This paper describes innovative ways of bringing mathematical learning into community venues in rural settings. We selected highly engaging mathematical activities, adapted them for middle school youth and their families, and brought them to the “locavore” contexts of Farmers Markets and community agricultural fairs. “STEM Guides”—community people hired to connect youth with local STEM resources—set up math-oriented booths at local Farmers Markets and fairs. They enlisted visitors in weighing produce, comparing weights of typical fruits/vegetables to record-weighing produce, and composing
In this article we describe a model designed for rural settings that uses community-based “STEM Guides” as human brokers to engage isolated 10- to 18-year-old youth in STEM. The STEM Guides connect youth with opportunities that already exist in their communities, including after-school programs, clubs, camps, library activities, special events, contests, and competitions. STEM Guides also introduce youth and their families to virtual opportunities, such as citizen science monitoring, and statewide experiences, such as the Maine State Science Fair.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Jan MokrosJennifer AtkinsonSue AllenAlyson SaundersKate Kastelein
This article describes the research and development of an NSF-funded, five-year experimental program to strengthen informal (out-of-school) STEM learning by youth in five rural communities. The central component of the model was a cadre of community members known as ‘STEM Guides’ who were hired to work as brokers between youth and the STEM learning resources potentially available to them. These STEM Guides were respected adults with credible connections to youth, flexible schedules, the ability to travel within the community, and enthusiasm for identifying local STEM resources. The Guides were
This document is the final summative evaluation report written by EDC, the external evaluator of the STEM Guides project. The report concludes that the project was highly ambitious, with many dynamic and evolving pieces. It was deemed successful as a model of brokering connections between students aged 10-18 and STEM resources and opportunities in rural Maine communities. The STEM Guides program contributed to the increase in STEM awareness within each community, as well as connecting youth with interesting and relevant STEM experiences.
The purpose of this study is to develop an instrument to assess civic scientific literacy measurement (SLiM), based on media coverage. A total of 50 multiple-choice items were developed based on the most common scientific terms appearing in media within Taiwan. These questions covered the subjects of biology (45.26%, 22 items), earth science (37.90%, 19 items), physics (11.58%, 6 items) and chemistry (5.26%, 3 items). A total of 1034 students from three distinct groups (7th graders, 10th graders, and undergraduates) were invited to participate in this study. The reliability of this instrument
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Carl-Johan RundgrenShu-Nu Chang RundgrenYuen-Hsien TsengPei-Ling LinChun-Yen Chang
The videogames industry has been flourishing. In 2010 in America alone, total consumer spending on the games industry totaled $25.1 billion (Siwek, 2010), surpassing both the music industry ($15.0 billion) and box office movies ($10.5 billion). It is also one of the fastest growing industries in the U.S. economy. From 2005 to 2010, for example, the videogames industry more than doubled while the entire U.S. GDP grew by about 16 percent. The amount of time young people spend with entertainment media in general is staggering. Youth aged 8 to 18 years old consume about 10.45 hours per day of
The Science and Math Informal Learning Education (SMILE) pathway is serving the digital resource management needs of the informal learning community. The science and math inquiry experiences offered by science and technology centers, museums, and out-of-school programs are distinct from those found in formal classrooms. Interactive exhibits, multimedia presentations, virtual environments, hands-on activities, outdoor field guides, engineering challenges, and facilitated programs are just some of the thoughtfully designed resources used by the informal learning community to make science and math concepts come alive. With an organizational framework specifically designed for informal learning resources, the SMILE pathway is empowering educators to locate and explore high-quality education materials across multiple institutions and collections. The SMILE pathway is also expanding the participation of underrepresented groups by creating an easily accessible nexus of online materials, including those specifically added to extend the reach of effective science and math education to all communities. To promote the use of the SMILE pathway and the NSDL further, project staff are creating professional development programs and a robust online community of educators and content experts to showcase best practices tied to digital resources. Finally, to guarantee continued growth and involvement in the SMILE pathway, funding and editorial support is being provided to expansion partners, beyond the founding institutions, to add new digital resources to the NSDL.
Communication is an essential component to scientific inquiry, and specifically the primary literature is highly valued by scientists. Yet, the role of primary literature within scientific inquiry is generally absent from the science classroom. In this study we examined how middle and high school student perceptions of scientific inquiry changed after they engaged in a peer-review and publication process of their research papers. We interviewed twelve students who published their papers in the [Journal], a science journal dedicated to publishing the research of middle and high school students
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Sarah FankhauserGwendolynne ReidGwendolyn MirzoyanClara MeadersOlivia Ho-Shing
Researchers from Ideum and XPRIZE Foundation recently completed a multi-site study of the way people use an innovative experience on health technologies. Funded by the Qualcomm Foundation, the team traveled to three US science centers to see how museum visitors interacted with and learned from the exhibit, which Ideum and XPRIZE designed and developed in 2018.
The exhibit was funded by XPRIZE after 2017’s Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE competition, in which teams developed ideas for new kinds of portable medical devices. Running on a custom 65” Ideum Platform multitouch table, the experience
This project will advance efforts of the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program to better understand and promote practices that increase students' motivations and capacities to pursue careers in fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) by engaging in hands-on field experience, laboratory/project-based entrepreneurship tasks and mentorship experiences. This ITEST project aims to research the STEM career interests of late elementary and middle-school students and, based on the results of that research, build an informal education program to involve families and community partners to enhance their science knowledge, attitudes, experiences, and resources. There is an emphasis on underrepresented and low income students and their families.
The project will research and test a new model to promote the development of positive attitudes toward STEM and to increase interest in STEM careers. Phase 1 of the project will include exploratory research examining science capital and habitus for a representative sample of youth at three age ranges: 8-9, 9-10 and 11-12 years. The project will measure the access that youth have to adults who engage in STEM careers and STEM leisure activities. In phase II the project will test a model with a control group and a treatment group to enhance science capital and habitus for youth.
Today’s digital and online media demand an approach to learning keyed to a networked and interconnected world. The growth of online communities, social and online media, open educational resources, ubiquitous computing, big data, and digital production tools means young people are coming of age with a growing abundance of access to knowledge, information, and social connection. These shifts are tied to a host of new opportunities for interest-driven learning, creative expression, and diverse forms of contribution to civic, political, and economic life. Even learning of traditional academic
There is growing evidence that science capital (science-related forms of social and cultural capital) and family habitus (dispositions for science) influence STEM career decisions by youth. This study presents reliability and validity evidence for a survey of factors that influence career aspirations in science. Psychometric properties of the NextGen Scientist Survey were evaluated with 889 youth in grades 6–8. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) found four factors (Science Expectancy Value, Science Experiences, Future Science Task Value, and Family Science Achievement Values). Using