A collaborative data collection and analysis for inquiry-based experiential learning for health sciences related STEM education

Abstract The U SDepartment of Commerce predicts that STEMsciencetechnologyengineeringand mathjobs occupations will grow byfromtocompared tofor non STEM occupationsSTEM wages are generally higher than non STEMwith adifference inYetcurrent approaches to STEM education are falling significantly shortInof U Shigh school students underwent American College TestingACTOf theseonlyattained the benchmark or higher for STEM scoreswith percentages considerably lower for those in underrepresented racial ethnic minority groupsLack of racial ethnic diversity persists into higher educationThere is an acute need for educational opportunities that will not only enhance STEM literacybut also increase the likelihood that students of diverse backgrounds will go on to pursue scientific careersTo datethere are no tools that allow student to tailor exploration to their own interestsFor this SBIR proposalWicked Device will collaborate with Robin Taylor Wilsonthe Principal Investigator of the Early Preparation and Inspiration for Careers in the Biomedical SciencesEPICProgramto create a uniquely accessible and potentially transformative STEM education opportunityDrWilsonandapos s team has demonstrated that using epidemiologic principles for STEM education can increase interest and ability in related fieldsWicked Deviceandapos s core innovationa sharedcloud based data collection and analysis platform for collaborative STEM and big data research and educationwill be adapted to experiential learning opportunities in health sciences that use survey collected datae gepidemiologyThe resulting platform will create a fullerreal timehighly collaborative and highly engaging scientific experience that aligns with how scientific research is conducted in the real worldWicked Deviceandapos s technology will be the first educational platform to allow users to collaborate via a global multi school network to develop innovative experiments and share findingsand will fulfill the need for educational platforms to expose students to big data collection and analyticsMost significantlythe platform allows students to conduct large scale experiments that stimulate their personal interests in health sciencesIn Phase IWicked Device will develop the infrastructure and software applications to successfully create an innovative proof of concept educationaldata collection and analysis platform for STEM educationDrWilsonandapos s team will then evaluate the platform and associated curricula in secondary students for usability and feasibilityFor Phase IIWicked Device will build out the full systemincluding inter school collaborative features such as videoconferencing to share and present dataDrWilsonandapos s team will then conduct an expanded scaleinter school evaluation of the platformandapos s ability to promote greater learning and more positive attitudes toward science in an education settingAt a high levelthe proposed work aims to help effect the following societal improvementsincreased data literacyincreased scientific collaboration in educationacross geographic and interdisciplinary linesand increased scientific literacy and interest across demographics Narrative The demand for U Sworkforce trained in STEMsciencetechnologyengineeringand mathis growingeven as student scores and interest in these areas lagIn order to encourage students of all backgrounds to pursue careers in STEMthey must be provided with meaningfulpractical and applicable educational opportunities that create connections between STEM and the real worldTo this endWicked Device is developing an engagingflexiblelow cost and inclusive cloud based data sharing system for schoolsthat stands apart in its ability to support inquiry based opportunities that align with studentsown intrinsic interestsallowing them to address challenging questions that foster scientific discovery and literacy