This three-year project focuses on professional research experiences for middle and high school STEM teachers through investigations of the Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI). Each year 10 teachers (in diverse fields including biology, chemistry, earth and environmental sciences, and oceanography) and three to five professional paleontologists will participate in a four-phase process of professional development, including: a (1) pre-trip orientation (May); (2) 12 days in Panama in July collecting fossils from previously reported, as well as newly discovered, sites; (3) a post-trip on-line (cyber-enabled) Community of Practice; and (4) a final wrap-up at the end of each cohort (December). In addition, some of the teachers may also elect to partner with scientists in their research laboratories, principally located in California, Florida, and New Mexico. The partners in Panama are from the Universidad Autónoma de Chiriquí (UNACHI), including faculty and students, as well as STEM teachers from schools in Panama. Teachers that participate in this RET will develop lesson plans related to fossils, paleontology, evolution, geology, past climate change, and related content aligned with current STEM standards.
The GABI, catalyzed by the formation of the Isthmus of Panama during the Neogene, had a profound effect on the evolution and geography of terrestrial organisms throughout the Americas and marine organisms globally. For example, more than 100 genera of terrestrial mammals dispersed between the Americas, and numerous marine organisms had their interoceanic distributions cut in half by the formation of the Isthmus. Rather than being considered a single event that occurred about 4 million years ago, the GABI likely represents a series of dispersals over the past 10 million years, some of which occurred before full closure of the Isthmus. New fossil discoveries in Panama resulting from the GABI RET (Research Experiences for Teachers) are thus contributing to the understanding of the complexity and timing of the GABI during the Neogene.
This award is being co-funded with the Office International and Integrative Activities.
The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), in collaboration with New York University's Institute for Education and Social Policy and the University of Southern Maine Center for Evaluation and Policy, will develop and evaluate a new teacher education program model to prepare science teachers through a partnership between a world class science museum and high need schools in metropolitan New York City (NYC). This innovative pilot residency model was approved by the New York State (NYS) Board of Regents as part of the state’s Race To The Top award. The program will prepare a total of 50 candidates in two cohorts (2012 and 2013) to earn a Board of Regents-awarded Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree with a specialization in Earth Science for grades 7-12. The program focuses on Earth Science both because it is one of the greatest areas of science teacher shortages in urban areas and because AMNH has the ability to leverage the required scientific and educational resources in Earth Science and allied disciplines, including paleontology and astrophysics.
The proposed 15-month, 36-credit residency program is followed by two additional years of mentoring for new teachers. In addition to a full academic year of residency in high-needs public schools, teacher candidates will undertake two AMNH-based clinical summer residencies; a Museum Teaching Residency prior to entering their host schools, and a Museum Science Residency prior to entering the teaching profession. All courses will be taught by teams of doctoral-level educators and scientists.
The project’s research and evaluation components will examine the factors and outcomes of a program offered through a science museum working with the formal teacher preparation system in high need schools. Formative and summative evaluations will document all aspects of the program. In light of the NYS requirement that the pilot program be implemented in high-need, low-performing schools, this project has the potential to engage, motivate and improve the Earth Science achievement and interest in STEM careers of thousands of students from traditionally underrepresented populations including English language learners, special education students, and racial minority groups. In addition, this project will gather meaningful data on the role science museums can play in preparing well-qualified Earth Science teachers. The research component will examine the impact of this new teacher preparation model on student achievement in metropolitan NYC schools. More specifically, this project asks, "How do Earth Science students taught by first year AMNH MAT Earth Science teachers perform academically in comparison with students taught by first year Earth Science teachers not prepared in the AMNH program?.”
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Maritza MacdonaldMeryle WeinsteinRosamond KinzlerMordecai-Mark Mac LowEdmond MathezDavid Silvernail
This project supports environmental education and outreach activities that promote the ocean and coastal stewardship and climate literacy goals of NOAA and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. Specifically, the partnership supports: (1) development of education and outreach materials; (2) professional development to educators and science communicators, (3) competitions that promote the goals of the partnership; (4)the activities of the Science on a Sphere Users' Collaborative Network; and (4) evaluation of partners' programs.
