Award Abstract # 1640228
Informal STEM Teaching and Learning Through Infusing Computational Thinking into Science Learning

NSF Org: DRL
Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL)
Recipient: BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY
Initial Amendment Date: August 26, 2016
Latest Amendment Date: April 13, 2021
Award Number: 1640228
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Arlene de Strulle
adestrul@nsf.gov
 (703)292-5117
DRL
 Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL)
EDU
 Directorate for STEM Education
Start Date: September 1, 2016
End Date: August 31, 2022 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $1,090,312.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $1,138,729.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2016 = $1,090,312.00
FY 2018 = $48,417.00
History of Investigator:
  • Dazhi Yang (Principal Investigator)
    dazhiyang@boisestate.edu
  • Youngkyun Baek (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Yu-Hui Ching (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Sasha Wang (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Steven Swanson (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: Boise State University
1910 UNIVERSITY DR
BOISE
ID  US  83725-0001
(208)426-1574
Sponsor Congressional District: 02
Primary Place of Performance: Boise State University
1910 University Drive
Boise
ID  US  83725-1135
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
02
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): HYWTVM5HNFM3
Parent UEI: HYWTVM5HNFM3
NSF Program(s): STEM + Computing (STEM+C) Part
Primary Program Source: 04001617DB NSF Education & Human Resource
04001819DB NSF Education & Human Resource
Program Reference Code(s): 7556, 9150
Program Element Code(s): 005Y00
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.076

ABSTRACT

All forms of computation are on the near horizon as necessary to learn as well as incorporate into learning of science. The STEM+C (STEM + Computing Partnerships) program has as its goal the integration of computation and science. This specific project will build and pilot a Community Center Afterschool Program (CCAP) model for integrating computation across K-12 disciplines at three community centers and their three affiliated Kid City Programs (6 locations) serving high needs, Title I schools in Boise, Idaho. Motivation for this project is based on the national urgency of integrating computational thinking (CT) in K-12 STEM education, a lack of qualified K-12 computing teachers, and local needs of quality STEM+C programs for high needs students. The CCAP model focuses on student learning and teacher professional development (PD) through pre-/in-service teacher-led, project-based, integrated STEM+C hands-on inquiry projects.

Afterschool programs provide opportunities for thoughtful, reflective engagement in complex, integrated projects that require combined knowledge across STEM disciplines and applications of computational thinking (CT), which are needed for computational integration. The CCAP model uses STEM+C inquiry/projects as a bridge between informal and formal learning and as a means of teacher PD. Not only will this project address student learning and teacher PD in CT, it will connect informal and formal learning and extend teacher PD to classroom practice. Project goals include: 1) design and implement a CCAP model; 2) explore how to integrate CT in project-based, integrated STEM inquiry for 4th-6th grade students in afterschool programs; and 3) examine how engagement in such inquiry impacts students and teachers. The project teams will: 1) design at least four project-based, integrated STEM+C inquiry projects aligned with standards via iterative design-based research; 2) implement them in small groups of six students paired with two teachers; 3) train 24 pre- and 24 in-service Title 1 school teachers with 144 students.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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(Showing: 1 - 10 of 14)
Baek, Youngkyun and Wang, Sasha and Yang, Dazhi and Ching, Yu-Hui and Swanson, Steve and Chittoori, Bhaskar "Revisiting Second Graders? Robotics with an Understand/Use-Modify-Create (U2MC) Strategy" European Journal of STEM Education , v.4 , 2019 10.20897/ejsteme/5772 Citation Details
Baek, Youngkyun and Yang, Dazhi and Fan, Yibo "Understanding second graders computational thinking skills in robotics through their individual traits" Information Discovery and Delivery , v.47 , 2019 10.1108/IDD-09-2019-0065 Citation Details
Ching, Y. "Elementary school student development of STEM attitudes and perceived learning in a STEM integrated robotics curriculum." TechTrends , v.63 , 2019 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-019-00388-0 Citation Details
Ching, Y.H. and Wang, S. and Yang, D. and Baek, Y. and Swanson, S. and Chittoori, B. "Elementary School Teachers Professional Development through Facilitating an Integrated STEM Robotics Activity" The Journal of computers in mathematics and science teaching , v.39 , 2020 Citation Details
Ching, Yu-Hui and Yang, Dazhi and Wang, Sasha and Baek, Youngkyun and Swanson, Steve and Chittoori, Bhaskar "Elementary School Student Development of STEM Attitudes and Perceived Learning in a STEM Integrated Robotics Curriculum" TechTrends , 2019 10.1007/s11528-019-00388-0 Citation Details
Feng, S. and Yang, D. "Teachers Perceived Value, Challenges, and Advice for Implementing Computational Thinking in Elementary Classrooms." Journal of technology and teacher education , v.30 , 2022 Citation Details
Feng, Shi and Yang, Dazhi "Teachers' Perspective on Implementing Computational Thinking in Elementary Classrooms" IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) , 2021 https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE49875.2021.9637221 Citation Details
Snelson, C. "Addressing the challenges of online video analysis in qualitative studies: A worked example from computational thinking research" The Qualitative report , v.26 , 2021 Citation Details
Snelson, Chareen and Yang, Dazhi and Temple, Torrence "Addressing the Challenges of Online Video Analysis in Qualitative Studies: A Worked Example from Computational Thinking Research" The Qualitative Report , 2021 https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4734 Citation Details
Yang, D. and Baek, Y. and Ching, Y. and Swanson, S. and Chittoori, B. and Wang, S. "Infusing computational thinking in an integrated STEM curriculum: User reactions and lessons learned" European journal of STEM education , v.6 , 2021 https://doi.org/doi.org/10.20897/ejsteme/9560 Citation Details
Yang, D. and Chittoori, B. "Investigating Title I School Student STEM Attitudes and Experience in an After-school Problem-based Bridge Building Project" Journal of STEM education , v.23 , 2022 Citation Details
(Showing: 1 - 10 of 14)

