Citizen science refers to partnerships between volunteers and scientists that answer real world questions. The target audiences in this project are middle and high school teachers and their students in a broad range of settings: two urban districts, an inner-ring suburb, and three rural districts. The project utilizes existing citizen science programs as springboards for professional development for teachers during an intensive summer workshop. The project curriculum helps teachers use student participation in citizen science to engage them in the full complement of science practices; from asking questions, to conducting independent research, to sharing findings. Through district professional learning communities (PLCs), teachers work with district and project staff to support and demonstrate project implementation. As students and their teachers engage in project activities, the project team is addressing two key research questions: 1) What is the nature of instructional practices that promote student engagement in the process of science?, and 2) How does this engagement influence student learning, with special attention to the benefits of engaging in research presentations in public, high profile venues? Key contributions of the project are stronger connections between a) ecology-based citizen science programs, STEM curriculum, and students' lives and b) science learning and disciplinary literacy in reading, writing and math.
Research design and analysis are focused on understanding how professional development that involves citizen science and independent investigations influences teachers' classroom practices and student learning. The research utilizes existing instruments to investigate teachers' classroom practices, and student engagement and cognitive activity: the Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation and Classroom Observation Protocol, and Inquiring into Science Instruction Observation Protocol. These instruments are used in classroom observations of a stratified sample of classes whose students represent the diversity of the participating districts. Curriculum resources for each citizen science topic, cross-referenced to disciplinary content and practices of the NGSS, include 1) a bibliography (books, web links, relevant research articles); 2) lesson plans and student science journals addressing relevant science content and background on the project; and 3) short videos that help teachers introduce the projects and anchor a digital library to facilitate dissemination. Impacts beyond both the timeframe of the project and the approximately 160 teachers who will participate are supported by curriculum units that address NGSS life science topics, and wide dissemination of these materials in a variety of venues. The evaluation focuses on outcomes of and satisfaction with the summer workshop, classroom incorporation, PLCs, and student learning. It provides formative and summative findings based on qualitative and quantitative instruments, which, like those used for the research, have well-documented reliability and validity. These include the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument to assess teacher beliefs; the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol to assess teacher practices; the Standards Assessment Inventory to assess PLC quality; and the Scientific Attitude Inventory to assess student attitudes towards science. Project deliverables include 1) curriculum resources that will support engagement in five existing citizen science projects that incorporate standards-based science content; 2) venues for student research presentations that can be duplicated in other settings; and 3) a compilation of teacher-adapted primary scientific research articles that will provide a model for promoting disciplinary literacy. The project engages 40 teachers per year and their students.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Karen OberhauserMichele KoomenGillian RoehrigRobert BlairAndrea Lorek Strauss
The project is supported under the NSF Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability Fellows (SEES Fellows) program, with the goal of helping to enable discoveries needed to inform actions that lead to environmental, energy and societal sustainability while creating the necessary workforce to address these challenges. Sustainability science is an emerging field that addresses the challenges of meeting human needs without harm to the environment, and without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their needs. A strong scientific workforce requires individuals educated and trained in interdisciplinary research and thinking, especially in the area of sustainability science. With the SEES Fellowship support, this project will enable a promising early career researcher to establish herself in an independent research career related to sustainability. This project builds upon Resiliency Theory and theories of applied community participation to explore two specific contexts of participatory communication (i.e., processes of collective learning and shared meaning) at the science-society interface: (1) adaptive co-management meetings in New Mexico and Oklahoma, and (2) existing education efforts by drought scientists at two Great Plains universities (Oklahoma State University and University of Nebraska-Lincoln). A mixed methods approach (including, household surveys, oral histories, key informant interviews, and pilot tests) will model community-partnership capacity for drought adaptation in Cimarron (OK) and Union (NM) Counties, and assess the impact of community-academic partnerships on drought literacy and adaptive capacity across the Great Plains. Research in adaptive co-management meetings and interactive media (as contexts for participatory communication between scientists and citizens) provides the context for innovative case study research on the role of public communication about science in community drought adaptation.
Collaboration in case study research with Host Mentor Vadjunec and outreach efforts with Partner Institution Mentor Thomas (UNL) offers a unique opportunity to research the intersections of participatory communication and scientific literacy about the human and climatic drivers of extreme drought. The core research questions addressed by this proposal are, (1) What formal and informal pathways, players, and partnerships exist for participatory communication between scientists and citizens about drought vulnerability and adaptation, (2) How does communication about drought risk and recovery inform the effective diffusion and translation of drought literacy efforts in the Great Plains, and (3) How can we design forums and spaces for sustained interaction (i.e., engagement and collective learning) between stakeholders involved in adaptive drought communication? The project objectives uniquely related to advancing research at the intersections of sustainability science and education are, (1) to identify dimensions of community and partnership capacity for drought education and pathways of adaptive drought communication across scales, (2) to advance dynamic participatory models which assist in the adaptive co-management of water resources in local communities (i.e., increasing citizen-science dialogue, mobilizing community leaders, and fostering the drought education partnerships), and (3) to design and measure the success of drought literacy efforts based on inputs from sustainability scientists at various stages of community decision-making. The adaptive drought co-management workshops in NM and OK provide spaces for stakeholder interaction, which may lead to new approaches, innovations, and learning outcomes for communities in those regions. Outreach partnerships with UNL maximize dissemination of user-friendly and culturally-relevant drought outreach products, including a project website to consolidate scientific knowledge about drought in the Great Plains and interactive media templates. Interdisciplinary collaborations and research findings will inform efforts in academic community partnerships for sustainable practices across many NSF-supported disciplines.
