Using Quantitative Ethnography and Customized Virtual Role Models to Measure and Improve the Computing Identity of Young Girls

新兴技术对所有美国人都有潜在的好处。技术支持许多领域的创新，包括农业、电子、交通、数据科学和计算。作为这一增长引擎的劳动力必须首先接受教育和培训，以理解和掌握构成技术增长基础的先进STEM方法。这一劳动力包括具有STEM和学习科学知识的教育工作者，以吸引和培养来自不同文化背景的学生，他们可能成为进入这些领域的候选人。STEM领域往往缺乏多样化的导师和榜样。许多女性和少数族裔如果没有看到像她们一样的技术专家在进行创新，就不会看到自己走上了技术发现的道路。该项目将致力于制定战略，为年轻人，特别是代表性不足的年轻人提供机会和多样化的榜样，激励他们在计算机和技术领域追求STEM职业道路。特拉华大学（University of Delaware）的这个项目将致力于提高追求计算机职业道路的中学女生的参与度，特别是那些来自代表性不足或边缘化群体的女生。该项目与正在进行的关于计算和相关新兴技术中代表性不足的研究有关，并集成了诸如个人和群体身份形成、具体化虚拟代理、人机交互和动机等框架。该计划包括一个由五名导师组成的团队，他们将指导研究项目并指导首席研究员。该项目包括专业发展活动，将提高首席研究员的STEM教育研究能力，包括提高在角色模型理论、定性方法、定量人种学和认知网络分析以及接地和具体化的认知和理论方面的技能和理解。将制定一项干预措施，以扭转破坏性的刻板印象，并提高代表性不足的学生对计算机和技术职业的动机和认同。与虚拟角色模型的情境化互动，在指导的支持下，旨在增强学生的体验，提高动机。预期的结果包括增加那些目前未被充分代表的人进入计算机职业的参与，扩大公共展示，以及本科生和研究生的学习机会。通过计算机科学和工程教育、学习科学和数据科学会议传播项目成果，并在学术期刊上发表，应该使研究人员和教育工作者受益。使用去识别数据的报告将在项目网站上共享，允许适当使用计算身份指南。该项目得到了比尔和梅林达·盖茨基金会、施密特期货和沃尔顿家族基金会的合作支持。该项目还得到了美国国家科学基金会EDU STEM教育研究核心研究能力建设（ECR: BCSER）项目的支持，该项目旨在培养研究人员在STEM学习和学习环境的核心领域开展高质量STEM教育研究的能力，扩大STEM领域的参与，以及STEM劳动力的发展。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。

Emerging technology poses potential benefit to all Americans. Technologies support innovations in many fields, including agriculture, electronics, transportation, data science and computing. The workforce that forms the engine for this growth must first receive education and training to understand and master the advanced STEM methods that form the foundation of technological growth. That workforce includes educators with knowledge in STEM and in learning sciences to engage and prepare students, some from diverse cultures, who could be candidates to enter these fields. Too often STEM fields lack diverse mentors and role models. Many women and minorities do not see themselves following the pathways of technological discovery if they have not seen technologists who look like them crafting innovations. This project will address developing strategies to reach youth, especially underrepresented youth, with opportunities and diverse role models to motivate them to pursue STEM career paths in computing and technology. This project through the University of Delaware will work to increase the participation of middle-school girls who pursue computing career paths, particularly those from underrepresented or marginalized groups. The project is connected to ongoing studies on underrepresentation in computing and associated emerging technologies, and integrates frameworks, such as personal and group identity formation, embodied virtual agents, human-computer interaction, and motivation. A team of five mentors-advisors is included in this plan, they will guide the research project and mentor the Principal Investigator. The project includes professional development activity that will increase the STEM education research capabilities of the Principal Investigator, including improving skills and understanding in role model theory, qualitative methods, quantitative ethnography and epistemic network analysis, and grounded and embodied cognition and theories. An intervention will be developed to reverse damaging stereotypes and improve the motivation and identity of underrepresented students for computing and technology careers. The contextualized interactions with virtual role models, supported by mentoring, are intended to enhance student experiences, and improve motivation. Anticipated outcomes include increased participation in entering computing careers by those currently underrepresented, outreach for public showcases, and undergraduate and graduate student learning opportunities. Dissemination of project results through conferences in computer science and engineering education, learning sciences, and data science, and publication in scholarly journals, should benefit researchers and educators. Reports using de-identified data will be shared on the project website allowing appropriate use of the computing identity guidelines. This project is supported through a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Schmidt Futures, and the Walton Family Foundation. This project is also supported by NSF's EDU Core Research Building Capacity in STEM Education Research (ECR: BCSER) program, which is designed to build investigators' capacity to carry out high-quality STEM education research in the core areas of STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM fields, and STEM workforce development.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.