As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds innovative resources for use in a variety of settings. This project will develop and research an integrated children's media and early childhood educator professional development strategy to prepare preschoolers with social-emotional skills that provide a foundation for later math learning success. The social-emotional skills include persistence, risk-taking, regulating anxieties, and collaborating to solve problems. Media components include Peg+Cat television episodes, videos, games and apps distributed through PBS broadcast and online. The integrated professional development model is designed to impact these educators' understanding of math and develop their skills for fostering in children a positive math mindset. Additional resources include a new Peg+Cat summer day camp at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh. The project partners include a media company, The Fred Rogers Company; researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and St. Vincent College; and the evaluator, Rockman et al. This project is unique in its focus on integrating social-emotional skills with early math learning and educator skill development. It will fill an important niche in the research literature and has the potential to impact media practice which is undergoing significant change as new digital tools and technologies become available for learning. Both standardized and researcher-developed measures will be used to assess learning outcomes, including early childhood educators' attitudes and quality of instruction, as well as children's interest and engagement in math. The research design includes iterative data collection to inform the development and refinement of the professional learning for teachers. The mixed methods approach will include classroom observations, interviews and focus groups with educators, and parent questionnaires. Key questions include: does exposure to Peg+Cat positively relate to children's use of social-emotional skills during math learning activities? Does educators' exposure to the professional development training improve their attitudes and abilities to infuse math instruction with social-emotional skills? Does having an educator who received Peg+Cat training impact children's engagement and interest in math?
As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds innovative resources for use in a variety of settings. This research project leverages ongoing longitudinal research to investigate whether, and if so how, youth from ages 10 to 15 in a diverse, under-resourced urban community become interested and engaged in STEM. The project addresses a global issue; fewer youth choose to major in scientific fields or take science coursework at high school or university levels. These declining numbers result in fewer STEM professionals and fewer scientifically literate citizens who are able to function successfully in an increasingly scientific and technological society. These declines are observed for youth as a whole, but are most pronounced for girls and particular non-white ethnic minorities. Data collected from youth in this community of study, including non-white ethnic minorities, mirrors this decline. NSF funding will support a five-year systematic and systemic process in which project researchers work collaboratively with existing informal and formal educational partners (e.g., museums, libraries, afterschool providers, schools) to develop sets of customized, connected, and coordinated learning interventions, in and out of school, for youth with different backgrounds, needs, and interests, all with the goal of averting or dampening this decline of STEM interest and participation during early adolescence. In addition to new research and community STEM networks, this project will result in a Community Toolkit that includes research instruments and documentation of network-building strategies for use by other researchers and practitioners nationally and internationally. This mixed methods exploratory study has two distinct but interrelated populations - youth and educators from across informal and formal institutions. To develop a clearer understanding of the factors that influence youths' STEM interest development over time, particularly among three youth STEM Interest Profiles identified in a secondary analysis (1-Dislike Math, 2-Like all STEM, 3-Dislike all STEM), the design combines surveys with in-depth interviews and observations. To study educators and institutions, researchers will combine interviews, focus groups, and observations to better understand factors that influence community-wide, data-driven approaches to supporting youth interest development. Research will be conducted in three phases with the goal of community-level change in youth STEM interest and participation. In Phase 1 (Years 1 & 2) four educational partners will develop interventions for a 6th and 7th grade youth cohort that will be iteratively refined through a design-based approach. Educational partners and researchers will meet to review and discuss interest and participation data and use these data to select content, as well as plan activities and strategies within their programs (using a simplified form of conjecture mapping). By Phase 2 (Years 3 & 4) four additional partners will be included, more closely modeling the complex system of the community. With support from researchers support and existing partners, new educational partners will similarly review and discuss data, using these to select content, as well as plan activities consistent with program goals and strategies. Additional interventions will be implemented by the new partners and further assessed and refined with a new 6th and 7th grade cohort, along with the existing interventions of the first four partners. In Phase 3 (Year 5) data will be collected on pre-post community-level changes in STEM interest and participation and the perceived effectiveness of this approach for youth. These data will inform future studies.
