EAGER: MAKER: The Design and Engineering of Scientific Instrumentation as a Pathway for Introducing Making into High School Science Classrooms

作为在正式和非正式环境中加强创客背景下学习的整体战略的一部分，学生和教师创新技术体验（ITEST）和推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划合作，通过“使未来的制造能够催化STEM学习和创新的新方法”，支持在各种环境中进行创新的模式。探索性研究早期概念补助金（EAGER）将测试一种创新方法，将主要非正式的校外环境带入正式的科学课堂。虽然文献基础，以支持在K-12水平的非正式环境中的设计为基础的制作的积极成果和影响正在出现，到目前为止，最少的研究调查了正式的背景下，使设计原则的影响。如果成功的话，这个项目不仅会增加这一差距的文献基础，但也将提出一个新的模式，桥接成功的工程设计的做法，使和修修补补主要发现在非正式的科学教育到正式的科学教育课堂。该模型还将展示一种创新的、高度互动的方式，使高中学生及其教师参与基于工程的设计原则，并立即在现实世界中应用，因为该项目中开发的科学仪器可以以相对最低的成本直接集成到科学教室中。高中学生和他们的老师将通过使用Arduino兼容的硬件和软件设计和开发自己的科学仪器，深入参与制定设计原则。该项目的第一阶段将反映一个更传统的制作经验，多达20名高中学生和他们的老师参加课后设计制作俱乐部，在这种情况下，专注于科学仪器原型的开发和测试。在该项目的第二阶段，第一次将课后制作经验转化为更正式的经验的努力将被测试，最多有八名学生被选中参加为期两周的暑期研究实习，重点是通过在西北大学制作科学仪器的设计和开发。还将为参加随后试点研究的高中教师举办为期两天的暑期教师讲习班。从课后计划，学生实习和教师研讨会收集的集体见解将最终通知正式课堂试点研究的全面实施。第三个也是最后一个阶段将合并几个月的迭代，形成的研究，设计和开发，在多达七个高中物理classes.Using一个多阶段的综合试点调查，混合方法探索性设计为基础的研究方法，这18个月的EAGER将探讨几个突出的研究问题：（一）如何以及在何种程度上做科学仪器的设计制作作为学习重要的科学和工程知识，实践和认识论有用的任务？(b)这种制作活动对不同能力和兴趣的学习者有多大吸引力？ 什么可以推广到其他类型的制作活动？(c)Arduino硬件和编码环境对学习者的可访问性如何？在这种数字制作活动中，什么样的硬件和软件材料和工具的组合最能支持可访问性和学习？及（d）需要什么类型的支架（供学生和教师使用），以支持在教室环境中有效使用创客材料和活动？结构化的采访，文物，视频录像从遮阳板相机，学生设计日志，日志文件，和人种学领域的笔记将被用来收集数据，并解决研究问题。由于拟议的研究尚处于早期阶段，研究结果的传播将仅限于少数选定的期刊、教师论坛和研讨会以及专业会议。EAGER将直接影响多达125名高中物理学生（平均= 25名学生/班），大约7名高中物理教师，6-8名高中暑期实习生，近20名高中生参加课后设计制作俱乐部，以及间接影响更多。EAGER的结果可以提供所需的基础和证据，以支持更强大，更广泛的未来调查，以进一步证实调查结果，并为类似的努力建立案例，将制作纳入正式的科学教育背景。

As part of an overall strategy to enhance learning within maker contexts in formal and informal environments, the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) and Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) programs partnered to support innovative models for making in a variety of settings through the Enabling the Future of Making to Catalyze New Approaches in STEM Learning and Innovation Dear Colleague Letter. This Early Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) will test an innovative approach to bringing making from primarily informal out-of-school contexts into formal science classrooms. While the literature base to support the positive outcomes and impacts of design-based making in informal settings at the K-12 level is emerging, to date, minimal studies have investigated the impacts of making design principles within formal contexts. If successful, this project would not only add to this gap in the literature base but would also present a novel model for bridging the successful engineering design practices of making and tinkering primarily found in informal science education into formal science education classrooms. The model would also demonstrate an innovative, highly interactive way to engage high school students and their teachers in engineering based design principles with immediate real-world applications, as the scientific instruments developed in this project could be integrated directly into science classrooms at relatively minimal costs.Through a multi-phased design and implementation model, high school students and their teachers will engage deeply in making design principles through the design and development of their own scientific instruments using Arduino-compatible hardware and software. The first phase of the project will reflect a more traditional making experience with up to twenty high school students and their teachers participating in an after-school design making club, in this case, focused on the development and testing of scientific instrument prototypes. During the second phase of the project, the first effort to transpose the after school making experience to a more formalized experience will be tested with up to eight students selected to participate in two week summer research internships focused on scientific instrument design and development through making at Northwestern University. A two-day summer teacher workshop will also be held for high school teachers participating in the subsequent pilot study. The collective insights gleaned from the after school program, student internships, and teacher workshop will culminate to inform the full implementation of the formal classroom pilot study. The third and final phase will coalesce months of iterative, formative research, design and development, resulting in a comprehensive pilot investigation in up to seven high school physics classrooms.Using a multi-phased, mixed methods exploratory design-based research approach, this 18-month EAGER will explore several salient research questions: (a) How and to what extent does the design & making of scientific instrumentation serve as useful tasks for learning important science and engineering knowledge, practices, and epistemologies? (b) How engaging is this making activity to learners of diverse abilities and prior interests? What can be generalized to other types of making activities? (c) How accessible is the Arduino hardware and coding environment to learners? What combination of hardware and software materials and tools best support accessibility and learning in this type of digital making activity? and (d) What types of scaffolding (for students and teachers) are required to support the effective use of maker materials and activities in a classroom setting? Structured interviews, artifacts, video recordings from visor cameras, student design logs, logfiles, and ethnographic field notes will be employed to garner data and address the research questions. Given the early stage of the proposed research, the dissemination of the findings will be limited to a few select journals, teacher forums and workshops, and professional conferences. This EAGER is well-poised to directly impact up to 125 high school physics students (average= 25 students/class), approximately 7 high school physics teachers, 6-8 high school summer interns, nearly 20 high school students participating in the after-school design making club, and indirectly many more. The results of this EAGER could provide the basis and evidence needed to support a more robust, expanded future investigation to further substantiate the findings and build the case for similar efforts to bring making into formal science education contexts.