2002 — 2007 |
Warschauer, Mark Hutchinson, Tara Bagherzadeh, Nader (co-PI) [⬀] Kuester, Falko (co-PI) [⬀] Shinozuka, Masanobu (co-PI) [⬀] |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Crcd: Expanding Engineering Thinking: Interactive Visualization of Numerical Models @ University of California-Irvine
0203528 Tara Hutchinson University of California Irvine "Expanding Engineering Thinking: Interactive Visualization of Numerical Models"
This project involves the development and application of a new interactive learning tool and the use of visualization techniques, enabled by the tool, in teaching engineering. The overall goal of this project is to contribute to a redesigned engineering curriculum that better matches the practice of engineering in the 21st century. The curriculum focuses on (1) visualization and hands-on manipulation, (2) computer-assisted design and virtual reality, (3) interactive learning, (4) critical thinking, (5) creative problem solving, and (6) problem-based learning. These objectives are achieved through the redesign of existing courses and through the creation of a new interdisciplinary course. The project directly addresses the connection of engineering with the changing needs of industry and society in merging technology areas by educating future engineers in the 'office of the future' environment. This instructional environment (VizClass) includes tele-conferencing capabilities, interactive whiteboards, spatial tracking and semi-immersive visualization operating within a completely wireless environment. The VizClass system uses readily deployable, cost effective components, such that other academic institutions may easily replicate it. The hardware configuration leverages existing technology where possible and introduces system components for the real-time control and the middleware required for fusing numerical solvers with visualization tools and hardware components. Components of the environment include a series of interactive projection display boards (white boards) and a semi-immersive projection table or wall display controlled by a dedicated visualization server. Digital whiteboards, with touch sensitive input surfaces, enable more accurate tracking of user input. Active white board screens providing either an input or output workspace are linked via a high-speed (large storage capacity) server. This in turn is connected to a numerical solver. The solver receives feedback from the input or 'working' screen in the form chosen by the user. If the input-mode is of type equation, the solver manipulates the equations and outputs the solution as either a 2- or 3-dimensional visual object to the selected output device in either mono- or stereoscopic form, respectively. Visual output can be a distorted or contoured mesh (with, for example stresses, strains or heat distribution), or figures annotating important engineering parameters. The advantage of teaching in this environment is the near-real time visual feedback articulating results of the solved equations utilizing the finite element method approach as applied to structural engineering, mechanics or electronics problems. The VizClass is equipped with a wireless network, giving collaborators and students instant access to all available on-line resources.
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1 |
2010 — 2017 |
Abedi, Jamal [⬀] Warschauer, Mark Heckman, Paul (co-PI) [⬀] |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Formative Assessment in Mathematics: Current Status and Guidelines For Future Developments @ University of California-Davis
In response to the increased use of formative assessment practices in California's PK-12 mathematics classrooms, the University of California-Davis and Claremont Graduate University join efforts to investigate what formative assessments are in use, how practitioners and students are utilizing these assessments, and how they impact performance on summative state assessments. Four research questions guide this study: (1) What is the current status of formative assessment use in California's PK & K, elementary, middle, and high schools? (2) What are the content and psychometric properties of the current formative assessments? (3) What impact do formative assessment outcomes have on student academic achievement as measured by summative assessments? and (4) Does the use of formative assessment differentially impact performance of subgroups of students, such as ELLs, students of color, economically disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities?
