We propose a thoughtful process for scientists to develop their “impact identity”, a concept that integrates scholarship in a scientific discipline with societal needs, personal preferences, capacities and skills, and one’s institutional context. Approaching broader impacts from a place of integrated identity can support cascading impacts that develop over the course of a career. We argue identity is a productive driver that can improve outcomes for scientists and for society. Widespread adoption of the concept of impact identity may also have implications for the recruitment and retention of
The art/science nexus has historically been approached through a challenge of aesthetics versus mathematics, and processes of knowledge production. Notably absent in this debate are the social sciences that explore human experience and perception. In particular, what has not been addressed clearly in the literature is how reasoning about the human experience can be provoked when people encounter content that does not assert itself as neatly defined in either an art or science discourse. By reflecting on one case study of a public art/science installation, we explore new fields of knowledge
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TEAM MEMBERS:
John FraserFiona MacDonaldNezam Ardalan
This document contains the following Appendices that provide information for the I/CaLL Community Science Learning study.
Appendix A: StreamLines Events
Appendix B: StreamLines Events Survey Instrument
Appendix C: Art + Science Brainstorm Coding Themes
Appendix D: Art + Science Brainstorm Flyer
I/CaLL is a four-year project that explores art as conduits for informal science learning on a citywide scale. The project attempts to transform the city of Indianapolis into an informal science-learning museum through the use of sculpture, dance, music, and poetry as educational tools in creating awareness and understanding of the city’s waterways. Specifically, I/CaLL addresses five sites located near and around waterways in impoverished or underserved communities, where art interventions created by artists in collaboration with scientists address topics around water sustainability
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TEAM MEMBERS:
John FraserNezam ArdalanChristina Shane-Simpson
This set of appendices represent all research instruments related to study presented in the I/CaLL Art Experiences and Advancing Science Literacy report (NewKnowledge Publication #NSF.097.115.07).
Appendix A: Installation Site Intercept Interview Instrument
Appendix B: Artists-Scientists Walk & Talks Instrument
Appendix C: Post-Performance Event Survey Instrument
Note that researchers did not use an instrument for the fourth aspect of the study, the post-performance event reflection sessions. Instead, they allowed the discussions to be directed by the reflection participants.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
John FraserRebecca Joy NorlanderSophie SwansonNezam ArdalanKate FlinnerJoanna Laursen BruckerNicole LaMarca
A mixed-methods series of surveys were used to explore public literacy related to environmental science and sustainability in Indianapolis. Surveys also explored predictive variables including environmental identity, nature affinity, use of nature places as learning opportunities, and motivations for visiting nature spaces. An online, citywide consumer survey was distributed alongside a parallel identical survey of employees at a major science-based corporation to assess variation in knowledge, attitudes, and learning behaviors. This science-based corporation provides substantial support to
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TEAM MEMBERS:
John FraserSu-Jen RobertsNezam Ardalan
This report describes the results from an exploratory study of how artists approached collaboration with earth scientists to foster the public’s science learning and engagement with a city’s waterways. Data from phone interviews, surveys, and reflection on the artwork produced for this collaboration were compared with observations of roundtable discussions with community-based artists and scientists grappling with these ideas in a dialogue format.
The researchers found that personal connections with the waterway sites and professional interest in and experience with art–science
As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds innovative research, approaches and resources for use in a variety of settings. The uses of technologies in emergency management and public safety are emerging rapidly, but it could take years for school STEM curricula to catch up with the technologies that are already being deployed in the field. Informal learning environments, such as Teen Science Cafés, provide a compelling venue for youth learning about rapidly-developing STEM fields such as technology. The floods and devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey provide a timely learning opportunity for them. This project, in addition to developing new materials for learning about technologies, will provide much-needed baseline research on teens' understanding of technology, technology careers, and emergency preparedness. Leveraging the robust platform of the NSF-funded Teen Science Café, the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance will build upon its existing partnership with Science Education Solutions to develop and implement a package of educational activities, tools, and resources for a Teen Science Café that is focused on community flood events and response, using Hurricane Harvey as a model and case study. The materials will focus on advances in sensor technology, data visualization, social media, and other mobile communication apps used to detect, monitor and respond to flooding and natural disasters. The package of materials will be embraced by 20 sites in Maine. The goal is to engage at least 600 youth in themed Cafés focusing on how technology was used to respond to Harvey and is being used to manage and respond to flooding more generally. An important related goal is to conduct baseline research on what teens currently know about the flood-related technologies, as well as what they learn about it from this experience derived from recent floods in Texas, Florida, and the Caribbean islands.
A research goal of our work was to collect baseline information on teens’ level of knowledge about the role of technology in responding to a variety of natural disasters. To our knowledge, the field has not developed measures of knowledge of this increasingly important domain. We developed a quick and easy-to-administer 10-item multiple-choice measure, which we presented as a “trivia game” to be done sometime during the 90-minute Café. We did not track pre- to post-café changes in knowledge, because the Cafés emphasized very different pieces of technology as well as different types of natural disasters. Rather, we wished to establish a starting point, so that other researchers who are engaged in ERT efforts with teens have both an instrument and baseline data to use in their work.
A sample of 170 youth completed the questionnaire. The average correct response rate was 4.2 out of 10, only slightly higher than the chance of guessing correctly (3 out of 10). This suggests teens have limited baseline knowledge of Emergency Response Technology and our Cafés therefore served an important purpose given this lack of knowledge. Indeed, for half of the questions at least one incorrect answer was selected more often than the correct answer! Note that there were no statistically significant correlations between age and gender and rates of correct answers.
Three things are clear from our work: 1) Youth need and want to know about the vital roles they can play by learning to use technology in the face of natural disasters; 2) Teens currently know little about the uses of technology in mitigating or responding to disasters; and 3) Teen Science Cafés provide a timely and relatively simple way of sparking interest in this topic. The project showed that it is possible to empower youth to become involved, shape their futures, and care for their communities in the face of disasters. We plan to continue to expand the theme of Emergency Response Technology within the Teen Science Café Network. Reaching teens with proactive messages about their own agency in natural disasters is imperative and attainable through Teen Science Cafés.
Supported by the National Science Foundation, the Global Soundscapes! Big Data, Big Screens, Open Ears project employs a variety of informal learning experiences to present the physics of sound and the new science of soundscape ecology. The interdisciplinary science of soundscape ecology analyzes sounds over time in different ecosystems around the world. The major components of the Global Soundscapes project are an educator-led interactive giant-screen theater show, group activities, and websites. All components are designed with both sighted and visually impaired students in mind. Multimedia
Summary brief describing summative evaluation associated with the MarcellusByDesign component of Marcellus Matters: EASE. Marcellus Matters: Engaging Adults in Science and Energy (EASE) was a program of Penn State University’s Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research (MCOR), in collaboration with other experts across the university. The first year of program activities took place in 2012, and the project continued through September 2016. EASE was a multidisciplinary initiative that provided adults in rural Pennsylvania with opportunities to increase their knowledge of science and energy
Summary brief describing findings from summative evaluation for the Marcellus Citizen Science Network component of the Marcellus Matters: EASE project.