The objective of this project is to extend the concept of crowdsourcing in citizen science to the interaction design of the organization as well as to data collection. Distributed technologies offer new opportunities for conducting scientific research on a larger scale than ever before by enabling distributed collaboration. Virtual organizations that use distributed technologies in scientific organizations have primarily focused on how dedicated, professional scientists collaborate and communicate. More recently a rapidly increasing number of citizen science virtual organizations are being formed. Citizen scientists participate in scientific endeavors and typically lack formal credentials, do not hold professional positions in scientific institutions, and bring diversity of knowledge and expertise to projects and challenges. They participate in scientific endeavors related to their personal scientific interests and create new challenges for the design of virtual organizations. In terms of intellectual merit, the project will make three specific contributions: a new interaction design for collecting biodiversity data within a nature park, a model for crowdsourcing the design of an social computing approach to citizen science, and an analysis of the impact of crowdsourcing the design on motivating participation in collecting biodiversity data. Interactive tabletop computers will be placed in two nature parks so that the design of the citizen science environment can be embedded in a park experience and engage the public in understanding more about their parks, in data collection, and develop a personal commitment to environmental sustainability issues. In terms of broader impacts, the project provides three types of impact: research training by including graduate students, broad public dissemination to enhance scientific understanding of biodiversity, and benefits to society through association with the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) and Encyclopedia of Life (EOL).
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Mary Lou MaherTom YehJennifer Preece
The National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) at the Space Science Institute (SSI), in collaboration with the Colorado Clinical and Translational Studies Institute (CTSCI), and Colorado Area Health Education Centers (AHECs), requests support for Discover Health/Descubre la Salud (DH/DS). The bilingual (English/Spanish) project will include an interactive library exhibit supported by media and community education resources to engage underserved communities in learning about their cardiovascular and digestive systems, and how to keep them healthy. The project will target underserved communities, including rural and Latino communities, working through libraries and community institutions. The project will use a strategic combination of bilingual, interactive exhibits presented at libraries and community health fairs and festivals, career events, family nights, science camps, and mini-med schools, to engage students, families, and adults in these important health issues. Project PI Robert Russell, Senior Education Associate at NCIL, and NCIL Founder Co-PI Dusenbery, Founder of NCIL, will direct the project. Dr. Jack Westfall, who will direct the Community Engagement Core of CCTSI and also directs Colorado AHECS, he will direct their subaward. An outstanding advisory committee includes biomedical researchers, community health educators, librarians, and informal science educators. They will provide expertise on biomedical science content and help guide the project's implementation. Knight Williams, Inc., a highly experienced media and community evaluation firm, will conduct the full required project evaluation.
Recent biomedical research has transformed scientific understanding of human biology. But many of these advances haven’t filtered into public awareness, hindering our ability to make good health-related decisions. A new educational program ‒ Biology of Human ‒ will help the public, particularly young people, better understand advances in biomedical research. This innovative, learning research-based science education program is strategically designed to increase awareness of and understanding about new biomedical research developments pertaining to human biology. Biology of Human will provide a sophisticated science education outreach package for students aged 11 to 15 and adults, including parents and educators. The project's goal is to leverage the latest biomedical information and innovations, a dynamic suite of educational and dissemination strategies, and research-driven approach grounded in sociology to broadly educate youth and adults about human biology. A team led by the University of Nebraska State Museum, the Department of Sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the NIH/NCRR-funded Nebraska Center for Virology (a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence) will work with science writers, kids, and educators to complete three specific aims: 1) stimulate interest in and understanding of biomedical research's importance to diverse individuals' health, communities, and environments; 2) establish partnerships among science educators, biomedical researchers, science journalists, and others to create dynamic educational resources focused on biomedical research developments and human biology; and 3) increase youths' interest in biomedical science. Biology of Human will provide adults and youth with several simultaneous, complementary options for learning about how biomedical research has helped us understand human biology including essays, books and blogs; entertaining and scientifically accurate mobile and tablet apps; activities and graphic stories; and a Web site that complements and supports the project's professional development programs. More than 175,000 youth and adults are expected to be directly impacted through this effort.
In-class projects can be an effective way for students to learn subject material that relates to authentic problems people address outside of classrooms. Jurow investigated middle-schoolers’ participation in an in-school math project based on the premise of creating a research station in Antarctica. Students’ engagement with the project and meaning making with math content shifted as students navigated through the different and often competing figured worlds of the classroom and “Antarctica.”