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.

Our STEM+C project titled "Informal STEM Teaching and Learning Through Infusing Computational Thinking into Science Learning" has achieved the following in terms of intellectual merit. First, it provided first-hand knowledge of integrating computational thinking (CT) in a complex project-based learning (PBL) environment that provides opportunities for thoughtful, reflective engagement via unique and integrated STEM learning requiring combined knowledge across STEM disciplines and applications of CT for students to solve problems (e.g., Yang et al., 2018; Yang et al., 2021). It also provides an example of an integrated STEM curriculum embedded with CT as well as the knowledge and insights of student-centered inquiry and CT practice guided by PBL. Second, the project created and enacted a comprehensive Community Center Afterschool Program (CCAP) model that takes the advantage of a synergetic effort and resources from various stakeholders such as schools, a school district, a higher education institution, and community centers to tackle the challenge of integrating CT in K-12 education. The outcomes of this collaborative partnership were shared via project final competitions/showcases, conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications with regional, national and international audiences. Third, the CCAP module involves both in-service and pre-service teachers facilitating CT integration in an informal learning environment, and helps transform teachers' professional learning into effective teaching practice in formal classroom settings. This module results in the knowledge on how to bridge informal and formal learning (e.g., Baek et al., 2020; Feng & Yang, in press). Last, but not least important, this project provided an example of and insight on how to identify students' CT applications and practices in a PBL learning environment for teachers and practitioners in terms of assessing their CT integration (e.g., Yang et al., 2018; Yang, Snelson & Feng, under review).

Our STEM+C project has achieved the following broader impacts. First, the project provided an eight-week opportunity to more than 140, 4th to 6th grade students, from seven Title I schools served by community centers who otherwise would not have had the opportunity to access a high quality PBL-guided STEM+CT curriculum designed by an interdisciplinary project team. Second, the project provided professional development on CT and PBL to 24 in-service teachers and more than 20 pre-service teachers via their facilitating a STEM+CT curriculum alongside the subject content experts including a retired NASA astronaut and STEM educational researchers. Third, more than half of the 24 in-service teachers have adopted the STEM+CT curriculum with the help of the project team and have introduced hundreds of students to CT and PBL- guided STEM learning in their classrooms or via after-school STEM clubs (e.g., Baek et al., 2021; Feng & Yang, in press). Fourth, the PBL-guided STEM+CT curriculum has been publicly available online via the project's website, and has been reviewed and partially adopted by some teachers in New Jersey and Arkansas as far as the project primary investigator (PI) has known. Additionally, the project has also contributed to STEM educational research in terms of infrastructure building. Via the community partnership with the Boise's Parks and Recreation Department and the Boise School District and its schools, the iterative process of designing the STEM+CT curriculum and its implementation has brought the higher STEM educational researchers and practitioners and teachers together in curriculum design and implementation as well as research. The design, piloting and implementation process has provided those teachers and STEM practitioners for the first time an opportunity to take part in a rigorous research process toward evidence-based practice and curriculum design. As one of the participating teachers has put it, "Now, I know what STEM means. It's not just giving students some materials to keep their hands busy. We have to purposely plan, evaluate [research] and revise it [lesson plan or curriculum]."

 


Last Modified: 10/23/2022
Modified by: Dazhi Yang

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