NRI: Liquid Handling Robots - A New Paradigm for STEM Education

这个国家机器人倡议项目将在学校生物和化学课堂上测试一系列液体处理机器人，以确定通过协作机器人的教学使用可以支持的学习机会的范围。使用乐高头脑风暴平台的低成本机器人将被用于实施课堂活动，从使用五颜六色的液体排列进行艺术表达，到使用稀释系列、密度梯度和光谱测量进行实验。其目的是使生物技术对学生更加有形和相关，同时支持下一代科学标准(NGSS)所建议的跨学科学习。这种让学生参与生物和化学的创新方法将在6-12年级的教师和学生中进行测试，并使用一系列用户研究来检查学习结果并指导发展过程。该项目的目标是将液体处理整合到教育机器人中，通过实现更深入的探究、更多样化的学习体验以及对跨学科和基于项目的教育的更多关注来增强当前的科学课程。该项目的研究将集中在两个主题上：学生在使用该平台参与探究活动时的理解力，以及可持续部署和实施所需的教学和基础设施支持。从学生进行实验中收集的多模式数据将与传统的定性和定量方法相结合，以回答与两个研究主题相关的三个主要问题：1)系统如何有效地捕捉使用类似工具的真实科学家的实践和探究活动？2)第一个问题确定的启示如何在6-12年级科学教师有限的时间范围内映射到参与延长探究周期的学习目标？以及3)我们建议的课程分发模式依赖于在学校使用的本地制作空间或乐高/Arduino套件中下载和制作软件和指令，与实施中的挑战相关吗？该项目的研究计划将在三年内进行，从第一年的微基因设计和测试，到第二年的课堂有效性控制研究。在项目的最后一年，将审查教师主导的课堂有效性。

This National Robotics Initiative project will test a series of liquid handling robots in school biology and chemistry classes to determine the range of learning opportunities that can be supported through the instructional use of collaborative robots. Low-cost robots using the Lego Mindstorms platform will be used to implement classroom activities ranging from artistic expression using colorful arrangements of liquids to performing experiments using dilution series, density gradients, and spectral measurements. The aim is to make biotechnology more tangible and relevant to students while supporting interdisciplinary learning as recommended by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). This innovative approach to engaging students in biology and chemistry will be tested with teachers and students in grades 6-12, with a range of user studies being employed to examine learning outcomes and guide the development process. The goal is to integrate liquid handling into educational robotics to enhance current science curricula by enabling deeper inquiry, more variety in learning experiences, and increased attention to interdisciplinary and project-based education.The research of this project will focus on two themes: students' sense making as they engage in inquiry activities using the platform, and the pedagogical and infrastructural support needed for sustainable deployment and implementation. Multimodal data collected from students running experiments will be combined with traditional qualitative and quantitative methods to answer three primary questions related to the two research themes: 1) How effectively does the system capture the practices and inquiry activities of real scientists using similar tools? 2) How do the affordances identified by the first question map onto the learning goals of engaging in extended inquiry cycles within the context of limited amounts of time available to 6-12 grade science teachers? And 3) What implementation challenges are associated with our proposed curricular distribution model which relies on software and instructions being downloaded and fabricated in local Makerspaces or Lego/Arduino kits being used in schools? The research plan for the project will progress over three years from Microgenetic design and testing during the first year to controlled study of in-class effectiveness during year 2. In the final year of the project, teacher-led in-class effectiveness will be examined.