This longitudinal study examined factors that contribute to the persistence of underrepresented racial minority (URM) undergraduates in STEM fields. The primary source of data came from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program’s 2004 The Freshman Survey (TFS) and 2008 College Senior Survey (CSS). The sample included 3,670 students at 217 institutions who indicated on the TFS that they intended to major in a STEM field, 1,634 of whom were underrepresented minority (URM) students. Findings indicate that Black and Latino undergraduates were significantly less likely to persist in STEM
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Mitchell ChangJessica SharknessSylvia HurtadoChristopher Newman
The World Biotech Tour (WBT) is a multi-year initiative that will bring biotechnology to life at select science centers and museums worldwide. The program, supported by the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) and Biogen Foundation, is scheduled to run from 2015-2017, with the 2015 cohort in Belgium, Japan, and Portugal. The WBT will increase the impact and visibility of biotechnology among youth and the general public through hands-on and discussion-led learning opportunities. Applications are now open for the 2016 cohort! Learn more and submit an application at http://www.worldbiotechtour.org/become-a-stop
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Association of Science-Technology CentersCarlin Hsueh
Dinosaur Island is a 3D computer simulation with herds of sauropods and ceratopsians, flocks of pteranodons, hunting packs of carnivores and authentic plants and trees from over 65 million years ago all controlled by the user. You can think of Dinosaur Island as a digital terrarium in which a balance between the species and their diets must be maintained or the ecosystem will collapse. It is up to the user to determine how many and what kinds of dinosaurs and plants populate the island. Start off simple with just a few sauropods and some plants; but you better make sure that those big plant-eaters have the right food to eat. Did you know that many of the plants from the Jurassic were poisonous? You also need to make sure that there are some carnivores around to keep those sauropod herds in check; otherwise they will quickly outstrip their food supplies. Dinosaur Island is an Adventure: Yes, it is a bit like those famous movies because you can take 'photographs' of your dinosaurs, save them, post them and share them with your friends (you can even 'name' your dinosaurs, 'tag' them and track them throughout their lives). You will be able to walk' with the dinosaurs without being trampled under their giant feet. You will be able to follow along when a female T-Rex goes out to hunt without fear of becoming dinner for her family. You will be able to 'garden' by 'planting' vegetation where you like and watch the plants grow over time. Dinosaur Island is Educational: Our reputation – both in our 'serious games' and our contracted simulations – is for historical accuracy. All of our computer games, serious games and simulations are meticulously researched. Dinosaur Island will also include an extensive hyperlinked interactive 'booklet' about the dinosaurs that live on Dinosaur Island, their habitat and the plants and vegetation that grow there. Designasaurus, the game that we created in 1987, was named Educational Game of the Year. We will exploit the computer environment that is now available (more memory and faster machines allow for 3D rendering) to make Dinosaur Island even more of an immersive educational experience. Dinosaur Island is Fun: Playing with herds of dinosaurs is just good fun. You can 'pick them up' and move them around, plant crops for them to eat or you can even 'get inside' a dinosaur and control its actions. Regardless of your age, Dinosaur Island is guaranteed to be hours of fun.
This report summarizes evaluative findings from a project titled “What Curiosity Sounds Like: Discovering, Challenging, and Sharing Scientific Ideas” (a.k.a.: “Discovery Dialogues”). The project, a Full-Scale development project funded by the National Science Foundation as part of its Advancing Informal Science Learning (AISL) program, explored new ways to actively engage both lay and professional audiences, and foster meaningful communication between scientists and the general public. Appendix includes survey and interview questions.
This presentation was part of the "Broader Impacts at Centers and Large Facilities" dyad at the 2015 CAISE Convening on Broader Impacts + Informal Science Education held in Arlington, VA on April 7-8. The presentation outlines how centers and large facilities have used informal learning experiences for broader impacts, identifying key opportunity areas for Broader Impacts and Informal Education as programming, partnerships, communication, and evaluation.
This study examines broader impact activities that are used to fulfill National Science Foundation's (NSF) broader impact criterion (BIC). While there have been many studies that discuss the merits and pitfalls of asking scientists to address BIC, there have been few studies that examine exactly what types of outreach and science communication activities Principal Investigators (PIs) are proposing to do. In an effort to fill this gap, this thesis draws from science communication theory and program logic modeling to inform a qualitative analysis of proposed broader impacts activities (BIAs) in
QUEST is a unique cross-platform science journalism collaborative that creates and distributes content for radio, television, interactive, and education audiences. The project collaborative comprises six leading public media providers representing markets across the country: KQED (San Francisco), Nebraska Educational Television (NET) and Radio, UNC-TV (North Carolina), WVIZ/ideastream (Cleveland), Wisconsin Public TV (WPT) and Radio, and KCTS (Seattle). QUEST is built on the success of the local, cross-editorial QUEST model, in which professionals from multiple disciplines--radio, television
The Boys and Girls Club Afterschool Outreach Program, designed by UC Irvine Science Educators in conjunction with Chemistry at the Space-Time Limit faculty, aimed to increase elementary students' interest, enthusiasm, and learning outcomes in STEM fields through the development of hands-on physical science science lessons. External evaluation results showed the program was successful in altering students' perceptions of scientists and supported their internalization of science as a potential career choice. Now in its third year, the program continues includes support from undergraduate student, graduate student, and faculty volunteerism.