Intelligent Science Stations: Developing Adaptive Mixed-Reality Technology to Enhance Inquiry-based STEM Learning in Schools

The project aims to develop and research Intelligent Science Stations, a new genre of interactive science experiences. The motivation behind this project is the need for engaging, inquiry-based science learning opportunities for young children in the classroom, to sustain early interest in science. The Intelligent Science Stations will provide students in kindergarten to 4th grade with hands-on science experiences, augmented by an intelligent agent that offers feedback based on artificial intelligence (AI) computer vision. These Intelligent Science Stations incorporate scientific apparatuses such as earthquake tables or balance scales, and students' actions are observed and evaluated by the intelligent agent. The agent appears as an animated character on a screen and provides interactive feedback to guide students through scientific inquiry. This innovative approach offers evidence-based, personalized support and feedback to children, while also assisting teachers in integrating more inquiry-based science learning into their classrooms. By modeling behaviors like asking questions, making predictions, and explaining scientific phenomena, the interactive AI system helps teachers enhance their classroom experiences. The project aims to develop four Intelligent Science Stations, each accompanied by lesson plans, teacher professional development, and online resources such as video demonstrations and learning materials. The science content covered includes early physics, balance and stability, forces and motion, forces and interactions, inquiry, and engineering design. The development and research will take place in multiple schools with students from diverse backgrounds, targeting an estimated 3,000 students per school year over a three-year period.

The evaluation and research components of the project have two main objectives. First, it seeks to advance scientific understanding by investigating the learning support features that effectively engage children in sustained learning experiences involving scientific inquiry and engineering design in school settings. Second, it aims to determine the curricular and language supports necessary to foster engagement and enhance science learning for children with different backgrounds, academic strengths, and needs. User-centered iterative design research, formative evaluation, and classroom observations will be employed to design mixed-reality systems that best cater to student and teacher learning needs in formal learning environments. Through classroom observations and controlled experiments, the project will compare "business as usual" conditions with the use of Intelligent Science Stations, providing insights into student inquiry processes, science conversations, student engagement, and science inquiry processes. The project also intends to share its findings through peer-reviewed publications targeted at researchers and developers, as well as provide extensive professional development resources and video demonstrations to teachers and educators via social media and the project website.