The Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) will collaborate with the Children's Museum of Houston, Miami Museum of Science and the New California Media (an association of over 500 ethnic media organizations) to provide youth ages 7-10 with standards-based science and math activities using newpapers as a vehicle. Mathematics and science challenges, already field-tested by the LHS, are presented as educational inserts using cartoons, on a weekly or monthly basis. The content to be addressed includes numbers and operations, algebra, geometry, science as inquiry and life science through engaging formats in Spanish-language newspapers. While building on the "Newspapers in Education" program, strategic impact will be realized by demonstrating the ability of a more intensive approach to reach families of underserved and underrepresented audiences through a collaboration of print media, museums, libraries, schools and community organizations. The ultimate goal is to increase exposure to informal science education activities at museums and in Spanish-language media. Deliverables include the newspaper activities (designed for families to use at home), family sessions at local libraries, science centers, after school programs and community organizations as well as a festival and website. Promotional sessions at New California Media Expos and workshops at the Asociation of Science and Technology Centers conferences will introduce the project to media and museum partners. This project will target underserved communities in California, Texas and Florida and is estimated to reach more than 450,000 families by year three.
The Numbers Alive project will model the use of number sense and provide opportunities for its practice through the production of ten half-hour television programs for students, one program for parents and care-givers, and print materials in support of both types of programs. The targeted student audience is fifth and sixth graders. The print materials supplement the televised programs. The series emphasizes number concepts and problem solving strategies in support of the NCTM Standards.
ZOOM! is the Emmy Award-winning series for 8 to 11 year olds that ran on PBS for six years in the 1970's. WGBH, where the series was produced, is hoping to update the series and produce new programs for national broadcast. This planning grant will enable WGBH to make planning for math and science education an integral part of the piloting phase the station is about to enter. Specific activities to be conducted with the NSF support include such things as: Holding a series of science and math brainstorming sessions; Revamping the series advisory committee by adding more people with expertise in math, science, and elementary education; Hiring a science and mathematics content director; Consulting with outreach partners to develop ways to extend the series' impact beyond the television audience; Refining the science and mathematics goals; Developing methods to integrate science and math into the programs; Producing sample math/science segments, using different approaches; Testing the sample segments for audience effectiveness.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Brigid SullivanAlison BassettCandace JulyanKate Taylor
WNET is conducting planning for Wild TV, a new environmental education public television series for children ages 8-13. The planning activities consist of post-production and evaluation of a new version of the pilot episode of the series. WNET will reversion the pilot episode to address concerns raised by the reviewers to a previous proposal, as well as incorporating recommendations from the formative evaluation conducted by RMC Research Corporation. During the planning phase, the producers will work closely with Dr. Betty Faber and Mark Testa, two environmental educators with expertise in extra-curricular settings. These educators have been added to the advisory committee and Dr. Faber will serve as lead content advisor to the project. After production of the revised pilot is completed, RMC Research Corporation will conduct another evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the revisions to the project.
This project creates and implements a national parent engagement and education campaign. It provides a framework for all parents to explore existing and alternative forms of assessment within the context of changes in current classroom math curriculum and practices. The campaign also provides a mechanism for enhancing communication between teachers, schools and parents in order to ensure support for math strategies and practices by all members of learning communities nationwide. Project products include: * A thirty-minute documentary on mathematics reform and assessment, to be broadcast by public television stations, that will also include a viewer's guide and local publicity materials. * A Community Education Kit containing a Leader's Guide, Parent's Handbook, and short videotapes. Project materials and activities are designed for parents of elementary-age children, with a specific emphasis for materials on grades 3-5.
Reading Rainbow is a long running, highly acclaimed children's television series designed to engage children in reading. Over the years, the series has incorporated both a science strand and a mathematics strand. Nebraskans for Public Television is now producing two additional math-focused programs and one integrated math/science program. These programs will further integrate math-oriented books into the series, will heighten the visibility of quality children's math-oriented books, and will model how children can understand and enjoy mathematics and science in the world around them. Outreach will be coordinated with libraries and museums nationwide. The project also will expand the "Math for Families Workshops," which were previously developed, from 50 public broadcasting stations to 100 stations. The workshops also will be integrated into the PBS "Ready To Learn" endeavor.
CTW is approaching completion of the fifth and final season of new show production for Square One TV -- a daily PBS television series designed to promote interest in and enthusiasm for mathematics among eight- to twelve-year-olds, with special attention given to girls and minority children. Research has shown that Square One TV is educationally effective, and the series has received numerous awards, from both the educational and broadcasting communities.