The study consists of three phases and employs a mixed-methods approach to answer the four research questions. To answer research question 1, Phase I administers an online survey to all school principals in three major regions of the State (northern, central, and southern). Frequency and descriptive analyses of data are conducted to obtain an accurate view of the current status of formative assessments. Software is used to qualitatively analyze responses to open-ended questions. Frequencies of categorical responses and mean and standard deviations of Likert-type responses are compared across respondents with different backgrounds and schools with different characteristics. To address research question 2, Phase II conducts a series of psychometric and content analyses of existing assessments to ascertain validity, reliability, and accessibility of assessments. A total of 120 PK-12 schools with the strongest formative assessment instruments and the greatest formative assessment impact on summative assessments participate in these analyses. Sample sizes for this phase, representative of a four-grade span (PK & K, 4th, 8th, and 10th grades), were determined through a power analysis for a minimum of 0.25 standard deviation detectable difference with a statistical power of 80% at a 0.05 type I error. Due to the study's focus on traditionally low-performing and underrepresented populations, a stratified random sampling approach in which subgroup identifiers are used as stratification variables is employed. To assess content properties, the study utilizes Webb's (1997) alignment methodology. Reliability of formative assessments is examined using the internal consistency approach (Cronbach alpha). Validity is analyzed through content- and criterion-related validity approaches, including a Multi-Traits/Multi-Methods approach. To answer research questions 3 and 4, a series of path models are created to explore the power of formative assessments in predicting student performance on the State's end-of-year assessments. In addition, an Ex Post Facto design is conducted to investigate whether one or more preexisting conditions have possibly caused subsequent differences in the groups of participants. To document successful practices, the study's Phase III develops case studies of six schools with effective formative assessment practices and demonstrated academic growth using summative measures. Case studies include audiotaped focus group interviews with teachers and administrators, videotaped observations of teacher meetings, and classroom observations.
The main outcome of this study will be a set of research-informed and field-tested conclusions, recommendations, guidelines, and tools for the development and use of new or improved PK-12 mathematics formative assessments. Outcome tools include a blueprint and test specifications based on the California State Mathematics Content Standards for 8th grade, and a field-tested formative assessment prototype focused on key algebra concepts and skills for that grade level. The Center for the Study of Evaluation at the University of California-Los Angeles serves as the project external evaluator.
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0.984 |
2010 — 2012 |
Farkas, George (co-PI) [⬀] Warschauer, Mark Martinez, Michael (co-PI) [⬀] Collins, Penelope (co-PI) [⬀] |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Nsf Rapid: Interactive Science and Technology Instruction For English Learners @ University of California-Irvine
This is a RAPID award to investigators at the University of California, Irvine, to examine the first-year implementation of a program that will provide low-cost netbook computers and specialized software to fifth and sixth grade students in four schools in Southern California. The PIs collect baseline and early implementation data to determine effects if the intervention on students' academic achievement in science, academic writing in science, and interest in further STEM study. They also examine the extent to which participation in the program improves student access to, use of, and self-perceived proficiency with technology and how these attributes are mediated by socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and English learner status. Additionally, they examine the effect of the program on teachers' knowledge of and use of technology for instruction.
Four schools from the same school district with similar demographics serve as comparison schools in the study. Additionally, all fifth and sixth grade teachers participate in the study with four program teachers (two at fifth grade and two at sixth grade) participating more extensively as focus teachers. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used to examine the effects of the program.
The products include analysis of extensive data on implementation, learning and attitudes. A total of 531 students are involved in the study as well as their teachers. The findings are likely to guide subsequent implementation and research on full implementation within the targeted schools.
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1 |
2012 — 2016 |
Reich, Stephanie Warschauer, Mark Mark, Gloria [⬀] |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Hcc: Small: Multitasking as a Collaborative System: Examining the Millennial Generation @ University of California-Irvine
This research investigates how Millennials, having grown up with the Internet, can become effective future information workers. Studies are suggesting that multitasking with digital media is associated with errors, stress and degraded performance. This study provides two main research contributions. First, to date no one has conducted an in situ investigation of multitasking among the Millennial generation. Second, whereas most investigations have approached multitasking as an individual activity, this research will instead take a new perspective on multitasking as a collaborative social system. This study will examine whether connectivity leads to information overload and distraction, how online media experience affects learning, communication, and behavior offline, as well as the relationship between degree of connectivity and work performance. This study will use a mixed-methods approach involving ethnographic techniques, sensors, and diaries to collect detailed activity. The results can contribute to an understanding of how young adults use digital media, it can inform the design of requirements for future technologies, and it can be used for the design of media literacy programs in K-12 schools.
