STEM

US2020 STEM Collaboratory Keynote

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January 24, 2018 3:52 PM

Kristin Hughes and Peter Scupelli are keynoting for the US2020 STEM Collaboratory workshop Thursday, February 1, 2018.

About the US2020 Challenge
The US2020 STEM Challenge is a competition for communities that are working together through cross-sector partnerships to bridge the opportunity gap and bring maker-centered learning and STEM mentorship opportunities to more girls, low-income students, and underrepresented students in their local communities.

Over 92 communities across the country applied to the competition, proposing innovative approaches for cross-sector collaboration and exciting STEM solutions in their communities. A panel of expert judges helped US2020 select fifteen finalist communities to move on to the final round of the competition. They’re currently in the process of engaging their stakeholders, refining their proposals, and will revise and resubmit their application prior to attending the STEM Collaboratory event. More information about the Challenge can be found on our website and in our press release.

The STEM Collaboratory
The celebration of their work will culminate at a STEM Collaboratory event, where communities will highlight what they’re doing in the collective impact space to bring engaging and enticing opportunities to students across the country through their cross-sector partnerships. This two-day workshop will expose communities to STEM and maker experts and creative community builders and provide an opportunity for communities to share share, learn, and inspire one another to build local movements around STEM mentorship and maker-centered learning and bridge the opportunity gap.

The objectives of the event overall are to:
●      Provide a space for teams to reflect, share, and refine their strategies for embedding maker-centered learning and STEM mentorship into their communities
●      Expose finalist teams to experts that can facilitate new learning, spark deep, rich conversation between teams, and share meaningful feedback
●      Strengthen relationships between Finalist Teams
●      Introduce helpful frameworks for working through barriers and challenges
●      Create a learning experience that is meaningful and applicable, regardless of Challenge outcome

Audience and their Work
This event will bring together 45 leaders representing 15 communities across the country. Each community will be represented at the event by 2-3 local leaders that are spearheading this work. These leaders will represent the non-profit, public, and private sectors, and are all working to strengthen their local STEM and maker-centered learning movements locally.

Each community has been working to build a collective action and impact model around STEM mentorship and maker-centered learning. All of these communities are focused on mobilizing stakeholders in their community to drive systemic change. Some of these communities also design and implement programs related to maker-centered or project-based learning. These communities are quite diverse – some are from larger cities like New York and Chicago, while others are working in more rural contexts, like Socorro, New Mexico or Allendale, South Carolina. Learn more about our finalists here.

Date + Venue

The event will take place from Wednesday, January 31- Thursday, February 1, 2018 at Alloy 26, located at 100 S Commons Suite 102, Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Last updated: 5:50 pm

Paper presentation @ PLoP 2015 writer’s workshop

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October 27, 2015 3:36 PM

Paul Inventado and Peter Scupelli presented “A Data-driven Methodology for Producing Online Learning System Design Patterns” at the 22nd Conference on Pattern Languages of Programs (PLoP) 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Abstract:

Online learning systems are complex systems that are frequently updated with new content, upgraded to support new features and extended to support new technologies. Maintaining the quality of the system as it changes is a challenge that needs to be addressed. Design patterns offer a solution to this challenge by providing guides to stakeholders responsible for making design changes (e.g., system developers, HCI designers, teachers, students) that will help them ensure system quality despite changes. Although design patterns for online learning systems exist, they often focus on one aspect of the system (e.g., pedagogy, learning). The data-driven design pattern production (3D2P) methodology utilizes data for producing design patterns in collaboration with stakeholders, addresses stakeholders’ concerns, and ensures the system’s quality as a whole. The paper presents five patterns produced by applying the methodology on the ASSISTments online learning system namely: all content in one place, just enough practice, personalized problems, worked examples, and consistent language. We made two changes to the pattern format: added in-text references in the forces section, and added an evidence section. The references allow the reader to learn more about the force in question. The evidence section highlights key findings uncovered from the 3D2P methodology. Four sources of evidence were considered in the pattern format: (a) literature – existing research on the problem or solution, (b) discussion – expert opinions about the problem or solution, (c) data – measures of the problem’s recurrence, and the solution’s effectiveness based on collected data; and (d) evaluation – assessment of the pattern’s performance when it was applied on an existing system. The changes to the format highlight linkages between pattern elements, theory, and empirical evidence. We believe that links further justify the design pattern, and make it easier for multiple stakeholders to understand them.

Last updated: 3:36 pm