GlennR.Blauvelt
DissertationWork
Mycurrentworkinvestigateshowchildrendesignandconstructmechanismsandhowthatprocessaffectstheirmechanicalreasoningandspatialcognition.TodothisIhavebuiltanintegratedCAD/CAMsystemcalledMachineShopusingprinciplesfromTask-CenteredUserInterfaceDesignandCognitiveScience.Thisworkseekstounderstandsomeofthechangesthatchildrenundergowhentheyusesophisticatedtechnologiesindomainsforwhichtheyhavelittleornopriorknowledge.Itfurtherseekstoidentifytechniquesandapproachesformakingsophisticatedtechnologiesaccessibletoandadoptablebyyoungusers.
Thisworkcomesfrommyinterestsinmath,science,andtechnologyeducation,constructionisteducationalpractices,anddevelopmentalpsychologyissuesconcerningreasoningaboutcom-plexphysicalobjects.ItbuildsdirectlyontheHyperGamiprojectofAnnEisenberg[3]butisdifferentbothinthecomplexityofthecreatedartifacts(dynamicversusstatic)andinitsap-proachtotheprocess.WhereHyperGamihasnotraditionalancestors,MachineShopinheritsfromavastarrayofprofessionalengineeringtools.TheinterdisciplinarynatureoftheresearchfurthersetsthisworkapartfrommuchofwhathascomebeforeandallowsforarichsetofquestionstobeproposedwhicharerelevanttoComputerScience(human-computerinterac-tion,complexrepresentations,tutoringsystems),Education(mathandtechnologyeducation,manipulativesandactivities),Psychology(reasoninganddecisionmaking,developmentalpro-cesses),andSociology(communitiesofpractitioners,socialcurrencyofartifacts).
ResearchPlan
MachineShopisjustaninitialforayintotherichandrelativelyunexploredintersectionofchil-drenandtechnology.FuturedirectionsthatIwouldliketotakethisresearchinclude:
Involvingchildrennotonlyastheconsumersoftechnologybutalsoasdesignersofthattechnology.Initialworkinthisarea[2,5]hasshownthatagreatdealstillremainstobeunderstood.Virtuallynoneofthetechnologycreatedforchildrenbenefitsfromobtainingtheirinputandthereforeforcesaparticularviewofthetechnologyontoitsusers.Whatmightbethefaceofthistechnologyifitsuserswerealsoitscreators?
Creatingtoolsforchildrentosupportbothcollaborativelearningandplay.Manyofthetoolsavailabletosupporttheformertendtodemarcateworkdonewithandwithoutthetool[1].Discoveringwaystoleveragetechnologytoenhancetheclassroomexperienceratherthanreplaceitmayhelpusdesignmoreeffectiveandstimulatingclassroomsandcurricula[7].
CreatingtechnologytosupportandenhancetheDesignandTechnologycomponentofthecurriculainGreatBritainandCanada.MycontactswithteachersinEnglandandOntariohasconvincedmethatareasonedapproachtotechnologiestosupportteachingthissubjectwouldbewarmlywelcomedbybotheducatorsandstudents.Thebreadthofskillsneededwillprovideavarietyofprojectswithacommonfocusandanopportunitytointegrateandstandardizetoolsforadiverserangeofdisciplines.
Revisitingtraditionalapproachestomathandsciencetechnologyinlightofthetechnolo-giesnowavailablewithaneyetowardprovidingstudentswithmorehands-ontechnologysupportedactivitiestosupplementthecurrenttechnologyprovidedvirtualactivities[4,6].
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AdaptingMachineShopandtoolslikeittosupportengineeringeducationforelementaryschoolchildren.Anecdotalevidencesuggeststhatinordertoincreasetheadmissionandretentionratesforundergraduateengineeringstudentsweneedtoengagetheminen-gineeringtopicsandactivitiesasearlyaspossible.ToolslikeMachineShopcanprovideauthenticactivitiesforevenyoungchildrentostimulateandholdtheirinterestinengi-neeringasavocation.
StudentInvolvement
Clearly,theseareonlyafewofthedirectionsinwhichmyresearchmightgoandIwouldex-pectthatmystudentswouldcontributetheirideasandintereststoitscourse.Whileanyoftheabovecouldbecomemajorresearchagendasortheses,thereisnothinginherentherethatwouldprecludeundergraduates,inteamsorindividually,frommakingsignificantcontribu-tions.Infact,Ibelievethatthesedomainsareidealasvehiclesforundergraduatestoputintopracticemanyofthethingsthattheyareconcurrentlydiscoveringintheclassroom.
References
[1]Bruckman,A.MOOSEGoestoSchool:AComparisonofThreeClassroomsUsingaCSCLEnvironment.InProceedingsofCSCL’97,TheSecondInternationalConferenceonComputerSupportforCollaborativeLearning,20–26,1997.
[2]Druin,A.,Bederson,B.,Boltman,A.,Miura,A.,Knotts-Callahan,D.,andPlatt,M.ChildrenasDigitalMotionPictureAuthors.InAllisonDruin,editor.TheDesignofChildren’sTechnology.SanFrancisco,CA:MorganKaufman,1999.
[3]Eisenberg,A.AnEducationalProgramforPaperSculpture:ACaseStudyintheDesignofSoft-waretoEnhanceChildrensSpatialCognition.PhDdissertation,DepartmentofComputerScience,UniversityofColoradoatBoulder,1999.
[4]Horwitz,P.,andChristie,M.A.Hypermodels:EmbeddingCurriculumandAssessmentinComputer-BasedManipulatives.JournalofEducation,181(2),1–23,1999.
[5]Kafai,Y.ChildrenasDesigners,Testers,andEvaluatorsofEducationalSoftware.InAllisonDruin,editor.TheDesignofChildren’sTechnology.SanFrancisco,CA:MorganKaufman,1999.[6]Nathan,M.andKoedinger,K.Teachers’andResearchers’BeliefsAbouttheDevelopmentofAlgebraicReasoning.JournalofResearchinMathematicsEducation,31,168–190,2000.
[7]Scardamalia,M.andBereiter,C.HigherLevelsofAgencyforChildreninKnowledgeBuild-ing:AChallengefortheDesignofNewKnowledgeMedia.JournaloftheLearningSciences,1(1):37–68,1991.
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