The purpose of this paper is to explore results from a qualitative study of how high school aged BLV youth used spatial language during a virtual engineering experience administered by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). Findings from this study can provide recommendations to enhance language in curricula that better reflects BLV students' content and may ultimately encourage more BLV students to pursue careers in STEM fields.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Gary TimkoNatalie ShaheenWade GoodridgeTheresa GreenDaniel Kane
An adapted three-dimensional model of place attachment is proposed as a theoretical framework from which place-based citizen science experiences and outcomes might be empirically examined in depth.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Julia ParrishYurong HeBenjamin Haywood
Growth in the US Latinx population has outpaced the Latinx growth in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees and occupation, further widening the ethnic gap in STEM. Mathematics has often identified as a bottleneck keeping many youth, especially minoritized youth, from pursuing STEM studies. Unequal opportunities to develop powerful math assets explain differences in math skills and understanding often experienced by minoritized youth. Implementing culturally responsive practices (CRP) in afterschool programs has the potential to promote math skills and motivation for youth from minoritized groups. However, extensive research is needed to understand which culturally responsive informal pedagogical practices (CIPPs) are most impactful and why. This project aims to identify and document such practices, shed light on the challenges faced by afterschool staff in implementing them, and develop training resources for afterschool staff to address these challenges. 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.
The fundamental research questions addressed by the project focus on (1) which CIPPs matter most in the context of a STEM university-community partnership engaging Latinx youth, and (2) in what context(s) and under what conditions do these CIPPs relate to positive outcomes for both youth participants and college mentor/facilitator. A third aim is to build capacity of afterschool staff for implementing CIPPs in informal STEM afterschool programs. The first two aims are addressed through a mixed-methods research study which includes quantitative surveys and qualitative in-depth interviews with five cohorts of adolescent participants, parents, and undergraduate mentors. Each year, surveys will be collected from adolescents and mentors at four time points during the year; the in-depth interviews will be collected from adolescents, parents, and mentors in the spring. In total, 840 adolescents and 210 mentors will be surveyed; and 87 adolescents, 87 parents, and 87 mentors will be interviewed. The third aim will be addressed by leveraging the research findings and the collective knowledge developed by practitioners and researchers to create a public archive containing documentation of CIPPs for informal STEM afterschool programs and training modules for afterschool staff. The team will disseminate these resources extensively with informal afterschool practitioners in California and beyond. Ultimately, this project will lead to improved outcomes for minoritized youth in informal STEM afterschool programs across the nation, and increased representation of minoritized youth in STEM pursuits.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Alessandra PantanoSandra SimpkinsCynthia Sanchez Tapia
In April 2018, FHI 360, under the leadership of Maryann Stimmer and Merle Froschl, convened a meeting of thought leaders in Washington, D.C. to capture a “snapshot” of STEM education. They subsequently conducted additional interviews with more than 50 local and national policy leaders; public and private funders; researchers; PreK-12 and post-secondary educators; parents, and leaders of afterschool programs, science centers and youth-serving organizations. The purpose of this summary report is to identify current trends and gaps to inform research, policy, and practice in order to reinforce
Flying Higher will develop a permanent hands-on exhibit that conveys the fundamentals of flight, technology, materials science, and NASA’s role in aeronautics for learners ages 3-12 years and their parents/caregivers and teachers. The exhibit, public programs, school and teacher programs, and teacher professional development will develop a pipeline of skilled workers to support community workforce needs and communicate NASA’s contributions to the nation and world. An innovative partnership with Claflin University (an historically black college) and Columbia College (a women’s liberal arts college) will provide undergraduate coursework in informal science education to support pre-service learning opportunities and paid employment for students seeking careers in education and/or STEM fields. The projects goals are:
1) To educate multi-generational family audiences about the principles and the future of aeronautics; provide hands-on, accessible, and immersive opportunities to explore state-of-the-art NASA technology; and demonstrate the cultural impact of flight in our global community.
2) To provide educational standards-based programming to teachers and students in grades K–8 on NASA-driven research topics, giving the students opportunities to explore these topics and gain exposure to science careers at NASA; and to offer teachers support in presenting STEM topics.
3) To create and implement a professional development program to engage pre-service teachers in presenting museum-based programs focused on aeronautics and engineering. This program will provide undergraduate degree credits, service learning, and paid employment to students that supports STEM instruction in the classroom, explores the benefits of informal science education, and encourages post-graduate opportunities in STEM fields.