Broader impacts: The results will contribute towards plans and policies that schools and organizations can enact to help young people manage their work and use of digital devices more effectively. A media literacy curriculum developed from this research can serve as a model for K-12 schools. While there has been much concern given to preventing worker "burnout" and lowering stress among information workers, this study can provide concrete results of how digital technologies contribute to distraction and stress, especially among the Millennial generation. The study will elicit requirements for technology design that could help people better manage multitasking, increase situational awareness and reduce errors. Results of this study will help young people improve their effectiveness in using digital media, which could improve future work life, productivity and satisfaction. Finally, the project will provide educational impact through the participation of undergraduate and graduate in the research and through the development of a new doctoral seminar.
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1 |
2012 — 2015 |
Mcdaniel, Anne Warschauer, Mark Salinger, Sharon (co-PI) [⬀] O'dowd, Diane (co-PI) [⬀] Domina, Thurston (co-PI) [⬀] |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Wider: Eager: Documenting Instructional Practices in Stem Lecture Courses @ University of California-Irvine
Though there are many critical junctures for improving STEM education, the first two years of undergraduate education are certainly among them. Undergraduates' first experience with university STEM courses typically takes place in large lecture courses. These courses are often criticized for focusing too much on providing information and too little on fostering scientific discussion, analysis, and reflection. Many would tie perceived inadequacies of large lecture courses with the high attrition rate that takes place in STEM majors in the first two years of undergraduate study, especially among underrepresented minority students. At UCI and elsewhere, there is a great deal of interest in improving lecture courses to foster greater scientific understanding and improve retention in the STEM disciplines. Practices that are considered particularly promising for accomplishing this include enhanced faculty-student interaction; enhanced peer interaction; greater attention to problem-solving; more opportunities for personalized learning; opportunities to receive and communicate information across diverse channels and modalities; and more data-based instruction, in which faculty evaluate the effects of their own teaching by gathering and weighing evidence.
In this project a team of UCI faculty members in the School of Education and the School of Biological Sciences will carry out a systematic study of current instructional practice in large introductory STEM lecture courses at UCI. The goals are to (a) develop a comprehensive matrix for measuring instructional practices in higher education; (b) establish baseline data; (c) obtain a synoptic view of current STEM instruction; (d) promote synergy across departments and schools to conduct and share systematic evidence-based instructional research; and (e) prepare to apply for full-scale funding to support further efforts at strengthening evidence-based STEM education at UCI. The proposed study will take place among five large UCI schools that teach various disciplines within STEM: Biological Sciences, Engineering, Information and Computer Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Social Ecology. In each of these five schools, large introductory lower-division courses will be identified and six course/sections in each school will be selected for inclusion in the study. Purposeful sampling will ensure the broadest range of faculty participation, by professorial level, gender, and background. Data on current instructional practices in those classes will be gathered from three sources--live and video-taped observations of lectures, discussion sections, and lab sections; interviews with course instructors; and review of course syllabi and other materials--using rubrics that are designed to capture the relative presence or absence of the evidence-based and promising practices described above. Data analysis will focus on triangulation among these three sources to provide a broad and thorough overview of the extent to which evidence-based instructional practices are deployed in STEM lecture courses at UCI.
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1 |
2015 — 2020 |
Xu, Di Warschauer, Mark Eichhorn, Sarah Smyth, Padhraic (co-PI) [⬀] Rutherford, Teomara (co-PI) [⬀] |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Investigating Virtual Learning Environments @ University of California-Irvine
The multi-year project will study 50 flipped, hybrid, and online courses offered in the three major STEM Schools at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Higher education institutions are increasing the number of courses they offer that use elements of virtual instruction in the belief that these courses will lead to better learning, lower costs, greater access, and higher graduation rates. However, recent meta-analyses of virtual learning in higher education all conclude that there is a dearth of rigorous research on the topic. The study will assist higher education administrators, instructors, and course designers to make effective decisions in planning the kinds of virtual learning environments that can best meet the needs of undergraduate STEM students, especially in the vital first two years of college. A major focus of the study will be the impact of virtual learning environments on underrepresented minorities, first-generation college students, students of low-socioeconomic status backgrounds, and women. The research will provide some of the best evidence to date about the impact of higher education virtual environments on learning outcomes, attitudes toward STEM, and persistence in STEM majors.
