Poster presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting in Washington, DC. It describes a project that is designed to engage Hispanic students in grades K-5 in STEM in afterschool programs within community-based organizations (CBOs).
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Patricial and Phillip Frost Museum of ScienceCheryl Juarez
This research project examines the way that children and parents talk about science outside of school and, specifically, how they show distributed expertise about biological topics during visits to a science center. We adopt a theoretical framework that looks at learning on three interweaving planes: individual, social, and cultural (tools, language, worldviews, and artifacts). We analyze conversations to study how these three planes show learning processes as families work together to create explanations of biological phenomena. Findings include: (a) children and parents made epistemic moves
In recent years, novel paradigms of computing have emerged, which enable computational power to be embedded in artefacts and environments in novel ways. These developments may create new possibilities for using computing to enhance learning. This paper presents the results of a design process that set out to explore interactive techniques, which utilized ubiquitous computer technology, to stimulate active participation, involvement and learning by children visiting a museum. Key stakeholders, such as museum curators and docents, were involved throughout the process of creating the exhibition
A study of docent-led guided school tours at a museum of natural history was investigated. Researchers engaged in naturalistic inquiry to describe how natural history content was conveyed to students and what students gained from this model of touring. They also investigated how the content and pedagogy within the guided tour complemented recommendations from formal science standards documents and informal learning literature. About 30 visiting school groups in Grades 2-8 were observed. Teachers (n = 30) and select students (n = 85) were interviewed. Researchers found that tours were organized
Museums are favorite and respected resources for learning worldwide. In Israel, there are two relatively large science centers and a number of small natural history museums that are visited by thousands of students. Unlike other countries, studying museum visits in Israel only emerges in the last few years. The study focused on the roles and perceptions of teachers, who visited four natural history museums with their classes. The study followed previous studies that aimed at understanding the role teachers play in class visits to museums (Griffin & Symington, 1997, Science Education, 81, 763
Research chemists from the Center for Enabling New Technologies Through Catalysis (CENTC) worked collaboratively with the Liberty Science Center (LSC) to develop a hands-on activity to educate visitors about how small molecules derived from petroleum feedstocks are used to make larger molecules that are then utilized in the production of everyday consumer goods. Researchers, faculty, and students provided the chemistry content and LSC worked with Blue Telescope Studios to create a user-friendly program for the Ideum Multitouch Table. The resulting “Molecule Magic,” an engaging and intuitive
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Center for Enabling New Technology Through Catalysis (CENTC)Abby O'Connor
The attached document describes the results of evaluation of affective and cognitive impact of the Fusion Science Theater show model. Affective gains were measured by post-show questionnaires and cognitive gains were measured by having audience members vote for their prediction to the investigation question before and after the "lesson" of the show. Appendix includes instruments.
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Madison Area Technical CollegeDr. Joanne Cantor
The data collection for this project involved three audiences: (1) a post-event survey completed by participants at the 'Eight-Legged Encounters' event, (2) a club experience survey completed by middle school students in an after-school club, and (3) focus groups, observations, and end-of-course evaluations conducted with students in the BIOS 497/897 'Communicating Science through Outreach' seminar class at the University of Lincoln, Nebraska. Year two data collection was completed from September 2013 - March 2014. Appendix includes survey.
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University of Nebraska-LincolnEileen Hebets
The data collection for this project involves three audiences: (1) a post-event survey completed by participants at the 'Eight-Legged Encounters' event, (2) a club experience survey completed by middle school students in an after school club, and (3) focus groups, observations, and end-of-course evaluations conducted with students in the BIOS 497/897 'Communicating Science through Outreach' seminar class at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Data was collected from February to April, 2013 and the evaluation was conducted by the Bureau of Sociological Research (BOSR). Appendix contains surveys
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University of Nebraska-LincolnEileen Hebets
This project takes advantage of the charismatic nature of arachnids to engage the public in scientific inquiry, dialogue, and exploration. The project has two specific programs: (1) The development, implementation, and assessment of an informal museum event entitled 'Eight-Legged Encounters' which now has more than 25 associated activity stations. These activities encompass stations relating to (a) classification and systematics (e.g., 'What is an Arthropod', 'Create a Chelicerate', and 'Assemble an Arachnid'), (b) spider-specific stations focused on silk (e.g., 'Build a Burrow', 'Cribellate vs. Ecribellate Silk', 'Weave a Web', and 'Catch a Moth'), and (c) research related stations (e.g., 'Microscope Madness' and 'Community Experiment'). In addition, there is a stand-alone module entitled the 'Path of Predators' that includes an activity booklet and eleven stations that walk participants through the eleven living arachnid orders. Each stations has original artwork backdrops, clay sculptures, trading cards, and collectible stamps (participants place stamps on a phlylogenetic tree depicting the current hypothesis of evolutionary relationships among the eleven orders). Most stations have live animals and prizes are given to participants that complete their stamp booklet. 'Eight-Legged Encounters' has been hosted at the Nebraska State Museum (Morrill Hall) twice, with record-breaking attendance (>800 people in
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University of Nebraska-LincolnEileen Hebets
This project is a full-scale development project that builds upon a pilot program funded by the NSF in 2007 (LEAP into Science/Pilot), developed by The Franklin Institute (FI) in collaboration with The Free Library of Philadelphia. By connecting children’s literature and hands-on science activities in out-of-school settings, LEAP/Pilot has promoted student and family engagement in science and literacy in Philadelphia for over six years. In 2011, a cohort of ten national sites joined the initiative to pilot LEAP into Science resources in multiple out-of-school time contexts and within unique institutional partnerships. The 10 sites, consisting of 27 institutional partnerships representing a diverse group of organizations (museums, libraries, K-12 school districts, universities, and public media). Through continued collaboration in Philadelphia and with these national cohort sites, LEAP into Science: Engaging Diverse Community Partners in Science and Literacy is leveraging the relationships, experiences, and resources initiated in LEAP /Pilot to address the needs of new audiences, meet partners’ requests for enhanced professional development, and study the efficacy of this program in different out-of-school time structures and populations across the country. The result will be an adaptable program that more effectively reaches diverse audiences in science and literacy through community partners, as well as a stronger understanding of implementation for improved sustainability.
The museum visit is an important part of elementary school science teaching. However, a divide exists between teachers, who require curricular accountability, and museums, who emphasize free-choice exploration. Can a carefully constructed worksheet bridge this divide by providing free-choice exploration of curricular topics during the museum visit? In the present study, a theoretical framework was constructed to inform the design of worksheets as free-choice learning devices. This framework was used to analyze the design of an existing museum worksheet. Subsequently, curriculum-related