Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) Girls in a Robotics Leadership Project

该奖项全部或部分根据2021年美国救援计划法案（公法117-2）资助。研究表明，黑人女孩和妇女，无论她们的学术成就和STEM兴趣如何，经常遇到学术准备不足，社会孤立，排斥和种族性别歧视，这对她们在STEM中的持续参与和保留产生了负面影响。 该项目将为初中和高中黑人女孩提供创新的、与文化相关的学习环境，以应对这些负面趋势。通过动手编码和机器人活动，项目参与者将培养对科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）的积极态度。该项目强调同侪指导，为黑人女高中生（助理教练）和黑人大学生（教练）提供机会，担任参与者的顾问和导师。此外，来自STEM行业的工程师、科学家和高管将担任导师，分享他们的经验，以拓宽参与者的STEM职业抱负。该项目是加州大学戴维斯C-STEM中心、Umoja社区教育基金会和66所附属加州社区学院、行业合作伙伴和加州学区之间为期三年的合作项目。在三年时间里，将有近2 000名女性参与该项目。 由其他黑人女孩和妇女领导的黑人女孩和妇女的学习环境被称为“反空间”，在那里她们可以自由地以重视自己身份的方式参与STEM，同时促进STEM参与，兴趣和职业抱负。该项目的课程将采用以研究为基础、与文化相关的多层次指导方法。该课程旨在通过使用动手编码和机器人技术与现实生活中的应用程序建立有意义的联系，培养参与者的STEM内容知识，批判性思维和逻辑推理能力。一项混合方法的纵向研究将研究对参与者的STEM成果的影响，强调对多层次、文化相关的指导的可行性提供新的知识，以提高非正式STEM学习（ISL）的公平性。 该计划的有效性将通过对数学标准，计算机科学和机器人概念知识，逻辑和批判性思维技能，STEM学校成绩，对STEM科目的兴趣和态度，高级STEM课程，参与其他ISL机会以及STEM在学校/大学和社区的领导力进行纵向评估进行评估。该项目将与其他K-12和大学合作伙伴主办的项目一起测试基于当地的非正式学习模式。该创新发展项目由推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划资助，旨在（a）推进非正式环境中STEM学习设计和发展的新方法和基于证据的理解;（B）提供多种途径，以扩大获得和参与STEM学习经验的机会;（c）推进非正式环境中STEM学习的创新研究和评估;以及（d）该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的评估来支持。影响审查标准。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). Research shows that Black girls and women, regardless of their academic achievements and STEM interests, often encounter academic under-preparation, social isolation, exclusion, and race-gender discrimination that negatively impacts their ongoing engagement and retention in STEM. This project will provide innovative, culturally relevant learning environments to middle and high school Black girls to counter these negative trends. Using hands-on coding and robotics activities, project participants will develop positive attitudes toward science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The project emphasizes peer-mentoring by providing opportunities for Black female high school (assistant coaches) and Black college students (coaches) to serve as counselors and mentors to participants. Additionally, engineers, scientists, and executives from STEM industries will serve as mentors and share their experiences to broaden participants’ STEM career aspirations. The project is a three-year collaborative effort between the University of California Davis C-STEM Center, the Umoja Community Education Foundation, and the 66 affiliated California community colleges, industry partners, and school districts in California. Over three years, nearly 2,000 females will participate in the project. Learning environments for Black girls and women led by other Black girls and women are referred to as “counterspaces” where they are free to engage in STEM in ways that value their identities while promoting STEM engagement, interests, and career aspirations. The project’s curriculum will follow a research-based, culturally relevant multi-tiered mentoring approach. The curriculum is designed to develop participants’ STEM content knowledge, critical thinking, and logical reasoning capabilities through meaningful connections to real-life applications using hands-on coding and robotics. A mixed-method longitudinal study will examine the impact on participants’ STEM outcomes, emphasizing contributing new knowledge on the viability of multi-tiered, culturally relevant mentoring for increasing equity in informal STEM learning (ISL). The program's effectiveness will be evaluated using longitudinal assessments of mathematics standards, computer science and robotics conceptual knowledge, logical and critical thinking skills, STEM school achievements, interests and attitudes toward STEM subjects, advanced STEM course-taking, involvement in other ISL opportunities, and leadership in STEM in one’s school/university and community. The project will test a locally based informal learning model with projects hosted by other K-12 and college partners.This Innovations in Development project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to (a) advance new approaches to and evidence-based understanding of the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments; (b) provide multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences; (c) advance innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments; and (d) engage the public of all ages in learning STEM in informal environments.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.