Partnership to Provide Technology and Cyber-security Experiences to Alabama Black Belt through Mobile Application Development

虽然STEM领域的就业增长，特别是信息技术和网络安全领域的就业增长一直在不断增加，但这些劳动力领域的多样性并没有以可比的速度增长。这一开发和测试创新(DTI)项目将推动更好地了解和促进实践，提高少数族裔高中生追求STEM职业的动机和能力。该项目将使学生参与计算机领域，特别是网络安全领域的实地实践、基于实验室/项目的创业任务和指导经验。该项目以高中学生基于项目的学习(PBL)环境为基础，由塔斯基吉大学、奥本大学、阿拉巴马州历史悠久的黑带地区的乡村和城市学区、塔斯基吉大学工程和计算机科学校友会以及阿拉巴马州教育部合作开展。合作的重点是每年从合作学区招募40名不同种族和种族的高中生，参加由塔斯基吉大学主办的为期四周的STEM强化PBL暑期学院，然后进行一个学期的在校培训。该学院旨在通过在PBL框架下对安全移动应用程序开发进行令人兴奋的探索，每年为40名10年级和11年级学生和10名高中教师(在三年资助期内为150名学生)提供深远的技术体验。该项目将以小组形式提供基本信息技术和信息安全概念方面的实践培训，方法是在历史上的黑人大学塔斯基吉大学举办为期一个月的培训方案(为期4周的暑期学院)，然后在学校就他们选择的项目进行一个学期的培训。每个小组都将得到塔斯基吉大学计算机科学系的协助。学生们使用麻省理工学院的应用程序Inventor环境开发了一个安全的移动应用程序，并使用Android手机进行了测试。关键问题是：(1)在PBL环境下为期四周的创新技术导向型体验，然后是一学期的在校培训，对少数族裔高中生的知识、兴趣、动机和对STEM相关职业的态度有多大影响？(2)与导师合作的小组体验以什么方式影响少数族裔高中生对STEM相关职业的兴趣和意识？(3)项目完成后，影响持续到什么程度？它们是否导致STEM相关的大专计划？(4)哪些教学和指导策略可以有效地整合，以提高少数族裔高中生对STEM相关职业的知识、兴趣和态度？本研究采用定性和定量相结合的混合方法设计，考察了学生在PBL环境下对STEM的学习动机和态度。该项目由学生和教师创新技术体验计划(ITEST)共同资助，该计划支持建立对实践、计划要素、背景和过程的理解的项目，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。该项目也是由既定的激励竞争性研究计划(EPSCoR)共同资助的。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。

While job growth in STEM fields, specifically in information technology and cybersecurity, has been consistently on the rise, diversity in these workforce fields has not grown at a comparable pace. This Developing and Testing Innovations (DTI) project will advance efforts to better understand and promote practices that increase minority high school students' motivations and capacities to pursue STEM careers. This project will engage students in hands-on field experience, laboratory/project-based entrepreneurship tasks and mentorship experiences in fields of computing, specifically in cybersecurity. This project, based on the use of a Project Based Learning (PBL) environment with high school students, is a partnership between Tuskegee University, Auburn University, a rural and an urban school district in the historic Black Belt region of the state of Alabama, Tuskegee University Engineering and Computer Science Alumni Associations, and the Alabama State Department of Education. The focus of the partnership is to recruit annually a cohort of forty ethnically and racially diverse high school students from the partnering school districts for immersion in a STEM intensive PBL four-week STEM Summer Academy hosted by Tuskegee University, followed by one semester in-school training. The Academy is designed to provide 40 rising 10th and 11th grade students and ten high-school teachers annually (150 over the life of the three-year grant) with far-reaching technological experiences through the exciting exploration of secured mobile application development under a PBL framework. The project will provide, in a group setting, hands-on training in basic information technology and information security concepts through a one-month training program (4-week Summer Academy) hosted at Tuskegee University, a Historically Black University, followed by one semester in school training on a project of their choice. Each of the groups will be assisted by a computer science faculty of Tuskegee University. The students develop a secured mobile application using the MIT APP Inventor environment and test it using an android phone. The key questions being addressed are: (1) To what extent does the innovative four-week technology-oriented experience in a PBL environment followed by one semester in-school training impact minority high school students’ knowledge, interest, motivation, and attitudes towards STEM-related careers? (2) In what ways does the collaborative small group experience with mentor teachers affect minority high school students’ interest and awareness of STEM-related careers? (3) To what extent do the effects of the program persist after its completion? Do they lead to STEM-related post-secondary plans? (4) What instructional and mentoring strategies can be effectively integrated in to boost minority high school students’ knowledge, interest, and attitudes towards STEM-related careers? A mixed-method design with both qualitative and quantitative data will be used to examine the students' motivation and attitude towards STEM in a PBL environment. This project is co-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 project is also jointly co-funded by the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.