The Math, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) outreach programs are partnerships between K-12 schools and higher education in eight states that for over forty years introduce science, mathematics and engineering to K-12 students traditionally underrepresented in the discipline. This exploratory study examines the influences that those MESA activities have on students' perception of engineering and their self-efficacy and interest in engineering and their subsequent decisions to pursue careers in engineering. The MESA activities to be studied include field trips, guest lecturers, design competitions, hands-on activities and student career and academic advisement.
About 1200 students selected from 40 MESA sites in California, Maryland and Utah are surveyed with instruments that build on those used in prior studies. Focus groups with a randomly selected subset of the students provide follow-up and probe the influence of the most promising activities. In the first year of the project the instruments, based on existing instruments, are developed and piloted. Data are taken in the second year and analyzed in the third year. A separate evaluation determines that the protocols are reasonable and are being followed.
The results are applicable to a number of organizations with similar aims and provide information for increasing the number of engineers from underrepresented populations. The project also investigates the correlation between student engagement in MESA and academic performance. This project provides insights on activities used in informal settings that can be employed in the classroom practice and instructional materials to further engage students, especially student from underrepresented groups, in the study of STEM.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Christine HaileyCameron DensonChandra Austin
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
EvaluATE is a national resource center dedicated to supporting and improving the evaluation practices of approximately 250 ATE grantees across the country. EvaluATE conducts webinars and workshops, publishes a quarterly newsletter, maintains a website with a digital resource library, develops materials to guide evaluation work, and conducts an annual survey of ATE grantees. EvaluATE's mission is to promote the goals of the ATE program by partnering with projects and centers to strengthen the program's evaluation knowledge base, expand the use of exemplary evaluation practices, and support the continuous improvement of technician education throughout the nation. EvaluATE's goals associated with this proposal are to: (1) Ensure that all ATE Principal Investigators and evaluators know the essential elements of a credible and useful evaluation; (2) Maintain a comprehensive collection of online resources for ATE evaluation; (3) Strengthen and expand the network of ATE evaluation stakeholders; and (4) Gather, synthesize, and disseminate data about the ATE program activities to advance knowledge about ATE/technician education. The Center plans to produce a comprehensive set of evaluation resources to complement other services, engaging several community college-based Principal Investigators and evaluators in that process.
EvaluATE's products are informed by current research on evaluation, the National Science Foundation's priorities for the evaluation of ATE grants, and the needs of ATE PIs and evaluators for sound guidance that is immediately relevant and usable in their contexts. The fundamental nature of EvaluATE's work is geared toward supporting ATE grantees to use evaluation regularly to improve their work and demonstrate their impacts. All of EvaluATE's products are available to the public. EvaluATE's findings from the annual survey of ATE grantees aid in advancing understanding of the status of technician education and illuminate areas for additional research. The new survey investigates ATE grantees' work to serve underrepresented and special populations, including women, people of color, and veterans. Survey data are available upon request for research and evaluation purposes.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Lori WingateArlen GullicksonEmma PerkKelly RobertsonLyssa Becho
This project takes an ethnographic and design-based approach to understanding how and what people learn from participation in makerspaces and explores the features of those environments that can be leveraged to better promote learning. Makerspaces are physical locations where people (often families) get together to make things. Some participants learn substantial amounts of STEM content and practices as they design, build, and iteratively refine working devices. Others, however, simply take a trial and error approach. Research explores the affordances are of these spaces for promoting learning and how to integrate technology into these spaces so that they are transformed from being makerspaces where learning happens, but inconsistently, into environments where learning is a consistent outcome of participation. One aim is to learn how to effectively design such spaces so that participants are encouraged and helped to become intentional, reflective makers rather than simply tinkerers. Research will also advance what is known about effective studio teaching and learning and advance understanding of how to support youth to help them become competent, creative, and reflective producers with technology(s). The project builds on the Studio Thinking Framework and what is known about development of meta-representational competence. The foundations of these frameworks are in Lave and Wengers communities of practice and Rogoff's, Stevens et al.'s, and Jenkins et al.'s further work on participatory cultures for social networks that revolve around production. A sociocultural approach is taken that seeks to understand the relationships between space, participants, and technologies as participants set and work toward achieving goals. Engaging more of our young population in scientific and technological thinking and learning and broadening participation in the STEM workplace are national imperatives. One way to address these imperatives is to engage the passions of young people, helping them recognize the roles STEM content and practices play in achieving their own personal goals. Maker spaces are neighborhood spaces that are arising in many urban areas that allow and promote tinkering, designing, and construction using real materials, sometimes quite sophisticated ones. Participating in designing and successfully building working devices in such spaces can promote STEM learning, confidence and competence in one's ability to solve problems, and positive attitudes towards engineering, science, and math (among other things). The goal in this project is to learn how to design these spaces and integrate learning technologies so that learning happens more consistently (along with tinkering and making) and especially so that they are accessible and inviting to those who might not normally participate in these spaces. The work of this project is happening in an urban setting and with at-risk children, and a special effort is being made to accommodate making and learning with peers. As with Computer Clubhouses, maker spaces hold potential for their participants to identify what is interesting to them at the same time their participation gives them the opportunity to express themselves, learn STEM content, and put it to use.
