The Science Museum of Minnesota will create a 450-square-foot version of its award-winning "RACE: Are We So Different?" exhibition for distribution to rural areas and communities in Minnesota, and adjacent regions in Iowa, eastern North and South Dakota, and northern Wisconsin. The museum will produce four replicas of the exhibition for museums and partner organizations, and collaborate with community groups to develop supporting programming specific to identified community needs. Programs will include facilitated reflective dialogues for groups of adults and students; a leadership institute with representatives from each host community; an educator guide for secondary school teachers; and a variety of workshops and arts presentations to extend conversations about race and racism. Like the original RACE exhibition, these condensed exhibitions will encourage visitors to explore the science, history, and everyday effects of race and racism through a combination of artifacts, historic and contemporary photography, multimedia components, and interactive activities.
The goal of Women in Cognitive Science is to improve the visibility of women scientists by fostering an environment that welcomes and nurtures young women scholars, to contribute to the professional development of scholars throughout their career, and to facilitate creation of a network that will provide contacts and connections to other women in science. Several workshops are designed for women in cognitive science, especially women in the early stages of their academic career. The workshops focus on negotiation techniques to create opportunities and optimize mechanisms to sustain research visibility and productivity. A second focus is on grant application writing for predoctoral, postdoctoral, and early career scientists. Workshops will take place at meetings of the Psychonomic Society, the Cognitive Science Society, and the Association for Psychological Sciences. The workshops will take the form of a public forum with invited speaker-panelists to initiate discussion about best practices for the professional advancement of women in cognitive science at the individual and institutional level. By partnering with these established societies, the workshops will maximize the outreach potential to a group that continues to be underrepresented in senior academic positions in the cognitive sciences.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Mary PetersonDiane BeckKaren Schloss
Because of the siloed nature of formal educational curricula, students who opt out of STEM coursework, for whatever reason, lose the opportunity to engage with the domain of science almost entirely, thereby closing the door to the STEM workforce pipeline. This disproportionately impacts students of color and women. This project advances an alliance that consists of a consortium of community-engaged partners, including university and k-12 educational agencies, community colleges, community organizations, cultural institutions and local businesses. The project built around this alliance will leverage interdisciplinary spaces in the curriculum, particularly the humanities and social sciences, across academic levels, as a forum for integrating and applying STEM to bear on the practical, social, economic and political issues of modern life. The PIs establish a physical Community STEM Center as an anchoring institution for STEM engagement. This Center will be situated within the community that the alliance serves, bringing STEM opportunities and engagement to students instead of asking them to come where STEM education is currently provided. The activities enacted through the Community STEM Center will focus on enduring problems experienced by the communities, where students, community residents, teachers, and experts from higher education, industry and other community-based entities can come together to work on understanding them and developing evidenced centered advocacy as a means for addressing them. To facilitate the work at the Community STEM Center, the project creates a Community Ambassadors Program (CAP), leveraging participation across alliance members in partnership with the community. This Design and Development Launch Pilot will cultivate the necessary knowledgebase to develop a scalable model for implementation across diverse urban communities.
Technical Summary
This Design and Development Launch Pilot focuses on shifting the narrative of STEM education away from a solitary focus on formalized educational experiences and targets STEM content. This project develops and facilitates a parallel set of activities designed to engage under-represented students in learning how and why STEM is relevant to their lives, and approached through new and non-traditional educational dimensions. The five main objectives of this proposed pilot are to: (1) Develop a pilot alliance of community-engaged partners, including university and k-12 educational agencies, community colleges, community organizations, cultural institutions and industry;(2)Establish a physical Community STEM Advocacy Center as an anchoring institution for change embedded within the community that the pilot alliance serves; (3) Leverage interdisciplinary spaces in curricula, across academic levels, particularly the humanities and social sciences, as a forum for integrating and applying STEM to bear on the practical, social, economic and political issues of modern life; (4) Create a Community Ambassadors Program (CAP), leveraging participation across higher education pilot alliance members in partnership with the community; and (5)Conduct an evaluation of project initiatives and research regarding the usability and feasibility of a systemic approach to developing community-based, interdisciplinary pathways to broaden STEM participation pathways. Efforts to examine the impact of this community-based, interdisciplinary approach concentrates on the proximal outcomes related to STEM interest, self-efficacy and identity. Data will be collected in pre/post format across our three constituent samples: 1) Community STEM Advocacy Center participants; 2) k-12 students; and, 3) postsecondary students. Analysis of data will be conducted through MANCOVAs to account for potential co-variation among construct scores. Qualitative data will also be collected to contextualize findings and enable the development of a rich case study. At least two observations will be conducted in the Community STEM Advocacy Center and the two classroom implementations to document engagement, participant interactions and level of STEM content.