Physical Science Robotics Interdisciplinary Design in Computer Science Education: Broadening Participation in STEM through Cascading Peer-Mentorship

计算机科学（CS）教育中的物理科学机器人跨学科设计（PRIDe）研究了创新的级联同伴指导方法如何改进K-12计算机科学教育的当前实践。该项目将设计、实地测试、支持教师的专业发展，并评估一种级联同伴指导模式，该模式通过PRIDe课程将高中、初中和小学学生及其计算机科学和科学教师与肯特州立大学先进远程机器人研究实验室联系起来。本课程为学生提供物理科学、机器人技术和机器人工程设计挑战的跨学科学习经验。层叠式指导将初级成员从被动的接受者转变为积极的参与者，允许他们指导年轻的学生，同时为参与者创造机会体验互惠的指导，并了解在CS中教授或指导他人意味着什么。该项目将在正规教育环境中创建并实施一个级联指导阶梯，将650多名经济困难的学生及其计算机和科学教师与大学计算机研究实验室联系起来，这些学生来自一个以黑人和西班牙裔为主的学区。该项目的目标是通过(a)将工程设计挑战与机器人技术相结合，(b)鼓励机器人技术中的讲故事和创造力，(c)包括指导和社交经验，以及(d)组织机器人展览，创造多种途径，鼓励具有不同兴趣的学生联系和交流科学和机器人技术。基于设计的研究方法将用于迭代设计和实地测试拟议的项目课程，并进行级联指导，以找出哪些有效，哪些无效，以知情的方式改进它，并评估其对学生的影响。采用定量和定性数据的混合方法实验干预设计将被用来调查建议的课程有和没有级联同伴指导如何影响参与学生的计算机科学和物理科学学习以及他们对计算机科学和科学的态度。此外，它还将通过调查、焦点小组访谈、课堂观察和学校度量数据来探索学生在CS中的层叠式同伴指导经验和参与。该项目将通过开发级联同伴指导模型的原型，在现实世界的教室中进行现场测试，并检查其对参与者的影响，为K-12计算机科学教育的研究做出贡献。此外，它将通过检查计算的社会文化维度，并通过使用可负担得起的定制开发机器人的能源和可持续发展的关键社会问题将机器人与科学联系起来，从而为教育机器人的研究做出贡献。该项目由探索研究pre -12计划（DRK-12）和CS for All: Research and RPPs计划共同资助。探索研究preK-12项目（DRK-12）旨在通过研究和开发创新资源、模型和工具，显著提高preK-12学生和教师对科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）的学习和教学。DRK-12计划中的项目建立在STEM教育的基础研究和先前的研究和开发工作的基础上，为拟议的项目提供了理论和实证依据。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。

Physical Science Robotics Interdisciplinary Design (PRIDe) in Computer Science (CS) Education investigates how an innovative cascading peer-mentorship approach can improve upon current practices in K-12 CS education. The project will design, field test, support teachers with professional development, and evaluate a cascading peer-mentoring model that connects high school, middle, and elementary school students as well as their CS and science teachers with the Advanced Telerobotics Research Lab at Kent State University through the PRIDe curriculum. This curriculum provides students with interdisciplinary learning experiences in physical science, robotics, and robotics engineering design challenges. Cascading mentorship transforms junior members from passive recipients into active participants by allowing them to mentor younger students while creating opportunities for participants to experience reciprocal mentoring and develop an understanding of what it means to teach or mentor somebody else in CS. This project will create and implement a cascading mentorship ladder in formal educational settings that connects more than 650 economically disadvantaged students along with their CS and science teachers from a predominately black and Hispanic school district with a University CS research lab. The goal of this project is to create multiple pathways that encourage students with different interests to connect to and communicate about science and robotics by (a) combining engineering design challenges with robotics, (b) encouraging storytelling and creativity within robotics, (c) including mentoring and socializing experiences, and (d) organizing robotics exhibitions. A design-based research approach will be used to iteratively design and field test the proposed project curriculum with cascading mentoring to find out what works and what does not, improve it in an informed way, and evaluate its impact on students. A mixed methods experimental intervention design that employs quantitative and qualitative data will be used to investigate how the proposed curriculum with and without cascading peer-mentorship influences participating students' CS and physical science learning and their attitudes toward CS and science. In addition, it will explore students' cascading peer-mentorship experiences and engagement in CS using surveys, focus group interviews, classroom observations, and school metric data. This project will contribute to the research on K-12 CS education by developing a prototype of a cascading peer-mentoring model, field testing it in real-world classrooms, and examining its impact on participants. Moreover, it will contribute to the research on educational robotics by examining the sociocultural dimensions of computing and connecting robotics with science through critical social issues of energy and sustainability using an affordable custom-developed robot.This project is co-funded through The Discovery Research preK-12 program (DRK-12) and the CS for All: Research and RPPs program. The Discovery Research preK-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools. Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects.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.