Russell Shilling - Journey From Military Training to Civilian Education

1. JOURNEY FROM MILITARY TRAINING TO CIVILIAN EDUCATION

2. Military Programs Were Influential (yes, I showed this slide at my last Serious Play presentation!!) •Sesame  Street:  Talk,  Listen,  Connect •Phase  I:  Deployments •Phase  II:  Injured  Parents  /  Return  Home  (April  2008) •Phase  III:  Loss  of  a  Parent  /  Grief •Over  1M  kits  distributed •Available  as  free  download  on  iTunes •Low-­Tech  Website:   http://www.sesameworkshop.org/initiatives/emotion/tlc/ •PBS  Prime-­Time  Specials •Injured  Parent  (Changes)  – April  1,  2009 •Grief  – April  14,  2010  (Joint  Chiefs  Screening) •Advanced  Private  Social  Network  (July  2009) •Activities  &  Games  for  Children 2 2

3. DoD is Facing a STEM Shortage The Retiring STEM Workforce – A significant portion of the DoD S&E workforce will be retired by 2020. – By age 61, about half of the general S&E labor force will no longer be working full-time (NSF S&E Indicators, 2010) – Fifteen percent of the DoD workforce is under 35. (By comparison, 28% the general S&E workforce is under 35.) – Age distribution factors suggest that the S&E workforce is older and is growing slowly (NSF S&E Indicators, 2010). • Across all degree levels and fields, 26.4% of the labor force with S&E degrees is older than age 50 (graph, right).. 7/21/15 3

4. DARPA STEM GAMES • Refractions (Popovic) – http://www.brainpop.com/games/refraction/ • Treefrog Treasure (Popovic) – http://www.brainpopjr.com/games/treefrogtreasure/ • Washington & Minnesota Algebra Challenges (Adapted DragonBox) • Nanocrafter (DNA Science Game ala FOLD-IT from Popovic) – www.nanocrafter.org • Computer Science Student Network (Carnegie Melon Robotics) – www.cs2n.org • Space Force (Intific) – http://www.brainpop.com/games/spaceforce/ • “Non-cognitive” factors are secondary goal of all approaches. Assessment conducted by UCLA-CRESST

5. SimSensei & VR Therapy for PTSD Highly Personalized 5

6. Graphic Novel Art Therapy (GNAT) REFLECT INTIFIC 6

7. SIFT: Graphic Novel Art Therapy 7

8. Missions 1 8

9. IMPORTANCE OF STORY A CRITICAL ELEMENT MISSING FROM MOST EDUCATION GAMES § Most games have a “meta-story”, but don’t TELL a story § A story personalizes the experience and can contextualize the learning experience § Story can provide rich social-emotional / non-cognitive lessons – Grit, Perseverance, Academic Mindset, Social Skills § Comics, Graphic Novels, Sequential Art, Transmedia 9

10. Joint DARPA/Dept of Education SBIR Combine Comics and Games • Teaches fundamental computer science concepts and their application • Targets sixth grade students with STEM-related subjects and principles • Permits translation into real world application by integrating game outputs with the LEGO MindStorm EV3 hardware The Game Story: Alice in Wonderland While driving through the desert, Alice’s truck suddenly breaks down. Lucky for her, a helpful tow truck comes by and takes her back to their junkyard, where they ask her forhelp. While Alice’s truck is being repaired, she helps the owners out by putting her computer skills to good use in solving their problems. 10

11. Looking Glass – Project Overview ExplorationMode CreationMode • • Interstitials set up the narrative, characters and environment A collection of unique puzzles to solve using computer science concepts • • This mode provides a fun “exploratory” level to interact with and provide engagement Alice uses here growing programming skills to help the junkyard inhabitants • • Introduces and reinforces useful Social Emotional Learning concepts for the player Programs are integrated with the Google Blockly visual programming system

12. Retirement Photo: Feb 2014 12

13. SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON PANELS 2015 COMICS FOR IMPACT • • • Calling for a Community of Interest and expertise similar to “Games for Impact” Bring together educators, scientists, artists and storytellers Starting a listserv for federal investors Comics for Impact: STEM Education Comics for Impact: PTSD & Storytelling 13