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Kimberly LawlessDonald WinkLudwig Carlos NitscheAixa AlfonsoJeremiah Abiade
Child Trends is a nonprofit organization focused on improving the lives of children and their families by conducting research and sharing the resulting knowledge with practitioners and the public. In this project, Child Trends will conduct research and development to launch a Child Trends News Service aimed at providing news reports that feature social science child-centric research. The resulting work is designed to improve outcomes for at-risk children, particularly Latinos, the largest and fastest-growing minority group among U.S. children. Working with a professional news syndication company, the Child Trends News Service will produce engaging reports for key news media outlets that feature the latest actionable social science research related to behaviors that help mitigate negative child outcomes associated with poverty, lack of education, violence, among other challenges. Child Trends will draw attention to the reports through social media and outreach to stakeholders. By airing these reports on local television news programs in English and Spanish, millions of people will have greater access to this information. This is early R&D work to demonstrate that local television stations will air these stories and to examine the audience impact—how does accessing this social science research through preferred media channels influence news audiences’ knowledge and attitudes toward specific social science research? The study will also delve deeper to better understand how news might, or might not, motivate behavioral change. The study will provide valuable lessons to the informal science education and the STEM communication science field.
The overarching aim of this project is to use commercial news to reach populations, especially Latinos, who have historically been underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and careers. The goals of the project are to:
* Leverage mass media news outlets to effectively communicate developments in social science research on child well-being and development to Latino audiences.
* Advance the field of informal STEM learning by exploring how the public interacts with actionable social science child research.
* Expand the reach and application of the news products through strategic collaborations with provider organizations serving at-risk Latino families; the child research and STEM fields; and other organizations working on Latino family issues.
Activities include the development and formative testing of the news service, the qualitative and quantitative testing of the news service's impact on audiences, and evaluation of the implementation of the project's components. The quantitative research, using a control group and treatment group, will work to establish preliminary evidence that the Child Trends News Service will result in changes in viewers' knowledge, attitudes, and intent to adopt behaviors related to child-centric social science research. The Child Trends' project team will be informed by an Advisory Board and Technical Working Group as well by working closely with Abriendo Puertas, the largest U.S. parenting education program for low-income Latino parents. Child Trends will partner with Ivanhoe Broadcast News to produce and distribute the materials. Group I&I Consultancy will evaluate the project. In year-two, Child Trends will produce a research brief on lessons learned and research outcome measures. The proposed research and development will be conducted over a two-year period; findings will inform ongoing service and additional research.
This project 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.
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 proposed effort embraces broad participation by the three Ute tribes, History Colorado, and scientists in the field of archaeology to investigate and integrate traditional ecological knowledge and contemporary Western science. The project will preserve knowledge from the Ute peoples of Colorado and Utah, including traditional technology, ethnobotany, engineering and math. Results from this project will inform educational efforts in similar communities.
This project will build on the long-standing collaborations between History Colorado (HC), the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Ute Indian Tribe, Uintah & Ouray Reservation, and the Dominguez Archaeological Research Group DARG). HC will implement and evaluate a regional informal learning collaboration focused on Ute traditional and contemporary STEM knowledge serving over 128,000 learners through tribal programs, local history museums and educational networks. This project will advance the understanding of integrated knowledge and the role of Ute people as STEM learners and practitioners. This Informal Science Learning project will increase lifelong STEM learning in rural communities and create a replicable model for collaboration among tribes, history museums, and scientists.