Many communities across the country are developing "maker spaces," environments that combine physical fabrication equipment, social communities of people working together, and educational activities for learning how to design and create objects. Increasingly, maker spaces and maker technologies are being designed to provide extended learning opportunities for school-aged young people. Unfortunately, few youth from under-represented populations have had the opportunity to participate in these maker spaces, and many communities do not have the resources to establish facilities dedicated to making activities. This project, a collaboration of faculty at California State University, San Marcos and San Diego County Office of Education, the Vista Unified School District, and the San Diego Fab Lab, is a feasibility study that will work to address these needs by implementing and evaluating a pilot Mobile Making program in an underserved youth population. It will bring Making to four after-school programs in underserved communities in San Diego by using a van to take both equipment and undergraduate student mentors to program sites. At these sites, between 50% and 90% of the students are Hispanic or Latino and between 40% and 90% are eligible for free or reduced price lunch. The project employs a research-based approach to the design and implementation of the Mobile Making program, coupled with an evidenced-based plan for developing a model for future dissemination. Project objectives are: increasing the participants' interest, self-efficacy, and perception of the relevance of Making/STEM in everyday life; identifying and overcoming challenges associated with a Mobile Making program; developing a model for implementing and assessing Mobile Making in underserved communities; and disseminating materials and guides for practitioners. Development will be guided by five research-based principles for design of out-of-school time programs in underserved communities: access to resources; ethnically diverse near-peer leaders; authentic activities; legitimacy within the community; and ongoing input from participants. To inform program development and implementation, including continuous monitoring and adjustment throughout the two-year initiative, the evaluation component will use a mixed methods approach to study outcomes with respect to the students, their parents and the undergraduate mentors. Future work will apply the lessons learned in the project to guide implementations and study the model's applicability in other informal education settings. The dissemination plan will include publication of project findings, activities, practitioner's guides, and the model for implementing making programs in underserved communities.
Researchers asked 5,000 Norwegian college-level students of STEM about the sources of inspiration for their educational choices. The most influential people were teachers and parents—the people who knew the young people best. The findings suggest that the most effective STEM role models are individuals who have a personal connection with the young person making education and career choices.
This poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting. In this NSF International Research Experiences for Students project MSU students will travel to the Altai Republic and work with faculty and students at Gorno-Altaisk University to conduct research related to native language use in learning ecological sciences in informal settings.
The Vermont Center for the Book is developing "Mother Goose Cares about Math and Science," an integrated curriculum of science process skills and standards-based mathematics concepts for preschool children. A college credit course will be developed for childcare providers based on this curriculum. The course increases science and math literacy and the ability to incorporate NCTM standards, and science process skills, into daily interactions with children. Participants are also provided with the tools to communicate the importance of these concepts to parents. The course will be delivered to 600 childcare workers in Vermont and inner-city Philadelphia over a three-year period. Recruitment will include providers in center-, home- and school-based settings in both urban and rural communities. Participants will be provided with books, Curriculum Guides, tools and manipulatives needed to implement the course pedagogy. Materials to be developed include a seven-segment training, which will be used to disseminate the project nationally. Participants will receive a comprehensive training package that can be used to train their peers.
The Self-Reliance Foundation (SRF) Conociendo Tu Cuerpo (Know Your Body) Hispanic Community Health Sciences Education project is an initiative designed to introduce Hispanic students and families to biomedical science and health education resources, and increase their participation levels in these fields. The educational goals of the project are to: (1) Encourage Hispanic undergraduate students to pursue careers in biomedicine and science through a mentoring program at the university level; (2) Inspire an interest in biomedical science among Hispanic elementary-age students and parents through community outreach activities; (3) Inform Hispanic parents about biomedical science education standards and academic requirements for pursuing biomedical and science related careers; and (4) Inform and inspire Hispanic students and their families about the biomedical sciences and related careers through a series of daily nationally broadcast Spanish-language radio capsules, and a nationally syndicated Spanish newspaper column. Conociendo Tu Cuerpo (Know Your Body) includes several key components: A model, Washington, D.C., area coalition of informal science, health, community, education, and media organizations that will publicize and provide hands-on health science activities at community festivals and other community settings; Hispanic undergraduate student health-science fellows to be trained and provided experience in facilitating health science activities; and nationally broadcast Spanish-language radio capsules that will cover topics in areas of biomedicine, research, education, and health-science careers. Parents and students will be able to access additional information about biomedical science opportunities and Hispanic role models in the biomedical sciences through the project's Conociendo Tu Cuerpo website and the bilingual 800 telephone help line promoted by 147 participating radio stations and 102 newspapers nationwide. The project will be supported at the national level through collaboration with the Hispanic Radio Network and the Pacific Science Center. The Washington, D.C., collaborative will include the Capital Children's Museum, local Spanish language radio stations, area universities, and health and community organizations. Development Associates, the largest American education and evaluation consulting corporation, will evaluate the project.