The proposed project will include 50 separate studies of STEM instruction at UCI. The majority will employ random assignment of students to investigate the comparative impacts of virtual vs. traditional learning with the same instructor. Experimental and quasi-experimental techniques will be used to compare the impact of virtual courses compared to traditional courses taught by the same instructor on students? attitudes toward STEM study, learning outcomes, and success and persistence in future STEM courses. Quantitative and qualitative indicators of instructional practices and student performance and engagement will be collected to compare and describe practices across course formats and then distilled into recommended best practices. Statistical data mining techniques, including sequence modeling, clustering, text mining, matrix factorization, and high-dimensional predictive modeling will be used on a rich set of institutional data, self-reported survey data, engagement data (logins, video watching, participation in online forums), and outcome data to extract and analyze information about student learning behaviors and their relationship to learning outcomes. The instruments and designs used in the study, including observation protocols, surveys, interview protocols, and cutting-edge methodological approaches, will allow future researchers to replicate and build on these analyses, thereby contributing to the broader understanding of virtual learning environments. The project, supported through the EHR Core Research (ECR) program of fundamental research in STEM, will contribute important research findings regarding STEM learning, learning environments, and broadening participation in STEM, which are important priorities of the ECR program.
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1 |
2015 — 2017 |
Xu, Di Warschauer, Mark Eichhorn, Sarah |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Math: Eager: Online Collaborative Problem Solving in Remedial College Mathematics @ University of California-Irvine
This is a study of the impact of the learning environment on undergraduate students learning problem-solving in remedial pre-calculus mathematics. The study will examine the comparative effectiveness of face-to-face discussion groups and 2 different types of online designs, compared to individual practice. Students will be randomly assigned to one of four groups: three treatment groups that carry out collaborative problem solving using (1) face-to-face discussion, (2) an audio capability with a whiteboard online tool, or (3) an online virtual environment combining audio plus whiteboard plus avatar-based interaction; or a control group of individual problem solving. Currently, pre-calculus instruction is been carried out online in this university using the web-based ALEKS tutorial software, an online interactive learning system that uses an artificial intelligence algorithm to assess and report student mastery of content material. In search of improved student performance, this project is conducting an early in-depth study of the effectiveness of a richer online design for learning problem solving that was recently constructed for management courses, called VirBELA (Virtual Business Education Leadership Assessment). It is a learning platform that offers students the opportunity to work in teams. In mathematics, VirBELA has good potential for facilitating group problem-solving. It provides a whiteboard that allows students to draw diagrams and functions as needed and also provides an audio capability for discussion. It has the added feature of giving students a virtual online embodiment by creating an avatar for each student. There is evidence from other sources that avatars create a richer, more interactive and engaging online collaborative environment that more closely replicates the advantages of in-person communication.
A wide range of data will be collected and assessed, including usage logs of the tutorial learning software, common final exam scores in both pre-calculus and calculus, and individual institutional data. Other outcome variables will include how students perform on the problem solving, how they use the tutorial-based mathematics software before and after problem solving sessions, and whether they persist to the next calculus course, what grades they earn in the following calculus course, and how their attitudes toward STEM study change based on pre- and post-surveys. The study will be repeated in three different quarters.