As a part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds research and innovative resources for use in a variety of settings. In this project, the primary goal of Geo-literacy Education in Micronesia is to demonstrate the potential for effective intergenerational, informal learning and development of geo-literacy through an Informal STEM Learning Team (ISLT) model for Pacific island communities. This will be accomplished by means of a suite of six informal learning modules that blend local/Indigenous approaches, Western STEM knowledge systems, and active learning. This project will be implemented across 12 select communities in the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia - which consists of the four States of Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap - and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Jointly, these entities are referred to as the Freely Associated States (FAS). Geo-literacy refers to combining both local knowledge and Western STEM into a synthesized understanding of the world as a set of interconnected, dynamic physical, biological, and social systems, and using this integrated knowledge to make informed decisions. Applications include natural resource management, conservation, and disaster risk reduction. The project will: (1) demonstrate that the recruitment and development of an ISLT model is an effective method of engaging communities in geo-literacy activities; (2) increase geo-literacy knowledge and advocacy skills of ISLT participants; (3) produce and disseminate geo-literacy educational materials and resources (e.g., place-based teaching guides, geospatial data systems, educational apps, 2-D and 3-D models, and digital maps); and (4) provide evidence that FAS residents use these geo-literacy educational materials and resources to positively influence decision-making.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Corrin BarrosKoh Ming WeiDanko TabrosiEmerson Odango
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
Most experimental studies in the behavioral sciences rely on college students as participants for reasons of convenience, and most take place in North America and Europe. As a result, studies are only sampling from a narrow range of human experiences. The results of these studies have limited generalizability, failing to reflect the full range of mental and behavioral phenomena across diverse cultures and backgrounds. However sampling from broader populations is challenging, due to limited opportunities and access, heightened cost, and the need for specific knowledge about how to adapt research protocols to different communities. The goal of this workshop is to develop some tools and guidelines to help researchers overcome barriers to broader sampling, and to incentivize doing so through better institutional support.
The goal of this workshop is to develop tools to support and encourage increased robustness and generalizability in the experimental behavioral sciences. The meeting is dedicated to identifying and developing potential solutions to the so-called "WEIRD people" problem: the fact that most experimental behavioral science research is conducted with members of WEIRD populations (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich Democracies). The discovery that much of this research fails to generalize to broader populations and fails to capture the range of human patterned variation in thought and behavior creates a pressing need for research approaches to be more inclusive. Although there are researchers throughout the world who have developed effective models for overcoming these limitations, there are significant barriers to achieving robust and generalizable experimental behavioral research for most researchers. This workshop will bring together scholars from a range of disciplines whose research represents positive case studies of how to overcome these barriers. The participants aspire to accomplish three goals: 1) develop tools and training materials to help researchers enhance diversity in their research populations, 2) develop infrastructure solutions for connecting researchers across diverse contexts and populations, and 3) develop a set of recommendations for institutional changes to support enhancing diversity in experimental behavioral science through manuscript, grant, and tenure review.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Douglas MedinDaniel HruschkaLera BoroditskyCristine Legare
The “Impressions from a Lost World” website and related public programs will tell the story of the 19th century discovery of dinosaur tracks along the Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts and Connecticut. The significance of these fossils extended far beyond the emerging scientific community, as they exerted a profound effect upon American arts, religion, and culture that reverberates down to the present day. The website will use stories of real people to engage visitors to think about relationships between science and religion, amateur vs. professional scientific pursuits and the role of specialization, participation of women in science, and the impact of new scientific ideas on American culture. Website visitors will draw connections of these important humanities themes to current issues. Accompanying public programs will attract diverse audiences and build interest in the website.
The Pratt Museum will design and fabricate exhibits in its new museum facility in Homer, Alaska. This region is home to culturally diverse coastal communities which make their living predominantly from the sea. The exhibits will awaken a sense of connectedness between people and place and provide a variety of avenues for visitors to experience the stories of the Kachemak Bay region of South Central Alaska. The overall objectives of the exhibition are to present a personal perspective, a sense of place, and a responsibility to self and community. A balance of presentation will accomplish these goals. This grant will help fund: 1) workshops for the staff planning team, evaluator, and the design team, 2) design of the exhibition, 3) fabrication and installation in the Museum’s Main Gallery and adjacent spaces, and 4) gallery guides for selected themes.
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 media and research project will inform adult audiences about the discoveries of NSF funded Social, Behavioral, and Economic (SBE) scientists that are dramatically re-shaping fields as diverse as economics, marketing, medicine and government. Four primetime PBS specials hosted by science reporter, Miles O'Brien, will be produced featuring leading SBE scientists and vetted for inclusion by a panel of expert advisors including Baruch Fischhoff of Carnegie Mellon and Robert Kurzban of the University of Pennsylvania. A key innovation in the project is a participatory research strategy that will enable the public to take part directly in scientific behavioral research and discover what their participation has revealed about their own lives. Built around YouTube features, Facebook, and online games it will build on the public's interest in learning about themselves and others via social media supported by scientific research. The project collaborators include the media company, Oregon Public Broadcasting, and researchers at Carnegie Mellon, University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, and Chapman University. This project is unique in its strategy for combining broadcast television programs focusing on Social, Behavioral, and Economics research with a participatory research component that engages audiences in scientific studies that are personally relevant. It will fill an important niche in the informal learning research literature and has the potential to impact media practice that continues to evolve incorporating new online social media tools. RMC will conduct formative evaluation to help inform the project deliverables, a summative evaluation of the project, and an experimental research study in Year 3 of the project. The research study is based on the hypothesis that those participants assigned to watch the entire television series and engage in all participatory research activities will experience the greatest gains in STEM interest and engagement as compared to those who only have limited exposure. Research participants will be randomly assigned to the control group (no services) or one of the three treatment conditions: view TV only; engage in participatory website only; or both. Pre-tests and posttests and statistical tools will be used to compare changes. Sub-studies will examine dosage levels and effectiveness in engaging those who have not previously been interested in STEM.
