Collaborative Research: Integrating AI Learning into Middle School Science through Natural Language Processing

该项目响应了越来越多的人的认识，即所有年龄段的学习者都应该有机会接触和学习人工智能（AI）。在人工智能的众多子领域中，自然语言处理（NLP）是发展最快的领域之一。NLP专注于如何自动理解口头或文本数据，每天在线记录数十亿的这些文本或口头交流。从历史上看，使用NLP需要广泛的编码专业知识和对机器学习的深刻理解，但最近项目团队的进展和工作为将真实的、位于NLP学习带入中学课堂奠定了基础。该项目着眼于如何将伦理和伦理推理应用于相关当地问题的NLP教学，并将研究如何通过基于问题的学习将人工智能通过NLP学习整合到中学天气系统和周期科学中。该研究团队将与教师进行参与式共同设计，并将为12名教师和1000多名学生提供潜在的变革经验，利用现有的合作伙伴关系，在佛罗里达州和印第安纳州的多区、两州的努力中，在不同的学校中，大约有50%的非洲裔学生，大多数学生有资格享受免费或减少午餐。该项目由“面向学生和教师的创新技术体验”（ITEST）项目资助，该项目支持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）职业的知识和兴趣的实践、项目要素、背景和过程的理解。研究人员将调查教师专业发展和参与式共同设计的方式，以支持教师的能力和准备意识，将真实的、基于问题的NLP体验带入科学课堂。对于学生来说，该项目的假设是，这些创新的经历将培养他们对STEM职业的能力和态度。该项目以以下研究问题为指导。(1) (a)参与式协同设计的哪些方面有助于支持科学教师发展人工智能教育和NLP熟练程度？(b)现有的专业发展战略可以通过哪些方式支持人工智能集成的科学学习？(c)在整个过程中出现了什么新战略？(2) (a)与教师的参与式共同设计产生了什么样的人工智能集成科学学习活动？(b)需要哪些具体的调整以确保活动与学生个人、地方和文化相关？(3)整合的自然语言处理和科学如何支持学习者的能力（自然语言处理和科学的知识和技能）和伦理推理？(4)整合的NLP和科学如何支持学生建立高质量的参与和培养对STEM职业的积极态度（兴趣、身份和坚持的意图）？该项目将使用混合方法设计来调查这些问题：来自教师和学生的定性数据将包括叙述、教学实践观察和对教师的采访，了解他们在教授人工智能集成科学方面的准备和自我效能；定量数据将包括对教师和学生管理的人工智能综合科学的知识和技能评估。该项目的可交付成果将包括：(1)上述研究问题的实证结果；(2)与NGSS标准一致的中学科学相结合的创新NLP课程。课程将是通过与教师共同设计，在三年多的项目中反复改进的结果。本课程、相关材料和学习环境将公开并免费提供。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。

This project responds to the growing recognition that learners of all ages should have the opportunity to engage with and learn about artificial intelligence (AI). Of AI's many subfields, natural language processing (NLP) is one of the fastest growing. NLP focuses on how to automatically understand spoken or textual data, and billions of these textual or spoken exchanges are recorded online every day. Historically, using NLP required extensive coding expertise and a deep understanding of machine learning, but recent advances and work by the project team have laid the foundation for bringing authentic, situated NLP learning into middle school classrooms. The project foregrounds how to teach NLP with ethics and ethical reasoning applied to relevant local issues and will investigate how to integrate AI learning through NLP into middle school science on weather systems and cycles through problem-based learning. The research team will carry out participatory co-design with teachers and will provide potentially transformative experiences to twelve teachers and over one thousand students, leveraging existing partnerships within a multi-district, two-state effort in Florida, and Indiana in diverse schools with approximately 50% African-American students and the majority of students eligible for free or reduced lunch. This project is 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.Researchers will investigate the ways in which teacher professional development and participatory co-design can be tailored to support teachers' competencies and sense of preparedness to bring authentic, problem-based NLP experiences into science classrooms. For students, the project’s hypothesis is that these innovative experiences will foster competencies and attitudes toward STEM careers. The project is guided by the following research questions. (1) (a) What aspects of participatory co-design are helpful for supporting science teachers' development of AI education and NLP proficiencies? (b) In what ways can existing professional development strategies support AI-integrated science learning? (c) What new strategies emerge throughout the process? (2) (a) What kinds of AI-integrated science learning activities emerge from participatory co-design with teachers? (b) What specific adaptations are necessary to ensure activities are personally, locally, and culturally relevant for students? (3) How does integrated NLP and science support learner competencies (knowledge and skills in NLP and science) and ethical reasoning?; and (4) How does integrated NLP and science support students in establishing high quality engagement and fostering positive attitudes toward STEM careers (interest, identity, and intention to persist)? The project will investigate these questions using a mixed-methods design: qualitative data from teachers and students will include narrative accounts, observations of teaching practices, and interviews with teachers about their preparedness and self-efficacy for teaching AI-integrated science; quantitative data will include knowledge and skills assessments for AI-integrated science administered to both teachers and students. The project's deliverables will include (1) empirical findings from the above research questions and (2) an innovative NLP curriculum integrated into NGSS standards-aligned middle school science. The curriculum will be the outcome of iterative refinement over three years of the project through co-design with teachers. This curriculum, accompanying materials, and learning environment will be made publicly and freely available.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.