| NSF Org: |
DRL Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) |
| Recipient: |
|
| Initial Amendment Date: | June 15, 2015 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | May 30, 2017 |
| Award Number: | 1509105 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Joseph Reed
DRL Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | June 15, 2015 |
| End Date: | March 31, 2019 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $1,199,910.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $1,199,910.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2016 = $431,001.00 FY 2017 = $390,007.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
|
| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
660 S MILL AVENUE STE 204 TEMPE AZ US 85281-3670 (480)965-5479 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
|
| Primary Place of Performance: |
Tempe AZ US 85287-6011 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
|
| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
|
| Parent UEI: |
|
| NSF Program(s): | ITEST-Inov Tech Exp Stu & Teac |
| Primary Program Source: |
|
| Program Reference Code(s): | |
| Program Element Code(s): |
|
| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
This project will advance efforts of the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program to better understand and promote practices that increase students' motivations and capacities to pursue careers in fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) by producing empirical findings and/or research tools that contribute to knowledge about which models and interventions with K-12 students and teachers are most likely to increase capacity in the STEM and STEM cognate intensive workforce of the future.
Project AMP (App Maker Pro), a partnership between Arizona State University and the Chandler, Higley, Mesa, and Phoenix, Arizona public schools, will gauge the effectiveness of a design village (community) program on the technology interests and talents of high school students. The teachers will enhance their technology expertise and knowledge of applications of technology, as a way to increase the number of STEM majors. In design villages, teams of high school students and high school STEM teachers will study existing apps, and then develop (or modify existing) apps, including those focusing on games, and architectural designs, that address problems in the various STEM and related fields, as for example, city planning, eco-friendly construction, education, finance, nutrition/fitness/healthcare, and travel. The AMP approach, with its design villages of scientists and industry experts, teachers and students, who collaborate to identify and address challenging problems in STEM fields through development of apps that will be immediately useful by the public, not only increase the number of high school students well-prepared for post-secondary education in STEM fields, but may also prove to be a tool for recruiting high school graduates into STEM fields. AMP products, including curricula for effective after-school AMP programs facilitate replication of this strategy nationwide.
The app and software design program will follow an informal agile development methodology which moves through rapid-cycle iteration from prototyping to intermediate to final versions of the requirements, design specifications, implementation and validation. After increasing their own expertise in design and development, teams of teachers and high school students will create and conduct after-school AMP programs for other students and teachers in their schools. Design villages will be conducted and led by university and industry scientists, assisted by undergraduate software design and programming majors. Each design village will consist of 10 teams of 5 villagers (3 students and 2 teachers). Over the course of the project, three design villages will be conducted, involving 90 high school students, 60 high school teachers, and from 15 to 45 mentors. Evaluation will focus on both students and teachers. Major goals will include: 1) Increase in student interest in and commitment to study STEM subjects in high school; 2) Increase in the number of students who enroll in and persist in STEM programs in education settings beyond high school; 3) Increase in teacher interest in and commitment to use of software development as a vehicle for engaging students in solving real-world problems; and 4) Increase in teachers' talents to successfully plan and offer software design and app development courses for after-school or in-school programs. Results from the evaluation will add to knowledge about motivation for student course and program selection and career choice, and professional development approaches that enhance teacher technology talents and knowledge of STEM careers.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
OUTCOMES
App Maker Pro (AMP):
Motivating STEM Study and Teacher Updating through App Development
The number of jobs in the U.S. requiring expertise in one or more STEM fields is growing faster than other jobs, and information technology is playing an increasing role in those and other fields (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). Concomitant with the need for more STEM professionals is the fact that while at least one-fourth of high school freshmen declare interest in STEM-related careers, more than 50% of them lose interest before graduating from high school. To address this situation, school districts nationwide are interested in expanding their technology course offerings, and eager to figure out ways to incorporate various information technologies into their instructional programs (National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council, 2014). Project AMP proposed to use a Design Villagestrategy to: 1) Increase high school student interest in and success with the study of STEM subjects, and 2) Update high school STEM teachers’ knowledge of technology and STEM content, as well as their pedagogical expertise. The effectiveness of this partnering of teachers and students to collaborate on long-term projects was tested and shown to be highly effective at increasing knowledge and persistence in problem solving in the NSF-funded Prime the Pipeline Project (Greenes, et al, 2011, 2013).
The Design Villagestrategy of invention – product - performanceinvolves teacher and student teams collaborating to explore free or inexpensive mobile apps in various fields, develop (invent) new software apps that address problems in those areas, and use those app productsin programs they create and conduct (performance)to familiarize other students and teachers in their schools or districts with Project AMP. Each Design Village was developed and conducted by two university and industry scientists, one with expertise in the domain field and the other in software design. Leaders were assisted by undergraduate students who also served as mentors/role models for the students. The seven AMP Design Villageswere Health Tech, Music Tech, Photo Focus, Power Track, Optical Illusions, Super Structures, and Sustainable World. Each Design Villagemet for five consecutive sessions; a session was an academic semester or summer. During Session 1, Villagers evaluated existing mobile apps. In Sessions 2 though 4, they designed, tested, and refined their apps. During the Showcase Open Houses, held on the last day of each session, Villagers presented their app development work to others in order to obtain feedback for improving their apps. The final Community Outreach program was held during Session 5.
Over three years of implementation, Project AMP was evaluated using process and outcome strategies. Both qualitative data (from observations, interviews, Showcase presentations, and Community Outreach programs) and quantitative data (from content and technology assessments, app evaluations, coding rubrics, feedback forms, surveys, and rating tools) were gathered to assess Project AMP effectiveness as related to goals and objectives. A total of 159 students and 23 teachers began and completed at least one full session. Completing the entire 12/3 year program/cohort were 76 students and 15 teachers.
Data were combined across cohorts to assess pre- and post-test levels of knowledge regarding Village content domains and computer programming. Although students consistently demonstrated higher scores in technology know-how than did teachers in the pre-assessments, post-assessments indicated significant increases for both students and teachers in their:
1) understanding of STEM content knowledge (p< 0.001), 2) use of technology- specific applications (p= 0.008), and 3) their coding skills during app development (p< 0.001). When interviewed after app completion, students and teachers described their increased programming/coding talents as a hallmark of AMP participation, and teachers were eager to share these skills with students in their own classrooms. AMP participants demonstrated that they were capable of fully developing apps within the project timeframe, and showed improved abilities to effectively share project activities, to Showcase their products, and to conduct Community Outreach programs. Students took key roles in leading a majority of the Outreach programs. Several teachers used carry-over funding in Year 4 to conduct classroom app evaluations and contributed to the Professional Development manual, that can be used to help educators employ apps for instruction, practice and assessment. Of the 36 Cohort 1 and 2 AMP students who graduated from high school prior to the end of AMP, 92% of them are enrolled in and persisting in STEM-related fields in college.
Last Modified: 03/27/2019
Modified by: Carole Greenes
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.
