After-school programs, scout groups, community service activities, religious youth groups, and other community-based activities have long been thought to play a key role in the lives of adolescents. But what do we know about the role of such programs for today's adolescents? How can we ensure that programs are designed to successfully meet young people's developmental needs and help them become healthy, happy, and productive adults? Community Programs to Promote Youth Development explores these questions, focusing on essential elements of adolescent well-being and healthy development. It
WGBH is producing Seasons II and III of ZOOM, a television series featuring kids that gives viewers in the 8- to 11-year-old range a chance to explore, experiment, and share their creativity with the world. Each season would consist of 40, daily, half-hour shows -- each including a number of science and/or mathematics segments. A unique aspect of ZOOM is that every idea and activity on the show comes from a child who writes or e-mails the show and who is credited on-air for his or her contribution. Production staff and a working group of advisors with expertise in science and math education take these raw ideas and develop them into program segments and outreach projects designed to encourage "habits of mind" -- a set of problem-solving skills and dispositions toward science and math that has been developed in concert with the advisors. Three over-arching science and math-based themes also guide the way science and math are presented over the course of a season. Outreach for Seasons II and III will build on the solid base of outreach developed for Season I, and will consist of: ZOOMerang: Every child who communicates with ZOOM will get something back such as a compilation of science and math activities, jokes, poems, recipes and a series update. ClubZOOM: A set of standards-based science and math activities will be developed along with guidance for how to create after-school clubs. This effort will be pilot tested at 20 sites. ZOOMzones: These are areas in science-technology centers and museums that are devoted to ZOOM and include opportunities for youth and families to interact with science and math content featured on ZOOM. Ten pilot ZOOMzone sites were developed for Season I (from 80 applications). The number of ZOOMzones will be increased and continuing support will be offered to existing sites during Seasons II and III. ZOOMdays: During Season III, WGBH will develop ZOOMdays at shopping malls to reach youth who may not have access to ZOOMzones or ClubZOOM. ZOOMweb site: This web site provides an outreach extension to the TV series by collecting and sharing submissions; illustrating and producing science and math activities; creating a ZOOM community; providing research links to other sites; and aiding adults who are interested in furthering ZOOM's science and math activities in their homes, classrooms, museums and after-school programs.
The Educational Develpoment Center (EDC) and National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST), in collaboration with science centers in AZ, MA, TX, NY, NC and CA, will develop and implement a science curriculum for informal audiences targeting children ages 8-12. Each science center will work with six community centers that serve youth in after-school programs. Science center staff will train after-school program leaders from the 36 community centers at monthly sessions, in addition to holding monthly events for families. Curriculum development will use interesting topics aligned with national standards and structure investigations as games using simple materials. The units will enable children to work in teams, and include follow-up, discussion and extended investigations using websites. It is anticipated that each child will complete 4-6 related investigations. While the six science centers will provide the content expertise, EDC and NIOST will develop the training and assessment program and provide additional technical support for the community centers. The result will be a model to support out-of-school programs that combines science centers and community resource people, centered around an activity-based curriculum focused on inquiry. Up to 1,000 children will be involved in field tests each summer. This proposal builds on "Design It!" (ESI 98-14765), which created an informal science curriculum focused on engineering principles.
WGBH is conducting preliminary work on an untested and novel idea for a new multimedia project, EGames. The target audience for the project is children ages 9-12. The project envisions a 13-part television series which combines the appeal of a game show with the drama of real-world challenges to engender enthusiasm and promote understanding of engineering in kids nationwide. The television programs will be complemented with materials and training for engineers to mount EGames events in public venues and run workshops in schools, afterschool programs and libraries, and an extensive companion website. During the research phase, WGBH will convene a Content Advisory Board which would include professional engineers, curriculum developers, classroom teachers, professors of engineering and informal educators, and a Funding Advisory Board. They will also write the series curriculum, design the game, develop outreach, Web, and evaluation plans, and develop and test a sample engineering challenge with a group of contestants to work out logistic and production questions. This will inform the next stage of project development. Note: This project led to the series "FETCH! With Ruff Ruffman."
