COLLEGE PARK, MD (September, 2014) Two STEM education projects intriguing collaborations between the College of Education, the iSchool's Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL), and the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS) have been awarded major grants from the National Science Foundation's Cyberlearning and Future Learning Technologies Program.
"ScienceKit for ScienceEverywhere: A Seamless Scientizing Ecosystem for Raising Scientifically-Minded Children" is receiving $1.35 million for development and implementation. Created by principal investigator Dr. Tamara Clegg and co-PIs Dr. June Ahn and Dr. Jason Yip, ScienceKit is a social media tool that encourages kids to develop a disposition for science by viewing the world through the lens of scientific inquiry.
Expanding this project, Science Everywhere will consist of partnerships between community organizations, mentors, teachers, parents, and researchers that will help elementary and middle school youth develop scientifically literate practices both in and out of school. Students will demonstrate their learning through tangible displays deeply embedded into two urban neighborhoods. The researchers will examine the use of the tools in connection with the development of STEM literacy and identity.
Dr. Clegg is also involved as co-PI on the second project, entitled "BodyVis: Advancing New Science Learning and Inquiry Experiences via Custom Designed Wearable On-Body Sensing and Visualization" (PI: Dr. Jon Froehlich, HCIL; lead Ph.D. student: Leyla Norooz), which is receiving $550,000 for exploration.
BodyVis will help elementary school students learn about anatomy and physiology through sensors and interactive displays that are attached to their clothing. A life-sized pair of lungs on a shirt, for example, can light up to show how air flows in and out of a child's lungs in time with their own breathing. The researchers will document what kids do and do not understand about their bodies through surveys, interviews, and a "body map." In-service elementary school teachers in the College of Education's M.Ed. in Teacher Leadership (with STEM specialization) program will help define learning goals for students.
Click here to learn more about the NSF grant for ScienceKit and here to learn about the grant for BodyVis. Click here to see a video of the BodyVis project. You can learn more about the College of Education and iSchool's collaborative research on STEM education in the forthcoming issue of the COE alumni magazine, Endeavors.
Dr. Tamara Clegg and Dr. June Ahn are both assistant professors jointly appointed in the College of Education's Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership and the College of Information Studies (iSchool). Dr. Clegg's research focuses on developing technology to support life-relevant learning environments. Dr. Ahn's research interests include social computing, youth and education, education informatics, and policy and reform.
Dr. Jason Yip graduated from the College of Education this year with his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction. Affiliated with UMD's Human-Computer Interaction Lab, Dr. Yip is now an assistant professor at the University of Washington's Information School. His research seeks to increase youth participation in STEM by developing bridges between learning in home, school, and afterschool environments.
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