ASU Wins $10 Million Grant To Develop Digital Science Courseware
Arizona
State University (ASU) will be awarded more
than $10 million over the next five years from the National
Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) to develop next-generation
science education
courseware.
A
team of researchers from the ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration will receive a $10.18-million grant to develop a
digital
learning design platform that goes beyond current science education
models that
rely on lectures and the memorization of facts.
The
courseware the group hopes to develop will
incorporate online simulations, virtual field trips and adaptive
learning
analytics.
The
ASU team will work with the Inspark Science Network and ASU's Center for Education Through eXploration (ETX). The
Inspark
Science Network is a joint initiative of ETX and Smart Sparrow, a
company that
focuses on adaptive learning.
ASU
Professors Lindy Elkins-Tanton and Ariel
Anbar will be principal and deputy principal investigator,
respectively. Anbar,
a biogeochemist has already created an online course, "Habitable
Worlds," that
is used at a number of colleges around the country to teach the
fundamentals of
science as students take a virtual extraterrestrial journey exploring
the question,
"Are we alone?"
"The
aim is to help learners become
problem-solvers capable of exploring the unknown, rather than just
mastering
what is already known," Anbar said. "It is learning science as process
and as a
universe of questions rather than as a dusty collection of facts."
The
researchers will work to develop personalized
and adaptive learning experiences that focus on astrobiology and "small
bodies"
such as Saturn's moon Enceladus, Jupiter's moon Europa and asteroids.
By doing
so, the team will incorporate content that will be supplied by NASA.
The
most immediate goal is to develop learning
programs for so-called "self-learners" and the longer-term goal is to
develop a
program for formal K-12 students.
"With
this grant, we can promote a greater public
understanding and appreciation for science, and inspire a new
generation of
explorers," Elkins-Tanton said. "We hope to share the exciting world of
NASA
science in a way that is both approachable and interactive."
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.