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.
Produced by the Climate Change Education Partnership (CCEP) Alliance, the "Climate Change Education: Effective Practices for Working with Educators, Scientists, Decision Makers and the Public" guide provides recommendations for effective education and communication practices when working with different types of audiences. While effective education has been traditionally defined as the acquisition of knowledge, Alliance programs maintain a broader definition of “effective” to include the acquisition and use of climate change knowledge to inform decision-making.
The CCEP Alliance is supported
Mathematics is the foundation of many STEM fields and success in mathematics is a catalyst for success in other scientific disciplines. Increasing the participation of women and other under-represented groups in the mathematics profession builds human capital that produces a diverse pool of problem solvers in business and industry, research mathematicians, faculty at all levels, and role models for the next generation. Existing support and enrichment programs have targeted women in mathematics at different stages in their undergraduate and graduate education, with different strategies to building community, creating a sense of belonging, and promoting a growth mind set. These strategies challenge some of the most common obstacles to success, including isolation, stereotype threat, not committing to mathematics early enough, and imposter syndrome. Acknowledging the diversity among women in terms of socio-economic background and educational background, this project proposes to examine the effectiveness of these programs through the lens of two primary questions: (1) Which elements of these programs are most critical in the success of women, as a function of their position along these distinct diversity axes?, and (2) which features of these programs are most effective as a function of the stage of the participant's career? These questions are guided by the rationale that a better understanding of, and improved pathways by, which programs recruit and retain undergraduate and graduate women in mathematics has the strong potential to increase the representation of women among mathematics PhDs nationwide.
This project seeks to increase and diversify the number of professional mathematicians in the United States by identifying and proliferating best practices and known mechanisms for increasing the success of women in mathematics graduate programs, particularly women from under-represented groups. The PIs on this proposal, all of whom are leaders of initiatives that have been active for nearly two decades, will work with experts in management, data collection and reporting, and communications to address the following three challenges: (1) develop a common system of measuring the effectiveness of each element in these initiatives; (2) develop a process for effective, collective decision making; and (3) create connections between existing activities and resources. This project is both exploratory research and effectiveness research. The project team first will explore the contextual factors that serve to support or inhibit female pursuit of mathematics doctorates by interviewing a variety of women who were undergraduate mathematics majors in the past, as well as current professional mathematicians. They then will use this information to better understand the most effective features of various current and past initiatives that are trying to increase the participation of women in advanced mathematics. A key stakeholder meeting will develop a process for effective, collective decision-making, to utilize what the project team learns from the interviews. The leadership team will develop a website with discussion board and social media components to highlight best practices and facilitate a virtual community for women interested in mathematics. Finally, a distillation of program elements and their targeted effectiveness will inform the selection of interconnected activities to test on a scalable model. These prototypes will be implemented at several sites chosen to represent a diversity of constituencies and local support infrastructure.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Judy WalkerAmi RadunskayaRuth HaasDeanna Haunsperger
The purpose of this document is to build on best practices and offer new approaches toward creating "a bold new initiative" to augment the Foundation's ongoing efforts to increase participation in STEM from underrepresented groups.
InformalScience.org is an online collection of resources designed to serve a broad community of professionals whose work relates to informal education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Funded by the National Science Foundation and managed by the Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE), InformalScience hosts a variety of usercontributed resources, including a wiki of evidence-based information on the impacts of informal STEM and a database of over 7,000 reports, articles, project descriptions, and other items uploaded by CAISE and website members.
The
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. This media and technology project will scale up Youth Radio's proven model of STEM education through youth-driven multimedia journalism and related app development using the MIT App Inventor. A new Youth News Network (YNN) will implement a nationwide feeder system of youth reporters and educators using the previously developed and proven STEM curriculum. Previous research and evaluation has demonstrated that this model can engage underserved youth and put them in leadership positions in technological innovation. Key deliverables include the YNN STEM Desk that will produce 15-20 STEM-related stories each year; bootcamps (1-3 day workshops) training youth around the country focusing on app development and media links; and new toolkits providing resources to help with app development, data analysis and other STEM-specific skills. Project partners include MIT Media Lab, National Public Radio, Best Buy's Teen Tech Centers, National Writing Project, Computer Clubhouses, and PBS Learning Media among others.