Disparities in engineering participation and achievement by women and individuals from traditionally underserved racial and ethnic groups have been persistent. Approaches outside the context of university and school reform, including approaches to supporting interest development in early childhood, have not been fully considered by educators and policymakers. This AISL Pathways project will focus on engineering, which has emerged as a critical topic in the STEM education field and a prominent aspect of educational standards and policies. Building on a strong empirical and theoretical base, it will lay the foundation for future research efforts to advance the field's limited understanding of early childhood engineering-related interest development, especially through parent-child interactions; create research tools for studying engineering-related interest in young children; and identify effective strategies for supporting long-term engineering interest pathways. "Head Start on Engineering" is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants. Through an asset-based approach and authentic engagement with families and community organizations, Head Start on Engineering will pilot research and program activities that are sensitive to the constraints of low-income families and build on the resources and funds of knowledge within these communities. It will test and refine an innovative, theoretical model of early childhood interest development. The overall design of the pilot study will be mixed-method and short-term longitudinal, with data collected before, during, and after program implementation from participating families. Quantitative measures will allow for consistent comparisons across groups and within families, while qualitative data will help explore complex factors and processes hypothesized in the theoretical framework and related to program implementation. This work will allow the team time to address unanswered questions and issues around how to feasibly operationalize key aspects of the revised theoretical model in preparation for more extensive, longitudinal and experimental investigations as part of the next phase of the project. Understanding and honoring parents' beliefs, knowledge, and experiences is central to this project. In developing and implementing both the programs and research activities, the team will adopt culturally responsive and asset-based perspectives. The Pathways project is a collaboration between the Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of lifelong, free-choice learning for all communities through research, practice, and policy initiatives; Mt. Hood Community College Head Start program; the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), a nationally renowned science museum; and the Center for STEM Education at the University of Notre Dame. The project involves families with four-year-old children who attend the Head Start program. The collaboration between educators, community organizations, and researchers and the integrated approach to research and program development will ensure that study findings translate to practical and effective education strategies and that future research efforts are well-grounded in the realities of practitioners and learners.
JOURNEY TO PLANET EARTH is a new television science series and outreach initiative from Emmy award- winning producers Marilyn and Hal Weiner. With a comprehensive informal and formal education program designed by the Chicago Academy of Sciences, the project will educate and motivate millions of people about the most important health and environmental issues of the 21st century. Against a backdrop of scientific findings illustrating the complexity and fragility of the Earth's natural systems, the series will provide a much needed perspective to help students and the general public understand and cope with the difficulties of developing a global agenda that addresses the health and environmental concerns of the next millennium. JOURNEY TO PLANET EARTH's outreach initiative targets middle-school aged youth in a variety of informal and formal educational contexts, including ten of the country's leading science museums. It is supported by a comprehensive evaluation program and strategic outreach partnerships with organizations such as the North American Association for Environmental Education, the Geological Survey, the International Food Policy Research Institute, the National 4-H, the Department of Agriculture's Classroom Program, the GLOBE Program and AAAS.
