The University of Arkansas Center for Math and Science Education (CMASE), one of eleven mathematics and science centers on university and college campuses around the state, provides quality resources and materials to the home, private and public education community. The Arkansas NASA Educator Resource Center, located within CMASE, is the state's dissemination point for education materials provided by NASA. Resources and school/classroom presentations are free of charge. The main objectives of both centers are to provide: (1) K-16 education outreach to the home, private and public Northwest Arkansas education community; (2) quality professional development for pre-service and in-service teachers at local, regional, state and national levels; (3) access points for dissemination of educational materials, resources and information; and (4) links to common education allies throughout the state and nation.
Education and Community Engagement is one of three program directorates in the UNAVCO. Our primary areas of focus include: (1) Professional development/training: We broaden the community using UNAVCO-supported tools, data, and instrumentation through technical training and online resources, (2) educational materials: we facilitate the development and dissemination of geodesy-focused educational materials, (3) community communications: we facilitate greater communication, collaboration, access and dissemination of UNAVCO science and education to both the UNAVCO and broader community, and (4) geo-workforce development: we facilitate the development of a robust, well-trained and diverse geoscience workforce with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to tackle emerging scientific and societal issues.
"Ongoing collaboration-wide IceCube Neutrino Observatory Education and Outreach efforts include: (1) Reaching motivated high school students and teachers through IceCube Masterclasses; (2) Providing intensive research experiences for teachers (in collaboration with PolarTREC) and for undergraduate students (NSF science grants, International Research Experience for Students (IRES), and Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) funding); and (3) Supporting the IceCube Collaboration’s communications needs through social media, science news, web resources, webcasts, print materials, and displays (icecube.wisc.edu). The 2014 pilot IceCube Masterclass had 100 participating students in total at five institutions. Students met researchers, learned about IceCube hardware, software, and science, and reproduced the analysis that led to the discovery of the first high-energy astrophysical neutrinos. Ten IceCube institutions will participate in the 2015 Masterclass. PolarTREC teacher Armando Caussade, who deployed to the South Pole with IceCube in January 2015, kept journals and did webcasts in English and Spanish. NSF IRES funding was approved in 2014, enabling us to send 18 US undergraduates for 10-week research experiences over the next three years to work with European IceCube collaborators. An additional NSF REU grant will provide support for 18 more students to do astrophysics research over the next three summers. At least one-third of the participants for both programs will be from two-year colleges and/or underrepresented groups. "
Xraise provides experiences that empower individuals by making science familiar and accessible. Immersed with scientists themselves, we facilitate hands-on, minds-on activities that involve the direct exploration of physics phenomena. Our relationship with K12 students, educators and community partners provides us with a platform for exploring personal intuitions, developing understandings and fostering excitement in science.
The National COSEE Network, primarily funded by the National Science Foundation, is in its thirteenth year. It is comprised of regional and thematic Centers comprised of ocean science research and formal and informal science education institutions. The network has grown to one of the largest organizations of ocean science research and education institutions, with over 280 members. COSEE is currently transitioning to an independent, international consortium. Its dues paying members are continuing to serve as a broader impacts arm for the ocean science community.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Gail ScowcroftWilliam SpitzerAnnette deCharon
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
The "community of practice" (CoP) has emerged as a potentially powerful unit of analysis linking the individual and the collective because it situates the role of learning, knowledge transfer, and participation among people as the central enterprise of collective action. The authors’ surface tensions and highlight unanswered questions regarding CoP theory, concluding that it relies on a largely normative and underoperationalized set of premises. Avenues for theory development and the empirical testing of assertions are provided.
This essay seeks to explain what the “science of science communication” is by *doing* it. Surveying studies of cultural cognition and related dynamics, it demonstrates how the form of disciplined observation, measurement, and inference distinctive of scientific inquiry can be used to test rival hypotheses on the nature of persistent public conflict over societal risks; indeed, it argues that satisfactory insight into this phenomenon can be achieved only by these means, as opposed to the ad hoc story-telling dominant in popular and even some forms of scholarly discourse. Synthesizing the
Stories help people form relationships and make sense of the world around them. Business, medicine, and education have long used stories---or cases---as teaching and professional development tools. In the family engagement field, reading cases challenges those who work with families to consider multiple perspectives; think critically about real-world issues; communicate effectively; and identify family strengths. These are all abilities that educators need to work effectively with families. With this in mind, Harvard Family Research Project and the Community Engagement Team in the Department
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Margaret Caspe
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
The Space Telescope professional development program is designed to support the needs of formal and informal educators and enhance educators' science content and pedagogical knowledge. Scientist and educator teams present STEM topics and the latest educational research, while emphasizing real-world connections. The purpose is to share information about the James Webb Space Telescope mission, support the teaching of standards-based science, and incorporate Hubble discoveries into educational settings.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Space Telescope Science InstituteBonnie EisenhamerFrank SummersJohn Maple
This project will study two emerging and innovative technologies: interactive, dynamic simulations and touch-based tablet devices. The use of touch-based tablet technology (e.g., iPads) in the classroom is rapidly increasing, though little research has been done to understand effective implementation for learning science. Interactive simulations are now in use across K-16 levels of education, though what impact tablet devices have on the effective implementation of science simulations is not yet known. This project will explore this new frontier in education, over a range of contexts, providing new insight into effective interactive simulation design, classroom facilitation techniques, and the effects of tablet-based simulation use on underrepresented populations in STEM courses. Together, Dr. Emily Moore (PhET, UCB), a leader in interactive simulation design and classroom use, and Dr. Roy Tasker of the University of Western Sydney (UWS), a leader in chemistry education research, science visualizations, and teaching with technology, will research on the new technology frontier in science education - laying the groundwork for future investigations of foundational questions in technology use for learning science. This work has great potential to transform the future of science learning, making it both more engaging and more effective for diverse populations. The research findings will immediately impact 1) the design of new and existing PhET simulations - reaching millions of students and teachers using PhET simulations worldwide - and 2) the development of best practices guidelines for teachers using tablet technology to increase student learning, engagement, and participation in STEM disciplines.
The “Being Me” program was developed to bring the educational process to life through hands-on learning that promotes children’s awareness of health issues and encourages scientific inquiry in an art-focused curriculum supporting National Science Content Standards (now Next Generation Science Standards, or NGSS). In 2009, the “Being Me” partnership – Children’s National Medical Center (CNMC), the National Children’s Museum (NCM), and George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development (GW) – received a five-year National Institutes of Health Sciences Education
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Children’s Research InstituteJohn Fraser
Overview of Sustainability Professional Development and Evaluation: As part of the National Science Foundation funded "Sustainability: Promoting Sustainable Decision Making in Informal Education" project, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) and its partners developed a professional development website and workshop. The goal of this and other project deliverables was to promote sustainable decision making by building skills that allow participants to weigh their choices and choose more sustainable practices. ExhibitSEED (Exhibit Social Environmental and Economic Development) refers
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Oregon Museum of Science and IndustryRenee B. Curtis