From Our Town to Outer Space will inform, engage, and inspire new public audiences (library staff and patrons) by sharing NASA’s missions, challenges, and achievements. FOTOS is led by the Space Science Institute’s (SSI) National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL). NASA mission staff will be invited to participate as active members. NCIL is partnering with Evaluation & Research Associates (ERA) to provide formative and summative evaluation services. FOTOS is a standards-based, informal education program that will reach a broad audience of librarians, library patrons, and other members of the public with a special focus on underserved and underrepresented audiences. The 3-year pilot program includes: 1) a hands-on, museum- quality library exhibit (called Discover NASA: the science and engineering of tomorrow) and tour (to 7 libraries across the country), 2) the development and broad dissemination of active learning activities for different age groups, and 3) library staff training (online and in-person) that introduces them to the STEM content of the exhibit and guides them in developing complementary programming. The project will also develop resources for the existing STAR Library Education Network (STAR Net) community of practice (CoP) whose members include librarians and STEM professionals.
Water for Life (WfL) is a full scale development youth and community based program; centered on freshwater literacy, water conservation and rainwater harvesting led by the Pacific Resources for Education Learning (PREL) in Hawaii. The goals of the project are to: (a) promote an understanding of water conservation and stewardship in areas lacking adequate quality water supplies and (b) build local capacity among rural communities to develop and employ site specific freshwater harvesting strategies proven to improve water quality. Rural communities within four Pacific Island entities in the U.S. affiliated Freely Associated States (FAS) will participate in WfL activities. PREL is collaborating with a host of organizations (such as the Federated States of Micronesia National Department of Education, Marshall Islands Conservation Society, and the Micronesian Conservation Trust, etc.) to develop and implement all phases of the initiative. This work is already improving the quality of life for hundreds of people in the FAS through water conversation education and improved water quality in local areas. Working closely with site-embedded PREL staff, Core Teams at each site - consisting of 4-6 local leaders from environmental agencies, water/sanitation systems, and education institutions - participated in a 5-day professional learning immersion in May, 2013, to buld capacities to develop and facilitate water conservation and catchment activities at the four target sites in the FAS. The Core Team members at each site now are recruiting and collaborating with local community members to implement site-specific projects that both educate and provide enhanced access to high quality drinking water. Both adults and youth are now engaging in a spectrum of proejcts that address loca needs and priorities through site-specific service learning activities. The site-specific focus in each locale, determined by the local Core Team, is distinct. In Palau, the Core Team has built broader community awareness of water conservation issues, raised the issue of water security in national conversations, engaged remote communities in improving natural rainwater drainage collection systems, and produced youth-oriented educational materials focused on local sites. In Yap, the Core Team members have collaborated with public utilities to install first-flush diverters into community rainwater catchment systems on Yap proper, and now are installing these devices in rainwater catchment systems on Yap's neighbor islands. In Chuuk, groundwater springs in remote communities are being upgraded for improved storage capacity, protection against contamination, and better public access. In Majuro (RMI), public school rainwater catchment systems are being repaired, repainted, cleaned, and upgraded so that schools can and will provide adequate drinking water to students (and to broader segments of the community during droughts). Broad segments of communities, including school classes and clubs, church and civic groups, etc. are becoming increasingly involved in building better water security and resilience for their communities, in preparation for a predicted drought, predicted to hit in the winter of 2014-2015, brought on by an El Nino event now edevelopig in the eastern Pacific. Water for Life has produced a range of locally relevant educational materials, including books, pamphlets, flyers, etc., some in English and others in local languages. Posters and billboards are being produced to enhance and maintain public awareness. Infrastructure projects are enabling better collection of more, higher quality water for drinking. A full-scale water handbook is under development, and this will serve as a basis for a self-contained water 'course' that will be offered through local community colleges. The experiences of project participants are being captured, analyzed, and reported in front-end, formative, and sumative evaluations conducted by David Heil & Associates. Thousands of individuals, comprising large segments of the participating countries' populations, will be directly impacted by the project. The results will be applicable to other remote and rural communities outside of the Pacific distressed by poor water quality and ineffective freshwater harvesting systems.
