ITEST+Rationale

ITEST Proposal Rationale

TEST Proposal Rationale

The Lunar Challenge & Careers Opportunties project addresses a number of critical educational needs of students as well as their ability to communicate and work effectively with peers, parents, teachers, and industry. Overall this project provides a technology rich learning context that (1) fosters student inquiry and creative problem solving, (2) provides real and simulated experiences of working as scientists using diverse toolsets, (3) engages students in a service learning project to create and share knowledge with their peers, (4) develop the technical skills of the teachers from participating schools (5) and develops students communication skills with parents, teachers and professionals. Information and community tools (ICT) play foundational roles in all of these activities.

Learning is an adaptive process stimulated by a problem driven inquiry process and guided by sharing ideas for solutions (Dewey-how we think, von Glasersfeld, 1999). Effective learning is mediated by conceptual, cultural, and technical tools which aid the exploration process (Vygotsky, ) thereby make learning inherently social (Norman, 1980; Pea 1993, Brown & Cole, 2000 ). We contextual learning in this project by placing it in a collaborative, interactive, and supportive environment where questions are encouraged and where the consequences of errors are not severe (Bransford, Brown & Cocking, 1990). The student work involves problem solving in contexts that have real-world consequences and gives them an opportunity to think with and as scientists. The project models the iterative, continuous process of learning and developing that takes when creating new knowledge from initial puzzle to peer sharing and review of  solution (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1993; Gott, Hall, Pokorny, Dibble & Glaser, 1992; Hatano & Inagaki, 1986).

The learning activities in this project model the dispositions and learning strategies that will prepare students to be continuous learners in a knowledge-based economy and society (AAAS, 1990; Becker & Riel, 2000; Bransford et al., 2000; Haberman, 1991; Kahle et al., 2000; Sarason, 1996). When student enter the 21st century workplace, they will need to be prepared to learn new skills and tackle new problems. Students need to be develop a new range of generative problem solving and creative thinking skills making use of the appropriate technology skills to be prepared for their futures. The workforce needs creative problem solvers who can design and work with hardware, software systems that are basic in every sector of work. Students need to develop the practices and “habits of mind” that allow them to be flexible and adaptive in their approach to applying knowledge and solving problems. Many projects teach students technology skills but often what is missing in these programs is the purpose or goals. In this project we embed the technology instruction in two contexts. The first is to add in the inquiry based design of a lunar colony. Students learn to use (ICT) in their roles as scientists and lunar pioneers. In the second year of the project, the emphasis shifts to service as they take on a real challenge—how to encourage their peers to look towards and prepare for futures that include science, engineering, math and technology as important dimensions.

A final rationale for this study has to do with increasing the ability of students to work with their parents on their future. Adolescents is a very different times for parent-child communication as the child moves away from old roles to ones that parents have not accommodate to. Placing student-parent partners in a larger context and have them work together gives each students and each parent a chance to observe and learn from the interactions of student-parent pairs. This project provides a rare opportunity for parents to and students to work together and at the same time, as part of a larger team. Either parent or student can take the lead in modeling the behaviors that build success. Beyond working together, parents are engaged in research about careers and will learn from their interactions and research how to best support their students as they express goals. Barab, Sasha, Makinster, Jim, Moore, Julie, and Cunningham, Don. 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