Career: scaffolding multivariable interactive thinking

The National Science Foundation Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings awarded California State University, East Bay Foundation, Inc. $506,149 on September 1, 2026, under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) to conduct research on multivariable interactive thinking (MIT) in science education.

The research examines cognitive barriers to learning multivariable causal systems—complex, interactive systems where causes produce different effects depending on context—through a series of six studies involving young children, middle- and high-school students, and adults. The investigators will map the developmental trajectory of fundamental MIT elements including representations of continuous and categorical variables, multicausal models, and mental operations involved in reasoning about main, simple, and interactive effects. The project will develop and test scaffolded interventions to improve learning through mental simulation, explanation-generation, and interactive learning experiences with complex systems.

The award period runs through August 31, 2031, with work performed in Hayward, California. The research addresses a documented major obstacle to STEM learning: the inability to grasp multivariable causality, which manifests across science disciplines from biology (photosynthesis rates responding to CO2 concentration in temperature-dependent ways) to psychology (rewards affecting task performance differently depending on task type).

Abstract

The goal of this research is to advance our understanding of children?s reasoning about complex, interactive systems in science education, called multivariable interactive thinking (MIT) and why IT is so difficult for them to learn and for instructors to teach. Multivariable interactive causal systems are composed of causes that lead to different effects depending on the context. Such systems are ubiquitous across science disciplines: in biology, for example, CO2 concentration in the air determines the rate of photosynthesis at high temperatures, but IT makes no difference at low temperatures. In psychology, rewards boost performance for tedious tasks, but suppress performance for intrinsically motivating tasks. The inability to grasp multivariable causality is a documented major obstacle to stem learning. In a series of experiments involving young children, middle- and high-school students and adults, this project will examine cognitive barriers to learning multivariable causal systems and will develop a scaffolded intervention to improve learning. The overarching goals of this project are to conduct a systematic empirical investigation of the representations and mental processes involved in a crucial cognitive competency engaged in scientific learning and discovery: multivariable interactive thinking (MIT) and to identify new ways to scaffold IT. In a series of six studies with young children, middle- and high-school students and adults, the investigators will seek to identify and map out the developmental trajectory of fundamental elements of MIT such as representations of continuous and categorical variables, multicausal models, and mental operations involved in assessing and reasoning about main, simple and interactive effects. They WIL then develop and test new ways to scaffold MIT through mental simulation, explanation-generation, and interactive learning experiences with complex systems comprising continuous and categorical variables, and also leveraging new augmented and immersive virtual reality technology. Finally, the investigators will integrate their research and education plans as part of the educational component of the career award by engaging college students and middle and high-school educators in study development, data collection, and dissemination of findings. They will also run an intensive mentoring and research training program. The project is funded as a career award by the EDU core research (ECR) program, which supports work that advances the fundamental research literatures on stem learning, broadening participation, and workforce development. 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.- subawards are not planned for this award.