In concert with the overall strategy of the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments, Principal Investigators from Oregon State University, University of Idaho, and University of Texas at Dallas, will study a range of data in online social networks to identify evidence of the long-term impact of informal STEM education. Tracking informal learners over time to understand the impact of informal learning experiences has been a longstanding, daunting, and elusive challenge. Now, with massive amounts of data being shared and stored online, education researchers have an unprecedented opportunity to study such data and apply data analytics and visualization technologies to identify the long-term, cascading effects of informal STEM learning. Research findings will inform the design and development of a data-analysis tool for use by education practitioners to improve STEM learning experiences online, through television and film, and at informal education institutions. An independent external critical review board of learning scientists, computer scientists, engineers, informal STEM education practitioners, participating partners, broadcast media professionals, and policymakers, will ensure a robust evaluation of the research and effectiveness and utility of the data analysis tool to improve practice. A summary report for the field will be written on the scientific and practical reliability and validity of the research and data-analysis model, and the value of the work for audiences beyond informal STEM education practitioners and policymakers. The research is contemporaneously relevant, advancing innovative use of data-mining and data-analysis processes to better understand how informal learners communicate STEM learning experiences and interact with STEM content over time, across a range of social networks. Investigators will research: 1) whether learners who engage in informal STEM education experiences further their learning through discussions and sharing of information in social media networks, 2) which types of data are present in social media that are relevant for understanding the cascading impacts of learning over time, and 3) how learning may evolve independently within shared social networks, which, if discovered, could provide a predictive computational model with implications for significant impact across both formal and informal education. Investigators will employ existing and modified data crawlers to search for key terms and phrases, assess spikes and deformations in posts, queries, and blogs, and experiment with their test data to find which types or configurations of keywords or search terms deliver the most reliable and accurate results. A variety of formats will be explored to test various strategies with participating partners and practitioners. Data will be visualized to represent the following dimensions of learning: a) Interest/Affect, b) Recommendations, c) Understanding/Knowledge-Seeking, and d) Deeper Engagement.
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 study why (or why not) young career adults, aged 18-35 engage with the PBS NewsHour science content via broadcast and/or online avenues to advance their STEM knowledge and skills. This age group has shifted away from viewing traditional broadcast news media and increasingly looks to social media channels for science content. Multiple layers of STEM digital content delivered across multiple platforms (including social media) will be used to identify the attributes that engage and motivate these 18-35 year olds. Deliverables include 12 broadcast segments each year with STEM research coverage and a range of transmedia efforts (e.g. additional formats distributed via Instagram, Vine, YouTube, etc.) for testing with the target audience. A complementary component of the project will be an apprenticeship program in which each year five college age students from journalism schools join the professional reporters at the NewsHour to produce STEM content using new and innovative strategies engage to 18-35 year olds. The PBS NewsHour broadcast is currently viewed by 1.4 million adults each night and the website has 2.6 million unique visitors each month. The research will attempt to define the learning ecologies of 18-35 year olds using psychographic profiles and case studies to illustrate the range of science learners including those in underrepresented groups. The first research component uses a quantitative approach to assess the reaction of the early career adults to the 12 STEM broadcast segments in their original form and after repackaging for social media. A control group audience will watch the original broadcast of each STEM segment and respond to an online questionnaire that will establish how viewers use and/or pass on STEM content and to whom. The test audience will view the content that has been repackaged and presented on a different media platform responding to the same online questionnaire and allowing comparisons of the two groups. The second research component will focus on the college-age journalism apprentices and use participatory action research. The apprentices will collect data about their experiences and reflect on their contributions to STEM reporting. The third research component will be an ethnographic study of the post-production and editorial teams at the PBS NewsHour using focus groups to elicit feedback and evaluate their metacognitive thinking about how to produce stories for early career adults. Data will be collected and analyzed from three groups: early career adults 18-35 years of age; journalism apprentices; and the PBS NewsHour editorial teams. Overall the research will provide new knowledge about producing and distributing digital STEM media that engages and impacts early career adults.