Scaling health and bioscience training technology to informal education

PROJECT SUMMARY This Project aims to build on the previous Phase I interactive digital media (IDM) product, Model It!. Model It was a product that spun out of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Cell Collective product, a research-grade computational modeling and simulation technology that is used by biomedical researchers and post-secondary educators around the world. To make this product age-appropriate for middle-schoolers, Phase I focused on content creation and interactivity designed for a much less technical audience. For Phase II, the goal of ModelIt! remains focused on the design and integration of computational modeling and simulation technology in after-school programming environments that serve students in grades 5-8. Modeling and simulation skills can be difficult to establish in afterschool learning environments where the learning agenda caters to ever-changing dynamics (students coming and going, shorter activity lengths, snack schedules, rotating educators, rotating activities and perhaps locations, and thus access to resources, etc.). The integration of this technology does require students to have access to digital devices; each of our partners has secured learning environments that will support this. The approach for this IDM product is the development of ten fundamental skills that span model-building and simulation-based experimentation. To establish these fundamental skills, students will engage with ModelIt!, whereby students will use repetition to build muscle memory for each of the ten essential skills (e.g., adding a component, removing a component, adding an arrow). For each level, students will progress through a series of challenges that become increasingly harder; once they master the skill, the technology will automatically advance the student to the next level (skill). The Project Team is advised by a leading international expert in computational modeling technologies used within the fields of biomedical research and systems biology. It is led by an educational technology design and development expert with expertise in business development. The project will employ established experts whose specialties span instructional design and development, educational leadership, administration, and teacher professional development, educator recruitment and training, and the accommodation of early adopter education innovators. It will also employ a technology development team with experience with this software. Together, this team will design, develop, field-test, and deploy the IDM product to a diverse student population via established partnerships with large-scale after-school programs in several states: NE STEM 4U, Kids that Code, Beyond School Bells, Strategic Air and Space Museum, Academies of Math & Science - Peoria Academy, Riverbend Middle School, Advanced Preparatory International, Culver City Unified School District. The expected outcome for this project is a fully functional computational modeling application designed for 5th-8th grade students that, through interactive web-based engagement, effectively develops foundational computational skills.