Collaborative Research: High School Students' Climate Literacy Through Epistemology of Scientific Modeling

探索研究K-12计划（DRK-12）旨在通过研究和开发创新资源，模型和工具（RMT），显着提高学前班学生和教师的科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）的学习和教学。DRK-12计划中的项目建立在STEM教育的基础研究和先前的研究和开发工作的基础上，这些研究和开发工作为拟议项目提供了理论和经验依据。 该项目将侧重于学习基于模型的科学推理，并将开发，实施，研究和完善一个为期6周的高中生气候科学模块。 该模块将使用基于网络的气候建模应用程序，项目团队将收集和分析学生基于模型的气候现象推理证据。 科学家通常使用数据密集型的计算机模型来研究复杂的自然现象，建模已成为当前科学课程标准的核心目标。该项目将提供有关学生使用科学模型来理解自然现象的新见解，并推进有关课程，教学和评估实践的知识，以促进学生基于模型的推理。这个为期4年的设计和开发项目将研究使用基于网络的气候建模工具，旨在为高中地球科学课堂上的非科学家提供气候建模经验。一个理论基础和实证检验的方法，以设计为基础的研究，教学设计和评估的发展将被用于教学创新和教育研究的迭代周期，以找到两个研究问题的答案：1）中学生如何发展认识和概念知识的气候？以及2）中学科学教师如何支持学生使用气候建模应用程序来发展关于气候的认识和概念知识？ 与概念和认知知识，嵌入式建模任务，访谈和视频记录的教学观察相关的数据将被用来研究新课程模块对55名高中科学教师和3,000名学生的影响。 项目参与者包括来自低社会经济人口和其他在STEM领域代表性不足的群体的学生。 该课程还将作为美国自然历史博物馆现有的在线专业发展课程的资源，该课程将在全国范围内吸引教师。

The Discovery Research K-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools (RMTs). Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects. This project will focus on learning about model based reasoning in science, and will develop, implement, study, and refine a 6-week climate science module for high school students. The module will feature use of a web-based climate modeling application, and the project team will collect and analyze evidence of model-based reasoning about climate phenomena among students. Scientists routinely use data-intensive, computer-based models to study complex natural phenomena, and modeling has become a core objective of current science curriculum standards. The project will provide new insights about student use of scientific models to understand natural phenomena, and advance knowledge about curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices that promote model-based reasoning among students.This 4-year Design and Development project will examine use of a web-based climate modeling tool designed to provide non-scientists experiences with climate modeling in high school geoscience classrooms. A theoretically-grounded and empirically tested approach to design-based research, instructional design, and assessment development will be used in an iterative cycle of instructional innovation and education research to find answers to two research questions: 1) How do secondary students develop epistemic and conceptual knowledge about climate? And 2) How do secondary science teachers support student use of climate modeling application to develop epistemic and conceptual knowledge about climate? Data associated with conceptual and epistemic knowledge, curriculum-embedded modeling tasks, interviews, and videorecorded observations of instruction will be used to study impacts of the new curriculum module on 55 high school science teachers and 3,000 students. Project participants include students from low socioeconomic populations and other groups underrepresented in STEM fields. The curriculum will also serve as a resource for an existing, online professional development course at the American Museum of Natural History that engages teachers nationwide.