NSF Org:	TI Translational Impacts
Recipient:	CONSTRUKTS, INC.
Initial Amendment Date:	August 9, 2021
Latest Amendment Date:	August 9, 2021
Award Number:	2110698
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Rajesh Mehta rmehta@nsf.gov  (703)292-2174 TI  Translational Impacts TIP  Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships
Start Date:	August 15, 2021
End Date:	December 31, 2022 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$256,000.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$256,000.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2021 = $256,000.00
History of Investigator:	Pamela Jennings (Principal Investigator) pljenn@gmail.com
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	Construkts, Inc. 1200 HEMLOCK ST NW WASHINGTON DC  US  20012-1736 (919)909-6404
Sponsor Congressional District:	00
Primary Place of Performance:	CONSTRUKTS, Inc. 1114 Cloverdale Court Raleigh NC  US  28479-5677
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	07
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	GUSVLWEK13N8
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	SBIR Phase I
Primary Program Source:	01002122DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s):	1707
Program Element Code(s):	537100
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.084

ABSTRACT

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the integration of hands-on and computer-based learning to teach the relationship of mathematics to physical constructions. The learning experience is designed for desktop and tablet computers as well as augmented reality headsets. This project is founded on the idea that creativity can open the door to understanding the relationship between one?s imagination and skills that are taught in the classroom. Mastering the abstract concepts of middle-school math is critical. The proposed system maps creative ideas to abstract mathematical concepts, supporting the ability to transfer knowledge of mathematical concepts to real-world situation, and adaptable to the entire K-16 education space.

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 project will support the research and development of a learning platform consisting of Internet-of-Things hardware devices, a construction knowledge engine and learning module applications. The project uses both declarative and procedural learning by merging the physical, virtual, and computational worlds for creative problem-solving, and spatial thinking and fine motor dexterity skills development using a building, sense-making, and synthesis learning framework. This system consists of connectable blocks that render a virtual model to be analyzed for mathematical and structural features. The project will design a prototype through the tasks of development of the pilot middle school mathematics curriculum, creation of technical designs for manufacturing, and validation for deployment at scale.

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.

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.

CONSTRUKTS® (patent pending) - sparking the aha! in learning integrates a constructivist learning approach to address the knowledge transfer gap in mathematics.  The platform aligns a learner's creative curiosity to complex and often abstract mathematical concepts.

Students' ability to transfer knowledge in mathematics to new situations was a concern expressed throughout our NSF SBIR Phase I "Beat the Odds Bootcamp" customer discovery interviews. In addition, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development Programme for International Student Assessment (OECD PISA) and the IES National Assessment of Educational Progress validate the mathematics skills knowledge transfer gap problem.

Our NSF SBIR Phase 1 grant supported research and development in curriculum design, product and hardware design, and software architecture planning for the CONSTRUKTS mixed-reality platform.  Curriculum design research included a review of current middle-school common-core mathematics pedagogical practices from the perspective of teachers in the classroom, local school systems, state common-core guidelines, and commercial education publishers.  The curriculum design outcomes included the CONSTRUKTS learning framework and initial set of lessons for a pilot launch.  Product and hardware design focused on optimizing the mechanical and electrical components of the CONSTRUKTS smart blocks for design for manufacturing.  Prototypes were designed and tested for optimization.  Software architecture design included preparation for a user-centered, robust, and extensible system that can support the CONSTRUKTS platform of physical smart blocks and cloud-based curriculum delivery.  This included the design of a set of knowledge engine modules that apply mathematical algorithms to CONSTRUKTS smart block constructions to support the learning experience. 

 

Last Modified: 04/01/2023
Modified by: Pamela L Jennings

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