Michaelis Receives New NSF Award
Congratulations to Joseph Michaelis on his new National Science Foundation (NSF) award to develop an after-school social robotics program for girls to develop a sense of belonging and community in computer science. The projects is called “MyTurn: An Afterschool Social Robotics Program to Promote Interest in Computing Among Middle School Students” and was awarded a 3-year, $500,000 grant from NSF’s DRL Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers program. Michaelis, an Assistant Professor of Learning Sciences, and of Computer Science in UIC’s College of Engineering, is the sole principal investigator (PI).
In this Exploring Theory and Design Principles project, the Learning + Interest + Technology Lab at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC LIT Lab) will develop theories and principles which illustrate how stakeholders can co-design afterschool programs that increase middle school girls’ interest in computing careers. These theories and design principles will be iteratively developed and tested in conjunction with the afterschool social robotics program. Mixed methods research will identify key mechanisms that positively influence youths’ experiences, sense of belonging, and interest in computing and computing careers. Specifically, the project team will analyze surveys that explore youths’ interest in computing and computing careers; transcripts of interviews with the youth and their mentors; videos of the participatory sessions during which women and girls co-design the afterschool program; and youth artifacts.
The findings from these analyses will be disseminated widely via professional networks of computer science education researchers and practitioners. This project will result in empirically-tested design principles, which outline how educators of afterschool programs can build girls’ interest in computing careers at a critical time in their trajectories, which can prepare and inspire them to pursue additional computer science experiences and courses in high school and beyond. This work will be supported through partnerships with UIC’s Breakthrough Tech and with Christopher B. Burke Engineering to connect girls with college-aged and professional mentorship during the afterschool program.