14. “Leadership tomorrow depends on how we educate our students today— especially in science, technology, engineering and math.” — President Barack Obama 14

15. IS THERE A SHORTAGE OF STEM PROFESSIONALS? BROOKINGS (2013 & 2014) 1. As of 2011, 26 million U.S. jobs—20 percent of all jobs— require a high level of knowledge in any one STEM field 2. Half of all STEM jobs are available to workers without a four- year college degree 3. Median days a STEM vacancy was advertised (11) exceeded twice the median days non-STEM jobs were advertised (5) 4. “STEM skills are in high demand relative to supply, and the problem is especially acute in certain metropolitan areas, where the average vacancy for STEM workers takes months to fill.” 15

16. STEM EDUCATION IS A COMPLEX ISSUE Source: Jill Walstonand Jill CarlivatiMcCarroll, Eighth-Grade Algebra: Findings from the Eighth-Grade Round of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, October 2010). 16

17. § STEM Office: – Russell Shilling, Executive Director – Melissa Moritz, Deputy Director – Ellen Lettvin, Robert Noyce Senior Fellow in Informal STEM – TBD, AAAS Fellow (Fall 2015) § Extended STEM Team is spread across the entire agency! 17

18. Promote student achievement, success, and life-long learning in a dynamic 21stcentury STEM economy by: § Maximizing opportunities to excel in STEM education for all students, including pre-k and post-secondary students; § Inspiring students to pursue STEM careers, including women, minorities, and special needs populations; and § Fostering innovation in STEM education to produce scalable approaches to improve formal and informal learning environments. 18

19. Collaborate on inter- and intra-agency policy & programs to better include STEM efforts in various federal efforts & leverage public–private partnerships • Continue to promote programs to enhance and improve teacher training in STEM • Encourage a focus on early learning strategies for STEM programs both inside and outside ED • Incorporate non-cognitive and informal learning strategies into program development • Promote greater STEM access and engagement for diverse student populations (minorities, women, special needs) Identify and promulgate STEM education data and best practices • Establish the office as a central location to learn about efforts in STEM from both the federal & public domains • Spotlight key resources and proof points of exemplary STEM work across the country • Work with partners inside and outside the federal domain to document availability of formal and informal education assets which can be leveraged across settings, including urban and rural environments Steward the development of structures that help create stronger R&D in technological and non-technological STEM breakthrough innovations • Push for adoption of alternative research practices formulated to promote scalable breakthrough innovations in STEM programs (10+ year horizon) • Leverage and seed regional STEM networks/clusters to develop best practices in STEM innovation • Explore and promote new technology solutions for STEM education, including games/simulations/graphic novels, intelligent tutoring systems/new approaches to personalized learning, and embedded assessments • Explore and promote synergistic strategies for effective STEM learning across formal and informal settings 19

20. ED HAS USED A STEM PRIORITY IN OVER 60 GRANT ANNOUNCEMENTS § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § Career and Technical Education: Basic Grants to States Education Research Grants – Effective Teachers and Teaching Green Ribbon Schools Hispanic Serving Institutions STEM and Articulation Programs Investing in Innovation (I3) Magnet Schools Assistance Program Math Science Partnerships Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program Race to the Top Ready to Learn Special Education Research Grants – Professional Development Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) Teachers for a Competitive Tomorrow (TCT) Teacher Quality Partnerships 21stCentury Community Learning Centers 20

21. ADMINISTRATION-WIDE EFFORT (COMMITTEE ON STEM EDUCATION – COSTEM) PARTICIPATING FEDERAL PARTNERS • Department of Agriculture • Department of Commerce • Department of Defense • Department of Education • Department of Energy • Department of Health and Human Services • Department of Homeland Security • Department of the Interior • Department of Transportation • Environmental Protection Agency • Executive Office of the President • National Aeronautics and Space Administration • National Science Foundation • Smithsonian Institution 21

