Developing STEM Identity in Rural Audiences through Community-based Engineering Design

该项目将开发和研究一种以社区为基础的创新工程教育模式，以支持农村经济困难学生的科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)知识、身份和职业意识。该项目利用北卡罗来纳州立大学、Edgecombe学区和当地行业之间的战略合作伙伴关系，创建了一门工程设计和探索课程。本课程将吸引中学生(6至8年级)体验真实的工程设计经验，围绕当地制造设施利用的先进制造技术和工艺而建立。在本课程中，学生将研究、设计和构建模拟实际工业制造过程的先进制造系统。学生将得到来自代表性不足群体的本科生工程学学生的指导，以及北卡罗来纳州立大学的STEM行业专业人士和STEM行业专业人士的支持。该项目将通过在现实世界中提供技术丰富的实践STEM体验，帮助经济困难的中学青年更充分地参与STEM和职业道路。这些经验还将帮助学生在STEM环境中研究、设计和解决问题。这项研究将考察以工程为重点、以社区为基础的教学模式如何有助于培养农村学生对STEM的兴趣。该团队将使用准试验性混合方法嵌入式设计来回答三个研究问题。1)以工程设计为重点的课程对学生的STEM学科知识和实践以及职业意识有何影响？2)以工程设计为重点的课程对学生的STEM兴趣、STEM认同感和STEM自我效能感有何影响和影响程度？3)该课程对教师内容、教学知识以及对STEM教育途径和职业的认识有何影响？将收集的研究数据包括学生访谈、调查和学生在课程期间创作的文物。学生内容知识和职业意识的变化将通过全州范围的科学考试成绩、STEM知识和技能调查前后以及职业意识调查前后来衡量。对STEM、STEM认同感和STEM自我效能的兴趣将通过学生人工制品、观察和焦点小组来确定。该小组还将通过前后调查和焦点小组检查教师STEM知识、教学方法和STEM职业意识。项目评估将检查项目目标和目的的总体实现情况。项目成果将在国家会议上广泛传播，通过提交给被推荐的期刊，以及在埃奇科姆县公立学校网站上。该项目将推动创新技术学生和教师体验(ITEST)计划的努力，以更好地了解和促进提高年轻人在科学、技术、工程或数学(STEM)领域追求职业生涯的动机和能力的实践。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 project will develop and study an innovative community-based engineering education model to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) knowledge, identity, and career awareness of rural, economically disadvantaged students. The project leverages strategic partnerships between North Carolina State University, Edgecombe School District, and local industry to create an Engineering Design and Exploration course. The course will engage middle school students (grades 6 to 8) in authentic engineering design experiences built around advanced manufacturing technologies and processes utilized by local manufacturing facilities. In the course, students will research, design, and build advanced manufacturing systems that simulate actual industrial manufacturing processes. Students will be supported by mentoring from undergraduate engineering students from underrepresented groups and by STEM industry professionals at North Carolina State University and by STEM industry professionals. This project will help prepare economically disadvantaged middle school youth to more fully participate in STEM and career pathways by providing technology-rich, hands-on STEM experiences in real-world contexts. These experiences will also prepare students to research, design, and solve problems in STEM contexts. The research will examine how an engineering-focused community-based instructional model can help develop rural students' interest in STEM. The team will use a quasi-experimental mixed-methods embedded design to answer three research questions. 1) How and to what degree does the engineering design-focused program impact students' disciplinary-based knowledge and practices in STEM and career awareness? 2) How and to what degree does the engineering design-focused program impact students' STEM interests, STEM identity, and STEM self-efficacy? 3) How and to what degree does the program impact teacher content and pedagogical knowledge and awareness of STEM educational pathways and occupations? Research data to be collected include student interviews, surveys, and artifacts created by students during the course. Changes in students' content knowledge and career awareness will be measured through state-wide science test scores, pre to post-surveys on STEM knowledge and skills, and on a pre to post career awareness surveys. Interest in STEM, STEM identity, and STEM self-efficacy will be determined through student artifacts, observations, and focus groups. The team will also examine teacher STEM knowledge, pedagogy, and STEM career awareness through pre to post surveys and focus groups. Project evaluation will examine the overall achievement of program goals and objectives. Project results will be disseminated widely at national conferences, through submissions to refereed journals, and on Edgecombe County public schools websites.This project will advance efforts of the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program to better understand and promote practices that increase youth motivations and capacities to pursue careers in fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM).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.