TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of robotics and geospatial technology interventions on youth STEM learning and attitudes
AU - Nugent, Gwen
AU - Barker, Bradley
AU - Grandgenett, Neal
AU - Adamchuk, Viacheslav I.
N1 - Funding Information:
Gwen Nugent is a research associate professor at the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She coordinates implementation and research projects focusing on the development and delivery of instruction and training to improve student learning and teacher competencies. She has more than 30 years experience in the design and evaluation of mediated instruction and training and is currently a principal investigator and evaluator for grants funded by the National Science Foundation, the U. S. Department of Education, and Department of Transportation. Correspondence regarding this article . should be addressed to Gwen Nugent; Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools; University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Lincoln, NE 68588. E-mail: gnugent@unl.edu Bradley Barker is an associate professor and youth development specialist with Nebraska 4-H. He spent eight years with Nebraska Educational Telecommunications where he was an interactive media producer. He has directed media productions for the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center and the Nebraska National Guard. He is currently the principal investigator on two National Science Foundation grants to develop the Nebraska 4-H Robotics and GPS/GIS program and to scale up the program to a national audience. He is also the PI on the National4-H Robotics: Engineering for Today and Tomorrow curriculum development grant for National4-H Council/CSREES. Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to Bradley Barker, 4-H Youth Development, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588. E-mail: bbarker@ unl.edu Neal Grandgenett is the Peter Kiewit Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. His research interests are the development and evaluation of technologybased learning environments in mathematics and science. He has authored more than 80 articles and research papers related to the use of educational technology in the learning of mathematics and science. He is a current co-investigator on two NSF curriculum development projects, funded within the !TEST and DR-K12 programs. He is a review editor for new curriculum applications in the Mathematics and Computer Education Journal, which is published internationally. Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to Neal Grandgenett, Teacher Education Department, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE 68588. E-mail: ngrandgenett@mail. unomaha.edu Viacheslav I. Adamchuk is an associate professor and the Susan Rosowski Professor of Biological Systems Engineering and Precision Agriculture Engineer in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His academic program focuses on development and application of sensor technologies in precision agriculture and related fields. He is originally from Kyiv, Ukraine, and has an undergraduate degree from the National Agricultural University of Ukraine (1996) and graduate degrees (MS and PhD) from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana (2000). Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to Viacheslav Adamchuk, Biological System Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588. E-mail: vadamchuk2@unl.edu
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - This study examined the impact of robotics and geospatial technologies interventions on middle school youth's learning of and attitudes toward science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Two interventions were tested. The first was a 40-hour intensive robotics/GPS/GIS summer camp; the second was a 3-hour event modeled on the camp experiences and intended to provide an introduction to these technologies. Results showed that the longer intervention led to significantly greater learning than a control group not receiving the instruction, whereas the short-term intervention primarily impacted youth attitude and motivation. Although the short-term intervention did not have the learning advantages of a more intensive robotics camp, it can serve a key role in getting youth excited about technology and encouraging them to seek out additional opportunities to explore topics in greater detail, which can result in improved learning.
AB - This study examined the impact of robotics and geospatial technologies interventions on middle school youth's learning of and attitudes toward science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Two interventions were tested. The first was a 40-hour intensive robotics/GPS/GIS summer camp; the second was a 3-hour event modeled on the camp experiences and intended to provide an introduction to these technologies. Results showed that the longer intervention led to significantly greater learning than a control group not receiving the instruction, whereas the short-term intervention primarily impacted youth attitude and motivation. Although the short-term intervention did not have the learning advantages of a more intensive robotics camp, it can serve a key role in getting youth excited about technology and encouraging them to seek out additional opportunities to explore topics in greater detail, which can result in improved learning.
KW - GIS
KW - GPS
KW - Geographic information systems
KW - Global positioning system
KW - Robotics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85008756777&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85008756777&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/15391523.2010.10782557
DO - 10.1080/15391523.2010.10782557
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85008756777
VL - 42
SP - 391
EP - 408
JO - Journal of Research on Technology in Education
JF - Journal of Research on Technology in Education
SN - 1539-1523
IS - 4
ER -