A team of researchers and practitioners developed a museum program to coach families in the skills of scientific inquiry at interactive exhibits. The program was inspired by the increasing focus on scientific inquiry in schools and the growing number of open-ended exhibit designs in science museums. The development process involved major decisions in two arenas: which inquiry skills to teach, and what pedagogical strategies to use to teach them. After many rounds of refinement based on evaluation with families, the final program, called Inquiry Games, improved visitors' inquiry behavior in
This paper draws on ethnographic data to bring equity to the fore within discussions of tinkering and making. Vossoughi, Escudé, Kong & Hooper argue that equity lies in the how of teaching and learning through specific ways of: designing making environments, using pedagogical language, integrating students’ cultural and intellectual histories, and expanding the meanings and purposes of STEM learning. The authors identify and exemplify emergent equity-oriented design principles within the Tinkering After-School Program—a partnership between the Exploratorium and the Boys and Girls Clubs of San
The overall objective of this planning project was to examine the potential effectiveness of the Signing Science Pictionary (SSP) in increasing the ability of parents and their deaf and hard of hearing children to engage in informal science learning. To achieve this objective, research and development included four goals. 1) Design several SSP-based activities to help family members engage in informal science learning. 2) Examine the potential effectiveness of the SSP in increasing family member’s signed science vocabulary. 3) Find out about the potential effectiveness of the SSP in
The Learning Labs in Libraries and Museums program was launched in 2011 by a public-private partnership between the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in response to President Obama's Educate to Innovate initiative. Through two cycles of national competitions, libraries, museums, and other community partners at 24 sites were funded to create innovative teen spaces that followed the principles of the emerging Connected Learning Framework. Learning Labs often involve partnerships and collaborations between libraries and other
Explainers have a longstanding presence in science museums and centres, and play a significant role in the institutions’ educational agenda. They interact with the public, and help make visitors’ experiences meaningful and memorable. Despite their valuable contributions, little research attention has been paid to the role and practice of these individuals. From the limited research literature that does exist, we know that museum educators employ a complexity of skills and knowledge. We also know such educators have a variety of experiences and qualifications – this creates a rich diversity
With this 3-year project, TERC and the Museum of Science (MoS) Boston are studying how family and school visitors integrate iPod Touch versions of the Signing Science Pictionary (SSP), Signing Science Dictionary (SSD), and Signing Math Dictionary (SMD) into their museum experience and the impact of dictionary use. This report focuses on school visitors. Each dictionary includes more than 700 standards-based science or mathematics terms. The SSP (funded in part by grants from the Shapiro Family Foundation and the U. S. Department of Education, Grant #H327A080040) is intended for children ages 5
With NCRR SEPA Phase I funding, the Exploratorium developed a microscope imaging station (MIS) for public use in the museum. At this facility, visitors explore living things using research-grade equipment. For visitors, microscopes and images are engagement points for learning more about basic biology, biomedical research, and human health. With SEPA Phase II funding, the Exploratorium proposes to use the infrastructure and educational approach developed in Phase I to: (1) Create a wider, more comprehensive array of biomedically relevant, image-based materials-including still and time-lapse images, movies, and teaching activities; and (2) Disseminate these to students, teachers, museum visitors, the broader public, and other science centers. The Exploratorium will collaborate with biomedical researchers to generate high-resolution images and plan public programs. Material from these collaborations will be on current biomedical topics. Planned dissemination activities include eight "Meet the Scientist and Learn about Their Research" public programs; Saturday teacher workshops; development of multimedia exhibit content for museum display; development of web content for the MIS site; creation of image-based teacher activities; inclusion of images, movies, and activities in established web-based teacher resources (as well as new resources for high-bandwidth Internet2 application). Materials will be free to other educational institutions. Using these dissemination strategies, the Exploratorium expects to attract and engage well over 1 million visitors annually.
Adolescents face many conflicting messages and influences related to high-risk behavior. Choices confronting middle school students often have the potential for adverse effects on their overall health and well being. Montshire Museum proposes to develop an educational outreach program to allow students an opportunity to learn about key health issues in a context that is based on high-quality research and offers hands-on inquiry and self-directed investigations. The proposed educational outreach program will serve students in grades 5-8 in rural Vermont and New Hampshire schools. The project team will create four health education modules, each one related to current NIH-supported research by faculty at Dartmouth Medical School (DMS). DMS researchers will collaborate with Montshire Museum's science educators in developing the modules, connecting with students and teachers, and providing support for all aspects of the project. For each module, the project team will support hands-on classroom investigations and independent research using materials, objects and exhibits developed specifically for the program. In addition, professional development institutes for middle school health and science educators will provide science content and instructional strategies needed to successfully implement health science lessons that are aligned with national and state standards for health and science education. The curriculum materials developed for school-based programming also create opportunities for broader public outreach. Montshire's educators will adapt them for special family activities and presentations within the museum setting. The educational curriculum will be designed to provide all participants with information that will assist in making personal health decisions in the subject areas; raise participants' awareness of the ways that culture and media affect their choices; and expose participants to the interesting and relevant research taking place locally, while increasing their understanding of the diversity of health science careers and research processes. A thorough process of formative and summative evaluation will enable the project team to take an iterative approach to curriculum development and to provide the best possible learning experience for participants.