SBIR Phase II: Collaboration, Creativity and Computational Thinking - A Cooperative Music Tinkering Game

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to enable the learning of Computational Thinking, which is widely viewed as the new literacy of the 21st Century and has become an important initiative in educational research, policy, and practice and represents a specific set of problem-solving skills applicable in any domain to create solutions. Teaching this kind of problem solving is difficult; problems in the real world are complex and ill-defined and require the ability to apply different strategies to be solved. The proposed solution provides learners a space to practice productive struggle with the concepts of algorithms and trying new solutions in concert with development of communication skills. Moreover, this learning environment will support students as they practice additional skills critical to their future, including collaboration, teamwork, leveraging one another’s expertise to find a solution, and communicating ideas. This platform will scale to accommodate deep learning experiences in interdisciplinary problem-solving, and will revolutionize game-based learning through advances in physical/digital integration and collaborative problem solving. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will research, design and develop a flexible physical/digital learning platform targeting students in grades 3-5, focusing on learning collaborative problem solving, computational thinking, tinkering and debugging practices. Key technology objectives include development of a machine learning-powered adaptive game environment, refinement of the hardware system design and development of the teacher dashboard tools necessary to enable real-time teaching support and assessment. The adaptive learning environment will enable learners to participate in collaborative problem-solving while engaging in Computational Thinking practices that promote productive struggle, critical thinking and reflection. This project will advance the field of education technology by pushing innovation in designing collaborative connected play (digital/physical) solutions for classroom considerations and use; designing adaptivity that supports learners at the individual and group level; reimagining teacher tools for real-time support, insights and ability to manage multiple groups simultaneously; and developing best approaches in tangible interfaces to promote learning. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.