Youth Engineering Solutions: Engineering Opportunities in Out-of-School Programs for English Learners

每年有数百万年轻人参加校外项目。西班牙裔和黑人青年参与操作系统项目的比例是白人青年的两倍，这使得操作系统项目有望成为解决STEM领域不平等问题的场所。尽管大多数项目提供STEM经验，但只有不到三分之一的OS STEM编程包括工程。高质量的课程材料可以支持将工程学引入这些环境。然而，这些资源需要精心设计，以提供学习机会，确保所有青年都能参与、贡献和受益。在美国，小学阶段增长最快的人群之一是英语学习者（el）。这些年轻人面临着同时学习英语和学术内容的挑战，比如工程学。很少（如果有的话）存在针对操作系统设置的工程课程，其中包括为el及其教育者提供的支架。青年工程解决方案：面向英语学习者的校外项目中的工程机会（YES-OS）项目将完善一套以公平为导向的操作系统工程设计原则，这些原则以英语学习策略为依据。它将与操作系统教育者和利益相关者密切合作，为9-12岁的青少年开发和研究两个操作系统工程课程单元。单元将以社会参与、现实世界的设计挑战为特色，吸引青年参与工程实践，并提供语言脚手架。教育材料将包括青少年、教育工作者和面向家庭的资源，并将在全国范围内推广。研究将研究课程如何为英语学习者提供机会并支持教育工作者。YES-OS的原则、资源和研究将为以青年经验为基础的基于资产的模式提供信息，以创造更公平的教育机会，从而扩大工程领域的参与。YES-OS将调查以股权为导向的操作系统工程课程如何为ELs提供学习知识、话语和实践的机会；将他们的文化、经验和想法带入工程项目；扩大他们的身份和兴趣范围；加强学习型社区的成员。该项目将：(1)完善、应用、研究和修改一套以公平为导向的操作系统工程课程设计原则，这些原则是由el的策略提供的；(2)开发、测试和修改两个面向9-12岁青少年的操作系统工程单元，这些单元使用基于设计的研究实例化了这些原则；(3)开始检查el的工程在OS编程中的启示。这将包括调查工程单位如何让年轻人参与学科知识和实践，支撑社会和学术话语，提高对STEM的兴趣，并培养一个支持参与和身份发展的社区，以及(4)探索基于股权的工程课程如何支持操作系统教育者，因为他们建立了对工程，工程实践和el的知识和信心，并创建基于资产的工程编程。YES-OS将使用基于设计的研究来系统地设计课程，同时研究课程设计的有效性及其培养的学习环境。全国30位操作系统教育工作者将与开发人员一起测试框架和材料。包括教育者反馈、青年工作、调查、课堂观察和视频以及焦点小组在内的数据将使用多种定性和定量方法进行分析。资源和研究成果将通过网站、会议、网络研讨会、通讯、研究文章和社交媒体传播给教育工作者、利益相关者、公众和研究人员。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。

Millions of youth participate in out-of-school (OS) programs each year. Hispanic and Black youth participate at twice the rate of Caucasian youth in OS programs, making OS programs promising venues for addressing inequities in STEM. Although a majority of programs offer STEM experiences, less than a third of OS STEM programming includes engineering. High-quality curricular materials can support the introduction of engineering into these environments. However, such resources need to be carefully designed to provide learning opportunities that ensure all youth can participate, contribute, and benefit. One of the most rapidly growing populations in the U.S. at the elementary level are English learners (ELs). These youth face the challenge of simultaneously learning English and academic content, such as engineering. Few, if any, engineering curricula exist for OS settings that include scaffolds for ELs and their educators. The Youth Engineering Solutions: Engineering Opportunities in Out-of-School Programs for English Learners (YES-OS) project will refine a set of equity-oriented design principles for OS engineering that are informed by strategies for ELs. It will work closely with OS educators and stakeholders to develop and study two OS engineering curricular units for youth ages 9–12. Units will feature socially engaged, real-world design challenges, engage youth in engineering practices, and provide language scaffolds. The educative materials will include youth, educator, and family-facing resources and will be designed to scale nationwide. Research will study how curricula can provide opportunities for ELs and support educators. YES-OS’s principles, resources, and research will inform asset-based models that build on youth’s experience to create more equitable educational opportunities and thus broaden participation in engineering.YES-OS will investigate ways that equity-oriented OS engineering curricula provide opportunities for ELs to learn knowledge, discourses, and practices; bring their cultures, experiences, and ideas to the engineering projects; expand their repertoire of identities and interests; and enhance membership in the learning community. The project will: (1) refine, apply, study, and modify a set of equity-oriented design principles for OS engineering curricula that are informed by strategies for ELs, (2) develop, test, and revise two OS engineering units for youth in ages 9–12 that instantiate the principles using design-based research, (3) begin to examine affordances of engineering for ELs in OS programming. This will include investigating how the engineering units engage youth in disciplinary knowledge and practices, scaffold social and academic discourses, increase interest in STEM, and foster a community that supports participation and identity development, and (4) explore how equity-based engineering curricula can support OS educators as they build their knowledge of and confidence with engineering, engineering practices, and ELs and create asset-based engineering programming. YES-OS will use design-based research to systematically design curriculum while simultaneously researching the efficacy of the curriculum design and the learning environments they foster. Thirty OS educators nationwide will work with developers to test frameworks and materials. Data including educator feedback, youth work, surveys, lesson observations and video, and focus groups will be analyzed using multiple qualitative and quantitative methods. Resources and findings will be disseminated to educators, stakeholders, the public, and researchers through websites, conferences, webinars, newsletters, research articles, and social media.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.