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1 |
2016 — 2019 |
Warschauer, Mark Black, Rebecca (co-PI) [⬀] Van Es, Elizabeth Richardson, Debra [⬀] Simon, Elizabeth |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Cs10k:Cs1c@Oc-Building a Local Area Network of Computer Science Teachers @ University of California-Irvine
The University of California Irvine (UCI) project, called CS1C@OC, will provide in-service teachers in Orange County (OC), California a program of study that will satisfy California's new teacher certification pathway in Computer Science. Despite the demonstrated need for students to learn foundational computer science skills, few K-12 students have access to rigorous CS courses. CS remains privileged knowledge, and improving access to this knowledge is one of the major economic security and social justice issues of the 21st century. The CS community has struggled to overcome issues of access and equity, although some enormous strides have come in teaching tools, pedagogies, and standards. But none of these accomplishments can be broadly implemented or sustainable without certification pathways for CS teachers and teacher preparation programs, especially for those teaching in underserved communities. CS1C@OC will develop such a CS teacher preparation program, specifically for California's new CS Supplementary Authorization.
CS1C@0C aims to (1) increase in-service teachers' CS content knowledge and their competence and confidence in evidence-based pedagogical practices for teaching computer science to diverse learners; (2) increase diverse students' knowledge and skills in computational thinking and computer science principles as well as their interest in taking more CS courses; and (3) increase the capacity of Orange County schools to provide CS courses. CS1C@OC will recruit and train 100 secondary school teachers--our share of the CS10K project (OC has approximately 10% of the nation's population)--largely from low-income communities serving underrepresented populations, with preference given to teachers who, along with their school, make a commitment to teach Exploring Computer Science (ECS) and/or Computer Science Principles (CSP). UCI will provide summer courses in CS content and pedagogy that will satisfy the requirements for California's newly-approved Computer Science Supplementary Authorization (which PI Richardson proposed and developed along with the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing) while emphasizing CS instructional approaches that have proven successful with females and students from low-income, underrepresented communities. The project will also develop a hybrid professional learning community (PLC) for participating teachers and including existing OC CS teachers, so they can share information and experiences, continue to learn from each other, and have further opportunities to develop themselves both personally and professionally throughout the school year. The project will evaluate impact on teacher learning and development as well as impact on student learning and attitude changes.
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1 |
2017 — 2019 |
Richardson, Debra [⬀] Warschauer, Mark Turner, Thomas (co-PI) [⬀] |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Conectar: Collaborative Network of Educators For Computational Thinking For All Research @ University of California-Irvine
The University of California Irvine (UCI) is partnering with the Orange County Department of Education (OCDE) and Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) to form a collaborative network of university and K-12 researchers and practitioners with the aim of promoting computational thinking for students in grades three through five. The intention is to build connections to a broader curriculum as reflected in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), to the language and discourse needed to ensure academic success, and to the learners' peers, community, families and culture needed to make learning relational and meaningful. The work will be situated in Santa Ana schools, where the majority of students are low-income, Hispanic, English language learners. It will use the principles of Design-Based Implementation Research (DBIR), designing interventions to implement, study and refine, alongside OCDE and SAUSD.
In the first academic year, the team will visit partner elementary schools to gather information about current teaching of computational thinking, conduct a district-wide survey of elementary school teachers, and gather examples of instructional materials developed nationally to determine those that could be adapted locally. During the first summer, researchers will work with a team of teachers to develop pilot materials and instructional units for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade levels. These materials--scaffolded for non-native English speakers--will integrate computational thinking with NGSS and CCSS. During the second year, teachers will implement the instructional materials in their classrooms with support from UCI and OCDE. Data will be gathered to study the implementation process, the challenges faced and how they are addressed, the extent to which the materials engage the learners on the emotional, behavioral, and cognitive levels, and the suitability of the materials for promoting computational thinking among the targeted learners. During the second summer, the team will further refine materials for broader implementation in Orange County.