The proposed project, which will build upon a successful NSF EAGER grant, will help arctic researchers explain the significance of their research widely to the general public which, in today's technologically connected world means not only in the U.S., but worldwide- and to reflect the diversity of the scientific enterprise Alaska. As proposed, the current Frontier Scientist's schedule of science reporting will be enhanced by a broadcast TV series titled Frontier Scientists to engage a larger viewing audience. A 'Do It Yourself' (DIY) component will help scientists to create their, professional-caliber media that will sustain the publics' interest and feedback in their research. An evaluation regime will insure appropriate quality and depth of communication, throughout the lifecycle of each science story.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Liz OConnellRobert McCoyGregory Newby
The Nurture Nature Center will conduct a community needs assessment in four Easton neighborhoods to broaden its engagement with populations at risk for natural environmental hazards. The needs assessment will discern topics of greatest concern to residents in the four neighborhoods, identify factors triggering alarm and awareness, gain a sense of general knowledge and misconceptions, learn what people want to know, and understand better how to develop comfortable ways for people to talk about problems in places where they live. The assessment process will be incorporated into the nature center's Risk to Resiliency model of community engagement and science learning about environmental hazards. This model will be applied regionally and nationally to communities that face a wide range of hazards such as flooding, wildfires, climate change, earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes.
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History will develop traveling natural history science curricula kits for K-12 students. This project will expand the museum's outreach program, featuring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) content with a focus on Oklahoma geology, life, and cultural science. The museum will share the educational kits, featuring materials aligning with state educational standards, with teachers across Oklahoma. The museum's digitization of the kits will increase the capacity and number of teachers who have access to the material and enable students to experience high-quality STEM educational opportunities offsite and online.
Pacific Science Center will expand its Science, Technology, Engineering and Math—Out-of-School Time (STEM-OST) model to new venues in the Puget Sound region to improve science literacy and increase interest in STEM careers for youth. STEM-OST brings hands-on lessons and activities in physics, engineering, astronomy, mathematics, geology, and health to elementary and middle school children in underserved communities throughout the summer months. The center will modify lessons and activities to serve students in grades K-2, align the curriculum with the Next Generation Science Standards, and increase the number of Family Science Days and Family Science Workshops offered to enhance parent involvement in STEM learning. The program will employ a tiered mentoring approach with outreach educators, teens, and education volunteers to increase interest in STEM content and provide direct links between STEM and workforce preparedness.
Wilkerson Center for Colorado River Education will create "Texas Colorado River Mobile Learning Experience," a mobile learning exhibition that will teach middle school audiences about the Colorado River watershed and human interaction with water sources. The mobile interactive water science center and accompanying curriculum will build core science knowledge and skills relative to watersheds, and provide youth a complementary, interpretive educational experience. Through the exhibit, the center aims to increase participants' water-conserving behaviors, decrease water use, and decrease behaviors leading to negative impact on water quality.
A partnership between Carthage College and the Appalachian Mountain Club has delivered a successful public education and outreach program that merges natural environment topics and astronomy. Over the four years of activity, over 25,000 people have received programming. The effort has trained nature educators, permanent and seasonal AMC staff, and undergraduate physics and astronomy students to integrate diverse topical material and deliver high quality programming to the lay public. Unique to the program is the holistic nature of the material delivered - an 'atypical' astronomy program. Linking observable characteristics of the natural world with astronomical history and phenomena, and emphasizing the unique sequence of events that have led to human life on Earth, the program has changed attitudes and behaviors among the public participants. Successful interventions have included hands-on observing programs (day and night) that link nature content to the observed objects; table-talk presentations on nature/astronomy topics; dark skies preservation workshops; and hands-on activities developed for younger audiences, including schools, camps, and family groups. An extensive evaluation and assessment effort managed by a leading sociologist has demonstrated the effectiveness of the approach, and contributed to continuous improvement in the program content and methods.
