AHA! Island is a new project that uses animation, live-action videos, and hands-on activities to support joint engagement of children and caregivers around computational thinking concepts and practices. This research is intended to examine the extent to which the prototyped media and activity sets support the project’s learning goals. Education Development Center (EDC), WGBH’s research partner for the project, conducted a small formative study with 16 English-speaking families (children and their caregivers) to test out these media and activity set prototypes. During the in-person video
The maker movement has evoked interest for its role in breaking down barriers to STEM learning. However, few empirical studies document how youth are supported over time, in STEM-rich making projects or their outcomes. This longitudinal critical ethnographic study traces the development of 41 youth maker projects in two community-centered making programs. Building a conceptual argument for an equity-oriented culture of making, the authors discuss the ways in which making with and in community opened opportunities for youth to project their communities’ rich culture knowledge and wisdom onto
In this participatory research project, a partnership between the Kitty Andersen Youth Science Center (KAYSC) and the Department of Evaluation and Research in Learning at the Science Museum of Minnesota, participants are working to rename and reclaim theory and research methods so as to foster relevance and equity. We have renamed the theory of science capital: "science capitxl" signals its roots in equity work and invites questioning. We are using what we have called "embedded research practices" for data generation and analysis. This poster was shared at the 2019 AISL PI meeting.
The Child Trends News Service (CTNS) was created to report on new research about child development, and broaden the public’s access to information that can inform their parenting decisions. CTNS features this new research and research-based parenting practices in video news reports in both English and Spanish. While CTNS reporting is relevant to all parents, it also focuses on issues of specific interest to Latino parents regarding their children—the fastest-growing group of children in the United States.
CTNS is a collaboration between the Child Trends Hispanic Institute, a Child Trends
This poster was presented at the 2019 NSF AISL Principal Investigators Meeting.
The project's goals were to:
Use a series of 6 museum-facilitated family workshops at pre-kindergarten (pre-k) centers to promote informal STEM learning.
Examine 3 conditions in which families and their children most benefit from “doing science and math” together.
Focus on populations that are typically underrepresented in STEM fields – families experiencing poverty and families who speak English and/or Spanish at home
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Tricia ZuckerCheryl McCallumMichael AsselJanelle MontroyArmando OrdunaGisela Trevino
As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds innovative research, approaches and resources for use in a variety of settings. Informal STEM educational activities have proliferated widely in the US over the last 20 years. Additional research will further validate the long-term benefits of this mode of learning. Thus, elaborating the multitude of variables in informal learning and how those variables can be used for individual learning is yet to be defined for the circumstances of the learners. Thus, the primary objective of this work is to produce robust and detailed evidence to help shape both practice and policy for informal STEM learning in a broad array of common circumstances such as rural, urban, varying economic situations, and unique characteristics and cultures of citizen groups. Rather than pursuing a universal model of informal learning, the principal investigator will develop a series of comprehensive models that will support learning in informal environments for various demographic groups. The research will undertake a longitudinal mixed-methods approach of Out of School Time/informal STEM experiences over a five-year time span of data collection for youth ages 9-19 in urban, suburban, town, and rural communities. The evidence base will include data on youth experiences of informal STEM, factors that exert an influence on participation in informal STEM, the impact of participation on choices about educational pathways and careers, and preferences for particular types of learning activities. The quantitative data will include youth surveys, program details (e.g. duration of program, length of each program session, youth/facilitator ratio, etc.), and demographics. The qualitative data will include on-site informal interviews with youth and facilitators, and program documentation. 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.
