STTR Phase I: Making Waves: Educational Technologies Combining STEM and Music Learning

The broader impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is the enhancement of analytic and creative skills of children through the development of a educational delivery system, where students design and build musical instruments using hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning, and then compose and perform original musical works on the instruments via music education. Previous NSF research has shown strong correlations between achievement in the STEM fields and the study and practice of the arts, as well as greater academic success for at-risk youth. The unique integration of physical hands-on activities with live, remote STEM and arts experts promise to engage students in ways that other approaches have failed to reach, without burdening the at-site instructor with unrealistic required professional development. This project will enable systematic establishment of a distributed network of expert STEM and music instructors that can simultaneously reflect the cultural multiplicities of a broad range of students, while also supporting the on-site organizer with the level of instructional expertise and professional talent normally available to only to elite out-of-school programs in sophisticated urban centers. The proposed project will develop technology for an integrated STEM and music education program that will be highly engaging and rewarding for both students and instructors when delivered in a fully online or hybrid learning environment. The research objectives will focus on the development and assessment of learning modules that incorporate the use of physical hands-on kits and manipulatives as well as online tools and simulations, taught by remote instructors using videoconferencing with optional onsite adult facilitators. The core content will center upon material drawn from the accepted national standards involving concepts which include fractions, wave properties, and the engineering design process as applied to both musical instrument analysis and design and music composition. 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.