22. § Nation’s largest out-of-school and expanded learning program $1.1 billion in 2014, reaches over 1.5 million students at 8,500 -10,000 sites nationwide § STEM focus added in 2013: – Led to establishment of a STEM Technical Working Group – Piloted collaboration with NASA in Winter 2014 § offered at 22 sites across 3 states § featured 3 real-world challenges faced by NASA scientists and engineers § NASA subject matter experts engaged directly with 21CCLC staff and youth participants, building capacity and providing authentic STEM experiences § Inter-agency collaboration expanded in 2015 to include additional agency partnerships featuring STEM content: § NASA expanded number of challenges offered from 3 to 6, number of participating states grew from 3 to 10, number of participating sites grew from 20 to 80 § National Park Service collaboration involves citizen science and environmental monitoring, offered through National Park sites in 5 states to students at 11 sites across 6 states, with a focus on serving students in the Bureau of Indian Education § Institute of Museum and Library Services will focus on STEM-rich Making and Tinkering, offered to 25 sites through collaborations with science centers in 5 states, featuring activities developed by the Exploratorium. 22

23. 2015 GRANT COMPETITION (CLOSED MAY 26, 2015) § Supports public media organizations to create and nationally distribute educational television & interactive digital media for children ages 2-8: Ready to Learn!! – Focus on science (including scientific thinking & skill development) or literacy – Use analytics and/or embedded assessments to create adaptive learning experiences and provide learning data to caregivers and educators 23

24. 140 120 100 80 60 40 STEM Grants 20 Non-STEM Grants 0 24

25. ED/IES SBIR Key Details • Annual Budget: $7.5M • Timeline: 1 solicitation per year, next deadline Jan. 2016 • Eligibility: for-profit firms <500 employees • Topics: R&D of commercially viable education technology products (including learning games!) in education and special education Ø For students - to support learning in standards-relevant content areas and to support social, emotional & behavioral development. Ø For teachers – to improve instructional practice or efficiency 25

26. ED/IES SBIR: Games are On! • Since 2012, about half of all awards have been for the R&D of education learning games • Awards to firms such as: Electric Funstuff, Schell Games, Kiko Labs, Strange Loop Games, Teachley, 3C Institute, Second Avenue Software, Sokikom, Thought Cycle, Brainquake, Filament Games, etc. • Several ED/IES SBIR games are in wide-scale use, • Several ED/IES games have won major industry awards for innovation, including Ø 2015 Serious Play Gold Awards (Electric Funstuff & Triad Interactive Media) Ø 2014 Apple Design Award (Teachley); Ø 2013 Games for Change Best Game Play (Filament Games) 26

27. Focus on: Filament Games • With a 2010 ED/IES SBIR award of $850,000, Filament Games developed and evaluated a suite of science learning games including titles: You Make Me Sick, Reach For The Sun, Cell Command, and Backyard Engineers. • Game design focuses on translating learning objectives directly into meaningful gameplay mechanics and playful curriculum materials • Games for won several industry awards, including Best Game Play at Games for Change, National STEM Video Game Challenge. • 1M+ gameplays since commercial release. In Reach For The Sun, gameplay centers on driving the plant-lifecycle process by growing a seed to full sunflower plant.

28. Focus on: Teachley • With a 2013 ED/IES SBIR award of $1,050,000, Teachleydeveloped and evaluated apps including: Addimal Adventure & Mt. Multiplis, along with a teacher dashboard. • Games integrate years of academic research on effective strategies for how students learn math; teacher dashboard provides data and analytics to guide instruction. • Winner: 2014 Apple Design Award. • 500,000+ downloads since 2014. In Addimal Adventure, students solve addition problems with the support of an in-game character.

29. ED/IES SBIR: Resources • For More Information: ies.ed.gov/sbir • Videos of 20 ED/IES SBIR games for learning: http://ies.ed.gov/sbir/videos.asp • Ed Tech Developers Guide: tech.ed.gov/developers-guide/ • To discuss your games for learning concepts or to determine the goodness of fit for ED/IES SBIR, please contact Edward.Metz@ed.gov. 29