This project will bring STEM education to rural communities through local public libraries. Museum quality exhibits labelled as "Discover Earth", "Discover Technology", and "Discover Space" will spend 3 months at a series of locations around the Nation. Twenty four medium sized libraries will be chosen for the large exhibits and forty small libraries will be chosen for scaled down versions. The project's intent is to provide exhibits in every state and to reach as many under-represented individuals as possible. The significance of this project is that rural areas of this country are underserved regarding STEM education and since this segment of society is represented by 50-60 million residents, it is important to reach out to them. There is a significant segment of the Nation's population (50-60 million) that is underserved by out-of-school learning venues such as museums and science centers. An earlier phase 1 project demonstrated at 18 sites that rural libraries and librarians could provide STEM education to community members ranging in age from adults to children using these hands-on exhibits. Each exhibit (earth, space or technology) includes information about the topic and technologically enabled models to provide interesting and fun discovery mechanisms. They use common layman friendly language that highlights the most recent discoveries in each area. Each exhibit will be placed in the selected library for 3 months during which the library will organize events to feature and advertise the STEM learning opportunities. Another feature of this project will be to determine the models of learning in library settings and as a function of the demographics. The partners in this project that bring the necessary expertise are the American Library Association, the Afterschool Alliance, the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, the University of Colorado Museum, Datum Advisors, LLC, Evaluation and Research Associates, the Lunar and Planetary Institute, the American Geophysical Union, and the Space Science Institute.
The NASA Saturday in the Pee Dee, an underserved region of South Carolina, is a three year project led by ScienceSouth, partnering with The Dooley Planetarium at Francis Marion University, to deliver hands on programming, astronomical viewing sessions, and planetarium programs to increase public awareness of NASA and its on-going missions, and to generate an interest in the areas of STEM education and the pursuit of careers in these fields. The audience is the residents in a ten-county region of South Carolina known as the Pee Dee, with Florence, South Carolina as the economic hub of the region. The Pee Dee has a very high percentage of minority residents, people living at or below the poverty level, and poor performance on standardized test especially in the STEM related topics. There will be a total of ten hands-on programs directly related to on-going NASA missions, including astrobiology, near earth objects, robotics, rocketry, geocaching, deep space, weather systems on Earth, the sun and distant stars, telescopes, and planetary objects. These programs will be held at the ScienceSouth Pavilion or Dooley Planetarium. The programs will be complemented initially with eight observation sessions the first year, with the number expanding in the following years to include more rural areas in the Pee Dee. The Florence County Library system and Florence School District One have agreed to assist in increasing public awareness of programs and provide additional resources for further information about related topics.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Stephen WelchJeannette MyersNathan FlowersAnthony Martinez
This full-scale development project will address the need for creative models to support STEM learning in underserved rural communities that lack traditional infrastructure such as science centers. The project will create and study an innovative model of capacity-building: viz., small networks of community-embedded “STEM Guides” will be trained to identify a range of existing STEM resources available in their local regions, and to connect STEM-interested youth with them in creative and personal ways. Anticipated learning outcomes for youth and families include greater awareness of and interest in STEM experiences and pathways. At the regional level, the project will build capacity through increasing the STEM Guides’ knowledge of local STEM opportunities, and by enhancing connections among STEM-related resources, programs, and industries. The project will implement and study STEM Guide networks in a staggered series of five low-income, rural regions, providing startup resources and professional development. The project will increase the frequency and depth of out-of-school STEM experiences for approximately 3,000 youth aged 10-18 at a relatively low cost, creating a national model for STEM capacity-building in rural settings. It is led by the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance, with 4-H, Cornerstones of Science (library-based STEM) and Maine’s university system as collaborators. EDC is the primary external evaluator.
The National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) at the Space Science Institute (SSI), in collaboration with the Colorado Clinical and Translational Studies Institute (CTSCI), and Colorado Area Health Education Centers (AHECs), requests support for Discover Health/Descubre la Salud (DH/DS). The bilingual (English/Spanish) project will include an interactive library exhibit supported by media and community education resources to engage underserved communities in learning about their cardiovascular and digestive systems, and how to keep them healthy. The project will target underserved communities, including rural and Latino communities, working through libraries and community institutions. The project will use a strategic combination of bilingual, interactive exhibits presented at libraries and community health fairs and festivals, career events, family nights, science camps, and mini-med schools, to engage students, families, and adults in these important health issues. Project PI Robert Russell, Senior Education Associate at NCIL, and NCIL Founder Co-PI Dusenbery, Founder of NCIL, will direct the project. Dr. Jack Westfall, who will direct the Community Engagement Core of CCTSI and also directs Colorado AHECS, he will direct their subaward. An outstanding advisory committee includes biomedical researchers, community health educators, librarians, and informal science educators. They will provide expertise on biomedical science content and help guide the project's implementation. Knight Williams, Inc., a highly experienced media and community evaluation firm, will conduct the full required project evaluation.