The Anchorage Museum, in partnership with the Washington State Historical Society and Cook Inlet Historical Society, will fabricate, and present a 7,500-square-foot exhibition on James Cook’s Third Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, titled Arctic Ambitions: Captain Cook and the Northwest Passage. The exhibition will open March 27, 2015 in Anchorage and run until September 11, at which time it will travel to the Washington State Historical Society in Tacoma. The exhibition will be part of the Municipality of Anchorage’s Centennial Celebration. Although Cook spent time in southern seas en route to America, the prime focus of the exhibition will be the Northwest Coast, mainland Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, the Bering Sea, Siberia, Kamchatka, and the Arctic Ocean.
The Global Viewport for Virtual Exploration of Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents is a Track 2 project using spherical display systems to educate the public about the global significance of vents in the world's oceans and in the dynamic processes of Earth as a whole. The project is a collaboration between the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Ocean Explorium at New Bedford Seaport, members of the Magic Planet Community and Science On a Sphere® (SOS) Network, respectively. The proximity of the two institutions enables a unique evaluation of the learning attained with a stand-alone spherical display vs. live presentations with an SOS. The new content for spherical display systems will address key principles of Earth Science Literacy and Ocean Literacy. Imagery and data from research cruises are being used to: show how hydrothermal vents link dynamic processes in the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere; promote stewardship of life in remote environments; and excite viewers about the deep ocean frontier including exploration, research, and resources. The Global Viewport project is geared towards informal science education but also includes a component for teacher professional development from schools in towns with populations underrepresented in STEM fields. An online portal for content on Google Earth enables virtual exploration of deep-sea vents from home, extending the learning experience beyond a single visit to an informal science education institution. The online content, including interactive learning modules and games, is being promoted to marine educators and scientists at national conferences and through the COSEE social network.
This Advancing Informal Science Learning Pathways project, Using Technology to Research After Class (UTRAC), explores whether a combination of technology (e.g., iPad-enabled sensors, web-based inquiry-focused portal) and facilitated visits improves learning outcomes for rural and Native American elementary-age youth in after school programs. Expected outcomes include improved engagement, knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Project goals include promoting STEM learning through science inquiry activities keyed to specific Next Generation Science Standards as well as improving how technology can be used to enhance learning outcomes in afterschool programs. The experimental design of this project - testing the effects of physical or virtual facilitation visits on learning outcomes - will lead to improvements in STEM learning outcomes among rural and underrepresented students. This project will employ several innovations in utilizing technology to teach STEM topics including: (i) hands-on, real-time, crowd sourced data collected by participants in their schoolyards; (ii) a pedagogic emphasis on communication of schoolyard data among and between participants; (iii) testing of motivational incentives; and (iv) partnerships between after school providers, preservice teachers, and university researchers as facilitators. The entire process will be modularized so that it can be modified in terms of place, STEM topic or student cohort. The topic focus of the project -- Life Under Snow -- is relevant to participating students, as Montana school playgrounds lie blanketed under snow for the majority of the school year; it includes elements of snow science, carbon cycle science, and a combination at the intersection of three recent literacy initiatives (e.g., Earth Science, Climate, or Energy). UTRAC will pilot and evaluate facilitated snow science/carbon cycle science activities that couple real-time schoolyard data with tools patterned after those available through WISE (Web-based Inquiry Science Environment; wise.berkeley.edu). Participants will collect and compare data with other youth participants, and researchers will use formative assessments to define interventions with potential to maximize student engagement and learning improvements among underserved youth. The project will advance understanding of informal education's potential to improve STEM engagement, knowledge, skills and attitudes by quantifying how - and to what extent - youth engage with emerging technologies iPad-enabled sensors, and crowdsourcing and visualization tools. The deliverables include a quantifying metric for learning outcomes, a training model for the iPad sensors and web application, an orientation kit, a social media portal, and database for the measurements.