Career Exploration Lab: 3D Printing and STEM Engagement for High School Students with Visual Impairments and their Educators

该项目将推进学生和教师创新技术体验（ITEST）计划的努力，以更好地理解和促进提高学生在科学，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。对于这些视力障碍（VI）的学生来说，未来在天文学或任何科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）领域的可能性似乎令人生畏。为了帮助解决这个问题，该项目将为VI高中生开发和研究STEM职业探索实验室（CEL），利用天文学和3D打印来增强他们对STEM和STEM职业的兴趣和知识，以及他们的STEM技能。教育家合作机构将建立教师专业知识，促进学生学习，将使用3D打印技术和基于触觉和声音的天文学教学相结合。良好的空间思维对于理解许多天文学主题是必要的，例如天体运动和月相。空间思维对于VI学生尤为重要，他们通过触摸周围环境和/或通过声音收集信息来形成心理图像并理解世界。VI学生使用听觉和触觉感知空间思维。该项目将使用实践活动，包括学生参与组装和使用桌面3D打印机，以及使用3D打印模型和声音来教授天文学。该计划还将包括与STEM专业人士的互动与VI和实地考察当地STEM企业，提供对可能的STEM职业的见解。该项目将服务于高中学生（14 - 20岁）与VI，他们的视力同龄人，STEM高中教师和视障教师（TVI）。该项目建立在已经对每个组成部分进行了试点测试的试点工作的基础上，将扩展到更多的地理区域（共12个州），包括STEM教育工作者，TVI和有视力的学生。该项目开发的3D模型和活动将通过在线存储库免费提供。本研究将探讨高中生参与英语学习工作坊对视障学生的影响。关于VI学生如何学习科学的研究很少，针对VI学生设计的技术工具的影响的研究更少。该项目将调查：（1）计划对视障学生理解科学概念和自我效能的影响;（2）学生如何参与计划的探究式STEM工作;（3）计划如何影响学生对STEM、STEM职业和天文学的态度;（4）评估学生对空间思维技能和天文学概念的理解;（5）评估学生对科学概念的理解。（5）了解高中STEM教师在STEM课堂上对残障学生的态度。该项目将采用混合方法的方法和前测试干预后测试的设计，采用定性和定量的措施，以确定CELs模型的效果。项目研究将有助于VI学生领域的实证研究，并通过专注于使用3D打印机和3D打印模型作为VI学生的STEM教学工具来解决研究与实践之间的差距。此外，有必要研究3D打印作为VI学生访问视觉内容的教学工具的功效，因为3D模型已被认为上级触觉图形。项目方法、3D模型、活动和研究成果将通过各种方式传播，包括同行评审的研究期刊、教育领域的从业者出版物（STEM，一般和特殊）;在各种STEM，天文学，VI，教育，3D打印，残疾人以及相关国内和国际会议上的演讲和研讨会;该奖项反映了NSF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 will advance efforts of the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program to better understand and promote practices that increase student motivations and capacities to pursue careers in fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM). For these students with visual impairments (VI), the possibility of a future in astronomy, or any science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field, seems daunting. To help address this, the project will develop and research STEM Career Exploration Labs (CELs) for high school students with VI, using astronomy and 3D printing to bolster their interests in and knowledge of STEM and STEM careers, as well as their STEM skills. Educator Partner Institutes will build teacher expertise in facilitating student learning that will use a mix of 3D printing technologies and tactile- and sound-based astronomy instruction. Well-developed spatial thinking is necessary for understanding numerous astronomical topics, such as celestial motion and lunar phases. Spatial thinking is particularly important for students with VI, who touch their surroundings and/or gather information via sound to form mental images and make sense of the world. Students with VI use auditory and haptic perception with spatial thinking. The project will use hands-on activities including student involvement in assembling and using desktop 3D printers and the use of 3D printed models and sound to teach astronomy. The program will also include interactions with STEM professionals with VI and field trips to local STEM businesses that offer insights into possible STEM careers. The project will serve high school students (ages 14 - 20) with VI, their sighted peers, STEM high school teachers, and teachers of the visually impaired (TVIs). The project, building on pilot work that has already pilot-tested each component, will expand to more geographical regions (12 states total) and include STEM educators, TVIs, and sighted students. 3D models and activities developed by the project will be made freely available via online repositories. The project will research the effects participation in CEL workshop has on high school students with VI. There is little research on how students with VI learn science, and even fewer studies on the impact of technological tools designed for students with VI. The project will investigate: (1) the effect of the project on VI student understanding of scientific concepts and the self-efficacy; (2) how the students participate in the project's inquiry-based STEM work; (3) how the project affects student attitudes towards STEM, STEM careers, and astronomy;(4) assess understanding of spatial thinking skills and astronomy concepts; and (5) identify STEM high school teachers’ attitudes towards students with disabilities in STEM classes. The project will use a mixed-methods approach and a pre-test - intervention-post-test design employing qualitative and quantitative measures to determine the effects of the CELs model. Project research will contribute to the empirical research in the field of students with VI and addresses the research to practice gap by focusing on the use of 3D printers and 3D printed models as STEM instructional tools for students with VI. Moreover, there is a need for research on the efficacy of 3D printing as an instructional tool for access to visual content for students with VI, as 3D models have been suggested as superior to tactile graphics. Project methods, 3D models, activities, and research results will be disseminated via a wide variety of means, including peer-reviewed research journals practitioner publications in education (STEM, general, and special); presentations and workshops at various STEM, astronomy, VI, education, 3D printing, persons with disabilities, and related domestic and international conferences; and teacher professional development meetings.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.