Collaborative Research: Expanding Socio-Environmental Science Investigations with Geospatial Technologies in High Schools

该项目旨在培养高中学生和教师对地理空间技术的理解和技能，以提高STEM素养和获得STEM劳动力的机会。研究人员与六所不同高中的教师合作，开发使用地理空间技术的新教材，如地理信息系统（GIS）和具有gps功能的ipad或其他移动设备。学生使用这些工具来调查当地的社会和/或环境主题，如城市热岛效应，城市树木的公民影响，或不同交通系统的碳成本。每次调查都涉及学生数据收集、数据可视化和分析，结合学生自己的数据和其他来源的数据，如地方政府、联邦机构或研究人员。调查结束时，学生们提出了改变社区的建议，比如增加或重新分配城市绿地，或者扩大自行车道或通往桥梁的行人通道。每项调查都与当地的课程和标准保持一致。当学生完成这些调查时，他们(a)了解了地理空间工具和职业，(b)发展了空间思维和推理技能，(c)有动力追求与stem相关的大学和职业道路。教师还提高了技能，特别是对地理空间工具和数据集的理解和使用。通过与6所高中的约1500名学生合作，该项目直接增加了STEM在地理空间领域的范围和多样性，并间接通过教师培训和专业发展，在项目生命周期之后继续影响学生。该项目扩展了之前ITEST奖项的工作，该奖项建立了一个模型，用于使用地理空间课程共同设计、开发和实施当地社会环境科学调查（SESI）。这些学习活动为学生提供了合作、寻找证据、解决问题、掌握技术、发展地理空间思维和推理（GTR）技能以及练习沟通技巧的机会，所有这些都是STEM劳动力必不可少的。该项目采用了原始SESI模型的一种改编形式，与来自三个不同地区的更大、更多样化的高中学生群体合作：特拉华州和宾夕法尼亚州的城市地区（里海大学）、华盛顿州的农村地区（华盛顿州立大学三城分校）和德克萨斯州的城市地区（德克萨斯基督教大学）。在每个站点，大学教师与两所高中合作，形成研究实践伙伴关系（RPP），共同设计，开发和实施嵌入学校常规课程的SESI活动。学生的成绩包括地理空间思维和推理技能（通过绩效任务评估）、STEM大学和职业兴趣（适应性职业清单）以及空间学习态度（适应性学习偏好问卷）。用于分析的子组包括参与的学习者和不参与的学习者——也就是说，完成所有要求的作业和项目的学习者和没有完成的学习者。将学生在大学和职业兴趣以及空间学习态度方面的成绩与来自相似人群（同一学校或同一地区）的对照组进行比较。教师成果包括他们的地理空间技术使用和知识，由地理空间科学技术教学内容知识问卷测量。该研究还考察了每所学校和每个RPP内部的影响。该项目对地理空间课程设计和开发的知识库（城市、郊区和农村）、与课程相关的地理空间工具使用的学生成果、地理空间技术集成的教师专业发展、地理空间工具使用在高中不同单元（不同的学术部门、不同的支持服务，如ESL和特殊教育）的集成做出了贡献。以课程导向的地理空间教育为核心的地理空间区域规划的形成与功能。该项目由“面向学生和教师的创新技术体验”（ITEST）项目资助，该项目支持有助于提高学生对科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）以及信息和通信技术（ICT）职业的知识和兴趣的实践、项目要素、背景和过程的理解。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to develop high school students' and teachers' understandings of and skills in geospatial technologies in order to improve STEM literacy and access to the STEM workforce. Researchers collaborate with teachers in six different high schools to develop new teaching materials that use geospatial technologies such as geographic information systems (GIS) and GPS-enabled iPads or other mobile devices. Students use these tools to investigate local social and/or environmental topics, such as the urban heat island effect, civic impacts of urban trees, or carbon costs of different transportation systems. Each investigation involves student data collection, data visualization, and analysis, combining both students' own data and data from other sources--such as local governments, federal agencies, or researchers. The investigation concludes with students proposing a change in their communities, such as adding or re-allocating urban greenspace or expanding bike trails or pedestrian access to bridges. Each investigation is aligned to local curriculum and standards. As students complete these investigations, they (a) learn about geospatial tools and careers, (b) develop spatial thinking and reasoning skills, and (c) become motivated to pursue STEM-related college and career paths. The teachers also enhance their skills, particularly their understanding and use of geospatial tools and data sets. This project increases the reach and the diversity of the STEM pipeline in geospatial fields directly--by working with approximately 1500 students across the 6 high schools--and indirectly--through the teacher training and professional development, continuing to impact students beyond the lifespan of the project.This project extends the work of a previous ITEST award that established a model for the co-design, development, and implementation of local socio-environmental science investigations (SESI) using a geospatial curriculum. The learning activities provided opportunities for students to collaborate, seek evidence, problem-solve, master technology, develop geospatial thinking and reasoning (GTR) skills, and practice communication skills, all of which are essential for the STEM workforce. This project uses an adapted form of the original SESI model to work with a larger and more varied group of high school students across three different regions: urban areas in Delaware and Pennsylvania (Lehigh University), rural Washington state (Washington State University Tri-Cities), and urban Texas (Texas Christian University). At each of these sites, university faculty collaborate with two high schools to form a Research-Practice Partnership (RPP) to co-design, develop, and implement SESI activities embedded within the school’s regular curriculum. Student outcomes consist of geospatial thinking and reasoning skills (assessed via a performance task), STEM college and career interest (adapted career inventory), and spatial learning attitudes (adapted learning preferences questionnaire). Subgroups for analysis include engaged versus unengaged learners--that is, those who complete all required assignments and projects versus those who do not. Student outcomes on college and career interest and spatial learning attitudes are compared to those of a control group, drawn from a similar population (same school or same district). Teacher outcomes include their geospatial technology use and knowledge, measured by the Geospatial Science Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge questionnaire. The research also examines impacts within each school and each RPP. The project contributes to the knowledge base on geospatial curriculum design and development in a variety of settings (urban, suburban, rural), student outcomes from curriculum-aligned geospatial tools use, teacher professional development on geospatial technology integration, integration of geospatial tool usage across different units of high schools (different academic departments, different support services such as ESL and special education), and the formation and function of RPPs centered on curriculum-aligned geospatial education.This project is funded by the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program, which supports projects that build understandings of practices, program elements, contexts and processes contributing to increasing students' knowledge and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and information and communication technology (ICT) careers.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.