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1 |
2019 — 2022 |
Richardson, Debra (co-PI) [⬀] Warschauer, Mark Barquin, Bianca |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Collaborative Network of Grades 3-5 Educators For Computational Thinking For English Learners @ University of California-Irvine
Though Hispanics and English learners constitute two of the fastest growing segments of the K-12 student population, little is known about effective ways of teaching computational thinking to students in these groups, especially at the elementary school level. In the first stage of this project, the research team developed an innovative curriculum that included standards matching, language scaffolds, and culturally-relevant pedagogy to meet the needs of Hispanics and English learners and piloted a wide range of measures to assess the impact on learning processes and outcomes. Building on this successful Research-Practice Partnership between the University of California, Irvine, and Santa Ana Unified School District, the project will iteratively research and develop an approach for teaching computational thinking to SAUSD's large numbers of students who are Hispanic and English learners. The project will further develop the curriculum, refine the related professional development, scale up the project to 40 additional fourth grade teachers in 10 SAUSD schools, and collect a wide range of qualitative and quantitative data to iteratively improve the project and evaluate its impact on learning processes and outcomes. The project is among the first to examine the linguistic and sociocultural processes that underlie English learners' success in mastering computational thinking, as well as the role of computational thinking in an English language arts curriculum. Materials developed are based on California computer science and English language arts standards and will be actively disseminated to other districts in the state, making them available for use in a state that has the largest amount of Hispanic students (54%) and English learners (20%) in the nation. A team of graduate and undergraduate student researchers in the project, all of whom are Hispanic and/or female, will receive training in diverse research methods for CS education. Information about the project will also be integrated into courses in UC Irvine's Education Sciences Major, Master of Arts in Teaching, CalTeach, and PhD in Education programs, which together serve more than 1000 students per year, the majority of whom are underrepresented minorities and first-generation college students, and the majority of whom continue on to become K-12 or college faculty.
By further developing the curriculum and professional development and implementing it in 40 additional classrooms, the project team will carefully assess the most effective instructional practices in aiding students' computational thinking, developing identity with the field of computer science, and developing academic language proficiency. The curriculum and professional development materials developed and refined through this project will be tailored to the needs of Hispanics and English learners through explicit teaching of CS language functions, inclusion of culturally relevant stories to read and create, and instruction based on collaboration, conversation and inquiry. The RPP team will address research questions focused on teaching such as the challenges and use of the curriculum units and the implications for the professional development; learning including the affects on students' attitudes and knowledge development; and the partnership including describing the ways to enhance the RPP to better address common goals and needs. Using mixed methods, the project will document the scale-up efforts and the development of new tools to support scaling up. Qualitative data will include transcripts from observations and interviews and notes from the design group. The team will analyze these data using grounded theory approaches. The team will collect pre-post quantitative data on students' computational thinking, literacy development, and identification and attitudes toward computer science. Because the data will be both continuous and ordinal, the team will use a range of analytic methods including paired t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, analyses of covariance, regressions, and hierarchical linear models to address the research questions.
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.
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1 |
2019 — 2021 |
Warschauer, Mark Whiteson, Daniel (co-PI) [⬀] Dewitt, Sara Bustamante, Andres Jenkins, Abby |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Using Conversational Agents to Foster Preschool Children's Science Learning and Engagement From Interactive Science Videos @ University of California-Irvine
Science television shows are an important source of informal learning and enrichment for preschool-aged children. However, one limitation of television programming is that it is largely a one-way, non-interactive medium. Research suggests that children learn best through active engagement with content, and that parents can make TV watching more interactive by co-viewing and talking with their children. However, many parents and other adults may lack the time or experience and comfort with science language and content to provide critcial just-in-time support for their children. This study seeks to take advantage of recent advances in artificial intelligence that now allow children to enjoyably interact with automated conversational agents. The research team will explore whether such conversational agents, embedded as an on-screen character in a science video, can meaningfully interact with children about the science content of the show by simulating the benefits of co-viewing with an adult. If successful, the project could lay the foundation for a new genre of science shows, helping transform video watching into more interactive and engaging learning experiences. This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants.