Over the previous eight years, research and evaluation findings had been used to refine the project. These data served as the foundation for this scale-up project. The research conducted by the investigator and the Scholar-in-Residence in this scale-up uses an embedded ethnographic approach that combines field notes, recorded meetings and discussions, media artifacts, etc.--data that is transcribed and coded for indicators of STEM learning and critical computational literacy. The external summative evaluation will build on prior evidence regarding how this unique model engages youth and impacts their skills in STEM related media and technology.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Elisabeth SoepEllin O'LearyHarold Abelson
This infographic presents a visual summary of a user study of the InformalScience.org website, which was conducted in 2016. The study used online surveys, task-based interviews, and web analytics to explore the following questions: (1) Who are the site's users and what content do they value? (2) Does the site clearly convey its purpose to visitors? and (3) Are users able to navigate the site and use search tools effectively?
Currently, many young people - especially girls and youth of color - lose confidence and interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) pathways due to a perceived disconnect between their own identity and STEM fields. To address this challenge, Twin Cities PBS (TPT) is implementing SciGirls CONNECT2. This three-year Research in Service to Practice award examines how gender equitable and culturally responsive teaching strategies influence middle school girls' confidence, interest and motivation around STEM studies, and their choices around STEM careers. A set of research-based strategies, called the SciGirls Seven, are currently employed in SciGirls, an NSF-funded informal STEM educational outreach program serving 125+ educational partner organizations nationwide. The goal is to update and enrich the SciGirls Seven, providing educators with a critical, current, and more effective resource to motivate girls in STEM studies and careers. It 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.
Florida State University will conduct a formal research study investigating the hypothesis that STEM programs that use gender equitable and culturally responsive strategies contribute to girls' positive STEM identity development, including their sense of self-efficacy, persistence and aspirations around future STEM careers. This research will include a literature review and a study of girls' STEM identity creation. The mixed methods study will include quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis measuring changes in students' STEM identity and teachers' confidence in STEM teaching. The quantitative data will come from the student, parent and teacher pre/post surveys. The qualitative research will be conducted via case studies at four sites and the qualitative data will include observations, focus groups and interviews. Girls at all partner sites will create videos that will allow the research team to gather additional insight. The independent firm Knight Williams, Inc. will conduct the project's external evaluation.
The project will work with a subset of 16 current SciGirls partners. These geographically diverse partners will reach youth in all-girls and co-ed informal STEM education programs in a variety of settings. More than half serve Hispanic or other minority populations. The updated strategies will be disseminated to the 2,500 educators within the SciGirls partner network and the 18,800 STEM education organizations of the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) network. Dissemination of the strategies and literature review will focus on the informal STEM education field through publications and presentations, posts at PBS LearningMedia, a free online space reaching 1.5 million teachers and educators.
This project had three objectives to build knowledge with respect to advancing Informal STEM Education:
Plan, prototype, fabricate, and document a game-linked design-and-play STEM exhibit for multi-generational adult-child interaction utilizing an iterative exhibit design approach based on research and best practices in the field;
Develop and disseminate resources and models for collaborative play-based exhibits to the informal STEM learning community of practice of small and mid-size museums including an interactive, tangible tabletop design-and-play game and a related tablet-based game app for skateboarding science and technology design practice;
Conduct research on linkages between adult-child interactions and game-connected play with models in informal STEM learning environments.
Linked to these objectives were three project goals:
Develop tools to enable children ages 5-8 to collaboratively refine and test their own theories about motion by exploring fundamental science concepts in linked game and physical-object design challenge which integrates science (Newton’s Laws of Motion) with engineering (iterative design and testing), technology (computational models), and mathematics (predictions and comparisons of speed, distance, and height). [Linked to Objectives 1 & 3]
Advance the informal STEM education field’s understanding of design frameworks that integrate game environments and physical exhibit elements using tangibles and playful computational modeling and build upon the “Dimensions of Success” established STEM evaluation models. [Linked to Objectives 1 & 2]
Examine methods to strengthen collaborative learning within diverse families through opportunities to engage in STEM problem-based inquiry and examine how advance training for parents influences the extent of STEM content in conversations and the quality of interactions between caregivers and children in the museum setting. [Linked to Objectives 1 & 3]
The exhibit designed and created as a result of this grant project integrates skateboarding and STEM in an engaging context for youth ages 5 to 8 to learn about Newton’s Laws of Motion and connect traditionally underserved youth from rural and minority areas through comprehensive outreach. The exhibit design process drew upon research in the learning sciences and game design, science inquiry and exhibit design, and child development scholarship on engagement and interaction in adult-child dyads.
