NarrativeSonic Math Fundamentals to improve STEM skills for students with vision impairments.Research shows that children can, and should, engage in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning, even in the earliest years of life. Mathematics is often the underpinning of the other STEM disciplines because it serves as a language for science, engineering, and technology.The visual nature of mathematics results in students who are blind or have low vision (BLV) performing extraordinarily lowin STEM. Even simple STEM concepts such as addition and subtraction can be challenging for BLV children becausethese concepts require understanding of the number line, a spatial concept. Hence, students who are visually impaired areoften denied the opportunity to pursue STEM-related careers because they have not fully developed the pre-requisite skillsthat allow them to compete alongside their sighted peers. In turn, society is denied the benefits that a diverse workforcecould bring to all facets of STEM employment.While Interactive Digital Media (IDM), such as tablet-based math game apps, are commonly and effectively used to improve STEM for sighted children, they are visual in nature. The learning materials developed for these tools are rarely accessible to BLV students. ObjectiveEd's long-term goal is to develop materials that will allow BLV students to use IDM effectively. In turn this will allow BLV students to have the option to pursue a STEM education path and career, resulting in increased diversity in the STEM fields.This SBIR project has three aims for Phase 1: Aim 1: Define requirements and develop game specification for early math skills based on Common Core State Standards (CCSS) by consulting with a variety of STEM-focused teachers, math curriculum experts and university researchers specializing in the education of students with visual impairments. Aim 2: Create two prototype skill-building math games for BLV students. The games will be accessible using both tactile and sonic feedback, hence its name: Sonic Math Fundamentals. Students can use the apps in both in-classroom and out-of- classroom settings. Teachers will be able to monitor each student's progress in mastering skills remotely, using a web- based dashboard. Aim 3: Evaluate the digital game prototype for BLV students' engagement and increased math skills. Evaluation will involve collecting data through pre- and post-game assessments using a CCSS toolkit, game-play analytics including correct vs. incorrect scores, and structured interviews of teachers and students.Study Sample: We will recruit 15 BLV students enrolled pre-kindergarten or kindergarten classes. According to teacher report, the students will not have in mastered shape identification or the number line concept. In our recruitment we will seek to recruit students from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds balancing for gender and level of visualimpairment.Sonic Math Fundamentals aligns with an education objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement, as it addresses student STEM career choice starting with pre-kindergarten and the research objective, as it develops new education products that will advance STEM-based gaming for an underserved student population.
Public Health Relevance Statement: Project Narrative Students who are blind or have low vision (BLV) perform poorly in math, the underpinning of STEM, due to the visual nature of many math concepts, including basic concepts like the number line. This Phase I project will determine the feasibility of learning these concepts through tablet-based math games that are accessible through sonic feedback from finger movements, which may be new for the BLV student, along with tactile raised-dot feedback from finger movements, which is how a BLV student reads braille. Mastering visual concepts through non-visual methods will enable BLV students to pursue a STEM education path and career, resulting in increased diversity in the STEM fields.
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