Children's Television Workshop(CTW) has produced a special 30 minute program for their "3-2-1 CONTACT" science series on the space program in response to the recent space shuttle tragedy. CTW has extensive footage on the scientific aspects of the space program along with interviews with astronauts Charles Bolden, Sally Ride, Mary Cleave and Franklin Chang-Diaz. The program is hosted by Robin, one of the regulars on "3-2-1 CONTACT." This program, aimed at children ages 8-12, reviews the scientific aspects of space exploration, examines the risks, explores the many- faceted life of being an astronaut, and places the space program in an understandable context for children.
In March 2007, RMC Research Corporation completed work on a study of children's responses to a selection of DragonflyTV (DFTV) video segments as one part of the Summative Evaluation of the DragonflyTV GPS: Going Places in Science TV series1. This report presents findings from the Children's Viewing Study, which includes two distinct goals. The first goal addresses the qualities and characteristics of science television which contribute to effective educational television experiences for children. This study offered the first in an iterative process aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Alice Apley, Ph.D.Wendy J. GrahamJenny ScalaTwin Cities Public Television
SciGirls is a national outreach program of DragonflyTV supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation's Program for Gender Equity. SciGirls empowers PBS outreach professionals and science museum educators, often partnering with local youth organizations, educators and parents, to deliver hands-on science encouragement and career guidance to girls in their communities. SciGirls is based on existing standards-based DragonflyTV outreach resources, which teach scientific inquiry.
Sea Studios Foundation is developing a five-hour television-based project that will examine "Earth System Science," which will be produced in association with the National Geographic Society (NGS). Geologists, biologists, oceanographers, climatologists, social scientists and others are joining forces to understand the planet's rapidly changing environment. The series will follow the on-going research of these scientists as they investigate the links between Earth's geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere. These programs are planned as the first season of an annual series on the topic. Educational outreach will include a hands-on traveling exhibit to be developed and tested by the Maryland Science Center; an Educator's Guide for print and electronic distribution to informal science centers and community organizations; a "resource toolkit" to augment the Educator's Guide and an Internet site hosted by NGS that provides links to existing and new environmental resources. The series content also will be integrated into several NGS venues including: National Geographic Today, the daily news program on the National Geographic Channel; National Geographic Magazine, which will create a "global report card" as an annual feature; and National Geographic for Kids magazine, which is distributed to children in grades three through six. The project advisory board includes: Richard Barber, Professor of Biological Oceanography, Duke University Robert Costanza, Professor of Zoology, University of Maryland Gretchen Daily, Interdisciplinary Research Scientist, Stanford University Robert Dunbar, Specialist in Global Environmental Change, Stanford University Habiba Gitay, Senior Lecturer, National Centre for Development Studies, Asia Pacific School of Economics and Management, Canberra, Australia Michael Glantz, Senior Scientist, the Environmental and Societal Impacts Group, National Center for Atmospheric Research John Katzenberger, Executive Director of Aspen Global change Institute Jane Lubchenco, Professor of Marine Biology, Oregon State University J. R. McNeill, Professor of History, Georgetown University Harold Mooney, Professor of Environmental Biology, Stanford University Steven Schneider, Professor of Environmental Biology and Global Change, Stanford University Brian Walker, Coordinator of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization's Biodiversity Sector, Adelaide, South Australia
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Mark ShelleyTierney ThysDavid Ellisco
FETCH, produced by WGBH, is a new PBS television series with accompanying Web and outreach activities targeted to 6- to 10-year olds. The program brings science learning to young children by uniquely blending live-action with animation, game show convention with reality programming, and humor with academics. The intended impacts are to 1) cultivate in children "scientific literacy" -- an appreciation for and enjoyment of science, the skills necessary to become independent investigators and a broad understanding of scientific concepts; 2) provide project collaborators with content-rich activities for informal science education in a range of settings; and 3) demonstrate how media can be used to teach substantive science. The requested funds will allow the project to expand the science curriculum with 20 new half-hour episodes and expand the Web site, focusing on three new science themes: human body, force and motion, and earth and the environment. In addition, funds will support new educational resources for afterschool partners and a toolkit for FETCH exhibits, which will be developed in coordination with museum partners. Goodman Research Group will conduct summative evaluation of both the television show and the museum toolkit.