The Educational Broadcasting Corporation (WNET) is producing 13 half-hour animated television programs to engage youth aged 8-11 in the fun and challenge of mathematics. Cyberchase will encourage viewers to develop and sustain positive attitudes toward mathematics, help increase their mathematics knowledge and skills, and actively involve them in mathematical reasoning and problem solving. The premise of the series is that a dastardly fiend is on a mission to take over cyberspace. Three youngsters are summoned into the cyberworld to stop him. Their only weapon: BRAIN POWER! Repeatedly, the young heroes find themselves in danger and must use math and logic to escape. In addition to the television series, Cyberchase materials and outreach will continue to involve children in mathematics. Outreach components include: A web component that provides mathematical activities and content 100,000 free copies of a Cyberchase magazine An insert in the 4th grade edition of Weekly Reader - reaching 30,000 teachers and 800,000 children. Teachers guide to facilitate classroom use of the series The incorporation of Cyberchase activities into the afterschool and weekend programs of Boys & Girls Clubs, the Urban League, and the AAAS Black Church Project The PI and Co-Executive Producer for the project is Sandra Sheppard, WNET's Director of Educational Video. The Co-Content Directors are Cary Bolster, Director of PBS Mathline's K-12 projects, and Michael Templeton, former Content Director of "The Magic School Bus." The Co-Executive Producer will be Kristin Martin, formerly Executive Producer for "The Magic School Bus." Advisors to the project include Glenda Lappan, Frances Curcio, Joel Schneider, Solomon Garfunkel, Laura Jeffers, Jimmie Rios, Susan Markowitz, Virginia Thompson, Simon Graty, Cyrilla Hergenham, Kay Gilliland, and Deborah Anne Robertson.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Sandra SheppardMichael TempletonBarbara Flagg
The Educational Broadcasting Corporation (WNET, New York) is producing 14 half-hour episodes of "Cyberchase," with accompanying outreach, to extend the new animated television series into a second season. " Cyberchase," which began airing on PBS in January, 2002, engages children ages eight to eleven years old in the fun and challenge of mathematics. Its goal is to demonstrate the usefulness of mathematics and empower children to become mathematical problem-solvers by fostering a positive attitude toward mathematics, reinforcing basic mathematics concepts, modeling reasoning skills and motivating children to approach mathematics with confidence. The funds will also support the design and implementation of an outreach program, including materials for parents; a workshop activity kit for schools, libraries and museums; and ten pilot after-school programs. Specifically, outreach components include: A web component that provides mathematical activities and content for the target audience and their parents; A 12-page Cyberchase Magazine (50,000 copies); A 20-page Teacher's Guide (15,000 copies); Collector Cards (50,000 sets of six cards each); and a Poster Peer review, extensive evaluation and a national advisory board will inform all components.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Sandra SheppardCarey BolsterMichael TempletonBarbara Flagg
Kinetic City After School is a two-year project that will produce a web-based after-school program for children ages 9-11. The on-line adventure will enable users to enter a virtual universe where a computer virus (Deep Delete) systematically attacks a new area of science each month (analogous to one of the 12 Project 2061 Benchmarks for Science Literacy). As students battle the virus, they learn Benchmarks learning goals. Each unit invites children to think about the problem, take action and reflect on their experience. The activities accommodate different learning styles and are supplemented by live audio chats with scientists and a self-assessment enables students to earn Kinetic City Power Points. Power Points can be donated to after school programs without computers and Internet access. These sites may in turn, exchange their accumulated Power Points to obtain computers, Internet service and a site license for "Kinetic City After School." Although the program is web-based, most of the activity extensions are done off-line. "Kinetic City After School" will be introduced to after-school sites with a two-day training workshop, with follow-up via phone meetings and site visits. Supporting materials will include a Leader Guide, Journal and Kinetic City Home Crew activity pages for use in the home.