Overall, the project "Understanding Physics through Collaborative Design and Play: Integrating Skateboarding with STEM in a Digital and Physical Game-Based Children’s Museum Exhibit" accomplished three primary goals. First, we planned, prototyped, fabricated, and evaluated a game-linked design-and-play STEM gallery presented as a skatepark with related exhibits for adult-child interaction in a Children's Museum.
Second, we engaged in a range of community outreach and engagement activities for children traditionally underserved in Museums. We developed and disseminated resources for children to learn about the physics of the skatepark exhibit without visiting the Museum physically. For example, balance board activities were made portable, the skatepark video game was produced in app and web access formats, and ramps were created from block sets brought to off-site locations.
Third, we conducted a range of research to better understand adult-child interactions in the skatepark exhibit in the Children's Museum and to explore learning of physics concepts during physical and digital play. Our research findings collectively provide a new model for Children's Museum exhibit developers and the informal STEM education community to intentionally design, evaluate, and revise exhibit set-up, materials, and outcomes using a tool called "Dimensions of Success (DOS) for Children's Museum Exhibits." Research also produced a tool for monitoring the movement of children and families in Museum exhibit space, including time on task with exhibits, group constellation, transition time, and time in gallery. Several studies about adult-child interactions during digital STEM and traditional pretend play in the Museum produced findings about social positioning, interaction style, role, and affect during play.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Deb DunkhaseKristen MissallBenjamin DeVane
In his latest book titled “Communication power”, the famous sociologist of information society Manuel Castells focuses on the way in which power takes shape and acts in information societies, and the role of communication in defining, structuring, and changing it. From the rise of “mass self-communication” to the role of environmental movements and neuropolitics, the network is the key structure at play and the main lens used to analyse the transformations we are witnessing. To support his thesis Castells links media studies, power theory and brain science, but his insistence on networks puts
The Department of Computer Science and Engineering and DO-IT IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology) at the University of Washington propose to create the AccessComputing Alliance for the purpose of increasing the participation of people with disabilities in computing careers. Alliance partners Gallaudet University, Microsoft, the NSF Regional Alliances for Persons with Disabilities in STEM (hosted by the University of Southern Maine, New Mexico State University, and UW), and SIGACCESS of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and collaborators represent stakeholders from education, industry, government, and professional organizations nationwide.
Alliance activities apply proven practices to support persons with disabilities within computing programs. To increase the number of students with disabilities who successfully pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees, the alliance will run college transition and bridge, tutoring, internship, and e-mentoring programs. To increase the capacity of postsecondary computing departments to fully include students with disabilities in coursers and programs, the alliance will form communities of practice, run capacity-building institutes, and develop systemic change indicators for computing departments. To create a nationwide resource to help students with disabilities pursue computing careers and computing educators and employers, professional organizations and other stakeholders to develop more inclusive programs and share effective practices, the alliance will create and maintain a searchable AccessComputing Knowledge Base of FAQs, case studies, and effective/promising practices.
These activities will build on existing alliances and resources in a comprehensive, integrated effort. They will create nationwide collaborations among individuals with disabilities, computing professionals, employers, disability providers, and professional organizations to explore the issues that contribute to the underrepresentation of persons with disabilities and to develop, apply and assess interventions. In addition, they will support local and regional efforts to recruit and retain students with disabilities into computing and assist them in institutionalizing and replicating their programs. The alliance will work with other Alliances and organizations that serve women and underrepresented minorities to make their programs accessible to students with disabilities. Finally they will collect and publish research and implementation data to enhance scientific and technological understanding of issues related to the inclusion of people with disabilities in computing.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Richard LadnerLibby CohenSheryl BurgstahlerWilliam McCarthy
As a result of the large number of media used and a variety of objectives pursued by the various Public Communication of Science (PCS) activities, their evaluation turns into a daunting task. Therefore, a general taxonomy for all the approaches used by PCS could be helpful in order to differentiate their effects and to measure their results. A general format is proposed for a fast and easy evaluation of PCS efforts and to share a common language with all science communicators, who need to easily compare the results of this growing activity.