SBIR Phase II: A Group Video Game Challenge for Integrated Applied Science Learning

这个SBIR第二阶段项目将产生一个合作的应用视频游戏挑战，学生们在一个活跃的模拟环境中一起工作，收集和分析数据，构建解释，然后测试和迭代问题的解决方案。只有22%的美国人？即将毕业的高三学生都精通理科。这一点很重要，因为美国估计有240万个科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)职位空缺，以向公民提供高薪的STEM职位，并促进具有科学素养的公民。最近的研究支持如何提高这种科学素养的新方法，全国各地的州都在采用新的科学标准来支持这一努力。该项目的成果将通过一种新的方法支持学生科学素养的发展，这种方法利用视频游戏中的合作、跨学科、以问题为基础的学习。该产品的商业化将改变基于探究的学习过程，将工具交到学生科学家手中，因为他们正在测试自己的解决方案。该项目支持NSF的使命，使学生能够发展强大的科学和工程技能，并支持雇主期望的21世纪技能的发展，如协作和解决问题。该第二阶段项目开发的技术将为最多五名学生提供小组问题解决体验，让他们在真实的模拟环境中分析问题并实施工程解决方案，为教育工作者提供强大的课程工具，让他们的学生参与科学家在可行的环境中使用视频游戏进行的真实问题解决周期。研究目标包括创建一个灵活的内容创作工具，设计师和教育工作者可以使用它来生成他们自己独特的场景，并创建一个易于使用的教育者仪表板来伴随它。内容创作和定制选项使教育工作者能够反映当地环境、学生兴趣和学生背景知识，这些战略对于目前STEM中代表性不足的不同群体的教育工作者来说是必不可少的。该技术及其仪表板还将作为一种强大的形成性评估工具，使小组评估能够分析小组和个人的参与，旨在促进平衡的小组问题解决。这项研究的结果将创造一种独特的灵活工具，使教育工作者能够让学习者参与更深入的情景学习，鼓励信息的转移，合作学习，科学和工程技能的发展，如数据素养，并被用于评估这些技能。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This SBIR Phase II Project will produce a cooperative applied video game challenge where students work together within an active, simulated environment to collect and analyze data, construct explanations, then test and iterate solutions to a problem. Only 22% of the United States? graduating high school seniors are proficient in science. This is important due to the estimated 2.4 million unfilled jobs in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) in the United States, to provide higher-paying STEM jobs to citizens, and promote a scientifically literate citizenry. Recent research supports new approaches for how to improve this scientific literacy, and states across the country are adopting new science standards to support this effort. The outcome of this project will support development of students' scientific literacy with a novel approach which utilizes cooperative, interdisciplinary, problem-based learning within a video game. Commercialization of this product will transform the process of inquiry-based learning by putting the tools in the hands of student scientists as they test their own solutions. The project supports the NSF's mission by empowering students to develop strong science and engineering skills, as well as supporting development of 21st century skills such as collaboration and problem solving that are desired by employers. The technology developed by this Phase II project will produce a group problem-solving experience for up to five students to analyze a problem and implement an engineering solution within a live simulated environment, providing educators with a powerful curricula tool to engage their students in the real problem-solving cycles a scientist would engage in, within a feasible setting using the video game. The research goals include creating a flexible content authoring tool that designers and educators can use to generate their own unique scenarios and creating an easy-to-use educator dashboard to accompany it. The content authoring and customization options empower educators to reflect local context, student interest, and student background knowledge, strategies which are essential for educators of diverse populations currently underrepresented within STEM. The technology and its dashboard will also serve as a powerful formative assessment tool, enabling group assessment that is able to parse group and individual participation, and is designed to promote balanced group problem solving. The result of this research will create a uniquely flexible tool that will enable educators to engage learners in deeper, contextual learning, encourage transfer of information, cooperative learning, development of science and engineering skills such as data literacy, and be utilized for assessment of these skills.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.