Ruff Family Science is an exploratory project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that aims to foster joint media engagement and hands-on science exploration among diverse, low-income parents and their 4- to 8-year-old children. Building on the success of the PBS series FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman, the project leverages FETCH’s funny and charismatic animated host, along with its proven approach to teaching science, to inspire educationally disadvantaged families to explore science together. More specifically, the project is undertaking a research and design process to create prototype
Mathematics plays a significant role in understanding and participating in science, technology, and engineering (STEM). Research shows that early mathematics experiences in everyday life are critical to the development of children's mathematical knowledge. This project will explore an innovative approach to fostering parent-child math interactions and conversations related to mathematical ideas. The approach will use community-based, exhibit installations called Mathscapes. These are artistic, culturally relevant, easily accessible, physical installations designed to encourage adults and children (ages 3 to 7) to use their immediate environment to playfully explore key early math concepts. The project also addresses a need for research about the cultural experiences and resources that marginalized children and families bring to mathematical conversations. Understanding parent-child interactions about mathematics community settings could result in new knowledge about early math learning among low income children and parents. As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants.
This exploratory study will design and investigate an innovative approach to encouraging math talk and math-related interactions between parents and children (ages 3-7) through the creation of MathScapes. These are temporary physical installations designed to use the immediate environment to playfully explore mathematical concepts. This study will be conducted in two Boston neighborhoods that are populated by low-income, non-dominant minority and immigrant families. Adopting a case study approach, the project will use observational methods, discourse analysis of parent/child talk, and interviews to study the interactions of 200 families at two neighborhood Mathscape installations. LENA devices will be used to capture parent/child talk at the Mathscapes while researchers use observational methods to document participant interactions, talk, and gestures. Data sources will include audio recordings of family talk, field notes of family interactions at Mathscape installations, surveys, and interviews. A qualitative approach will be used to produce research findings at multiple levels. The focus of the analysis will be to understand if this approach enhances the quality and quantity of math talk between parents and children. The project will be carried out by a research-practice-community partnership in Boston, Massachusetts that includes community mathematics educators, education researchers, and participating children and families. The design of community installations could promote engagement with math through adult/child conversations in culturally-relevant contexts situated in the local environment. By addressing the cultural experiences and resources of young people, the project could greatly enhance our understanding of how to leverage the resources that children and families bring to engaging with mathematics.
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.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Omowale MosesDanny MartinCatherine O'ConnorNermeen Darshoush
Techbridge Girls’ mission is to help girls discover a passion for science, engineering, and technology (SET). In August 2013, Techbridge Girls was awarded a five-year National Science Foundation grant to scale up its afterschool program from the San Francisco Bay Area to multiple new locations around the United States. Techbridge Girls began offering afterschool programming at elementary and middle schools in Greater Seattle in 2014, and in Washington, DC in 2015.
Education Development Center is conducting the formative and summative evaluation of the project. To assess the implementation
Techbridge Girls’ mission is to help girls discover a passion for science, engineering, and technology (SET). In August 2013, Techbridge Girls was awarded a five-year National Science Foundation grant to scale up its afterschool program from the San Francisco Bay Area to multiple new locations around the United States. Techbridge Girls began offering afterschool programming at elementary and middle schools in Greater Seattle in 2014, and in Washington, DC in 2015.
Education Development Center is conducting the formative and summative evaluation of the project. To assess the implementation
Techbridge Girls’ mission is to help girls discover a passion for science, engineering, and technology (SET). In August 2013, Techbridge Girls was awarded a five-year National Science Foundation grant to scale up its after-school program from the San Francisco Bay Area to multiple new locations around the United States. Techbridge Girls began offering after-school programming at elementary and middle schools in Greater Seattle in 2014, and in Washington, DC in 2015.
Education Development Center is conducting the formative and summative evaluation of the project. To assess the
Techbridge Girls’ mission is to help girls discover a passion for science, engineering, and technology (SET). In August 2013, Techbridge Girls was awarded a five-year National Science Foundation grant to scale up its after-school program from the San Francisco Bay Area to multiple new locations around the United States. Techbridge Girls began offering after-school programming at elementary and middle schools in Greater Seattle in 2014, and in Washington, DC in 2015.
Education Development Center is conducting the formative and summative evaluation of the project. To assess the