This project will develop interactive videos incorporating a conversational agent in three 11-minute episodes of a future children's animated television program. The videos will enable children to speak with the main character of the show as the character solves everyday science mysteries, thus priming children to engage in observation, prediction, pattern finding, and problem solving through scaffolded conversation. This study will be carried out in two iterative cycles with the goal of developing and testing the embedded conversational function for each episode. In each cycle, the project team, which includes experts in children's TV production, as well as educational and HCI researchers will develop the storyboard and conversation prompts and follow-ups, create animated videos based on the revised script, and create a mobile application of the interactive video integrated with the conversational agent. Field testing with 10 children will be conducted to iteratively improve the embedded conversational function. In the pilot testing stage, a controlled study will be conducted with 30 children in each group (N=120): 1) watching the episode with the embedded conversational function; 2) watching the episode with a human partner carrying out the dialogue in the script rather than the virtual character; 3) watching the episode with pseudo-interaction, in which the animated character asks questions but does not attempt to understand or personally respond to children's answers; and 4) watching the episode with no dialogue. Data collected from the experiments will be used to examine whether and in what ways use of a conversational agent affects children's engagement, attention, communication strategies, perceptions, and science learning, and whether these effects vary by children's age, gender, socioeconomic status, language background, and oral language proficiency in English. The project will provide a comprehensive evaluation of the feasibility and potential of incorporating conversational agents into screen media to foster young children's STEM learning and engagement.
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.
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1 |
2021 — 2026 |
Warschauer, Mark Lovato, Silvia Bustamante, Andres Jenkins, Abby Xu, Ying |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Developing Conversational Videos to Support Children's Stem Learning and Engagement @ University of California-Irvine
Early childhood is a critical time for developing foundational knowledge, skills, and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). For that reason, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) places a great priority on developing early childhood STEM content, especially through its television shows that are watched by over 60% of young children in the United States. Research suggests that adding in-the-moment interaction to television watching promotes learning and engagement. Toward this end, researchers from the University of California, Irvine and PBS KIDS have prototyped interactive versions of science shows that children view on internet-connected devices while they communicate with the main character powered by an AI conversational agent. Pilot studies show that when children watch these new interactive videos with the main character pausing periodically to ask probing questions about the learning goals of the episode and following up with appropriate responses, they are more engaged and learn more about science, with heightened benefits for children who speak languages other than English at home. Based on these early results, in this Innovations in Development project the research team will develop, test and produce publicly available conversational episodes for two PBS KIDS television shows, one focused on science and the other on computational thinking.
The project will iteratively study and develop six conversational videos with novel forms of support for children, including extended back-and-forth conversation that builds upon a child's responses, visual scaffolding that facilitates verbal communication, and bilingual language processing so that children can answer in English or Spanish. The conversational videos will be evaluated in both lab-based and home settings. The lab-based study will involve 600 children ages 3-7 in a predominantly low-income Latino community in Southern California, in which researchers compare children’s learning and engagement when watching the conversational videos with three other formats: (1) watching the non-interactive broadcast version of the video; (2) watching the video with pseudo-interaction, in which the main character asks questions and gives a generic response after a fixed amount of time but can’t understand what the child says; or (3) watching the broadcast version of the video with a human co-viewer who pauses the video and asks questions. The home-based study will involve 80 families assigned to watch either the non-interactive or interactive videos as many times as they want over a month at home. In both the lab-based and home studies, pre- and post-tests will be used to examine the impact of video watching on science and language learning, and log data will be used to assess children’s verbalization and engagement while watching. Following the home study, the six videos will be further refined and made available for free to the public through the PBS KIDS apps and website, which are visited by more than 13 million users a month. Beyond providing engaging science learning opportunities to children throughout the country, this study will yield important insights into the design, usability, feasibility, and effectiveness of incorporating conversational agents into children’s STEM-oriented video content, with implications for extending this innovation to other educational media such as e-books, games, apps, and toys.
This Innovations in Development project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to (a) advance new approaches to and evidence-based understanding of the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments; (b) provide multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences; (c) advance innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments; and (d) engage the public of all ages in learning STEM in informal environments.
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.
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1 |