results in significantly better comprehension and performance. To address this national problem, this team has developed the "A Hundred Tiny Hands" that focuses on teaching modern science concepts in a playful and cooperative way, through a combination of physical Inventor?s Toolboxes and an online social media platform.A Hundred Tiny Hands proposes 3 avenues for adoption: direct to consumers; working with after school / outreach and children's organizations (including Girl Scouts and Big Brothers Big Sisters); and adoption from private, charter schools and eventually public school districts. The typical user for the (initial) Inventor's Toolboxes is a child (especially girls) between the ages of 6-10. The buyers for the 3 different scenarios, however, are very different. For the direct to consumer approach, the buyers would be the parents, typically highly educated, tech oriented professionals with disposable income who understands the importance of STEM literacy. In order to reach a broader demographic and children who otherwise would not have access to such toys, the team has forged relationships with various children?s programs, outreach/low income programs, and after school/ summer camps. Finally, the team is working with key decision makers of school districts and charter schools to gain adoption into the STEM curriculum.