The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE), a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, is a partnership of the Association of Science-Technology Centers with faculty and professionals from the University of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out-of-School Environments (UPCLOSE), Oregon State University (OSU), the Great Lakes Science Center, KQED Public Media, advisors and other collaborators. CAISE works to support and resource ongoing improvement of, and NSF investments in, the national infrastructure for informal Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. CAISE's roles are to build capacity and support continued professionalization for the field by fostering a community that bridges the many varied forms in which informal STEM learning experiences are developed and delivered for learners of all ages. To that end, CAISE activities also include: creating field-driven evidence databases about the impacts of informal STEM education; facilitating federated searches of those databases; furthering dialogue and knowledge transfer between learning research and practice; working to enhance the quality and diversity of evaluation knowledge and processes; and helping STEM researchers improve their efforts in informal STEM education, outreach and communication. For Principal Investigators (PIs) and potential PIs, CAISE provides resources that can assist in the development of evidence-based proposals. It also facilitates and strengthens networks through PI meetings, communications, and other methods that encourage sharing of deliverables, practices, outcomes and findings across projects. For the AISL Program at NSF, CAISE is assisting program officers in understanding the portfolio of awards, identifying the portfolio's impacts in key areas, and integrating the program's investments in education infrastructure.
The National Writing Project (NWP) is collaborating with the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) on a four-year, full-scale development project that is designed to integrate science and literacy. Partnerships will be formed between NWP sites and ASTC member science centers and museums to develop, test, and refine innovative programs for educators and youth, resulting in the creation of a unique learning network. The project highlights the critical need for the integration of science and literacy and builds on recommendations in the Common Core State Standards and the National Research Council's publication, "A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas." The content focus includes current topics in science and technology such as environmental science, sustainability, synthetic biology, geoengineering, and other subjects which align with science center research and exhibits. The project design is supported by a framework that incorporates a constructivist/inquiry-based approach that capitalizes on the synergy between rigorous science learning and robust literacy practices. Project deliverables include a set of 10 local partnership sites, professional development for network members, a project website, and an evaluation report highlighting lessons learned. Partnership sites will be selected based on interest, proximity, history, and expertise. Two geographically and demographically diverse cohorts, consisting of five partnerships each will be identified in Years 2 and 3. Each set of partners will be charged with creating a comprehensive two-year plan for science literacy activities and products to be implemented at local sites. It is anticipated that the pilot programs may result in the creation of new programs that merge science and writing, integrate writing into existing museum science programs, or integrate science activities into existing NWP programs. Interest-driven youth projects such as citizen science and science journalism activities are examples of programmatic approaches that may be adopted. The partners will convene periodically for planning and professional development focused on the integration of science and literacy for public and professional audiences, provided in part by national practitioners and research experts. A network Design Team that includes leadership representatives from NWP, ASTC, and the project evaluator, Inverness Research, Inc., will oversee project efforts in conjunction with a national advisory board, while a Partnership Coordinator will provide support for the local sites. Inverness Research will conduct a multi-level evaluation to address the following questions: -What is the nature and quality of the local partner arrangements, and the larger network as a whole? -What is the nature and quality of the local science literacy programs that local partners initiate, and how do they engage local participants, and develop their sense of inquiry and communication skills? First, a Designed-Based Implementation Research approach will be used for the developmental evaluation to assess the implementation process. Next, the documentation and portrayal phase will assess the benefits to youth, educators, institutions, and the field using surveys, interviews, observations of educators, and reviews of science communication efforts created by youth. Finally, the summative evaluation includes a comprehensive portfolio of evidence to document the audience impacts and an independent assessment of the project model by an Evaluation Review Board. This project will result in the creation of a robust learning community while contributing knowledge and lessons learned to the field about networks and innovative partnerships. It is anticipated that formal and informal educators will gain increased knowledge about science and literacy programs and develop skills to provide effective programs, while youth will demonstrate increased understanding of key science concepts and the ability to communicate science. Programs created by the local partnerships will serve approximately 650 educators (450 informal educators and 200 K-12 teachers) and 500 youth ages 9-18. Plans for dissemination, expansion, and sustainability will be undertaken by the sub-networks of the collaborating national organizations drawing on the 350 ASTC member institutions and nearly 200 NWP sites at colleges and universities.
This full scale research and development collaborative project between Smith College and Springfield Technical Community College improves technical literacy for children in the area of engineering education through the Through My Window learning environment. The instructional design of the learning environment results from the application of innovative educational approaches based on research in the learning sciences—Egan's Imaginative Education (IE) and Knowledge Building (KB). The project provides idea-centered engineering curriculum that facilitates deep learning of engineering concepts through the use of developmentally appropriate narrative and interactive multimedia via interactive forums and blogs, young adult novels (audio and text with English and Spanish versions), eight extensive tie-in activities, an offline teachers’ curriculum guide, and social network connections and electronic portfolios. Targeting traditionally underrepresented groups in engineering—especially girls—the overarching goals of the project are improving attitudes toward engineering; providing a deeper understanding of what engineering is about; supporting the development of specific engineering skills; and increasing interest in engineering careers. The project will address the following research questions: What is the quality of the knowledge building discourse? Does it get better over time? Will students, given the opportunity, extend the discourse to new areas? What scaffolding does the learning environment need to support novice participants in this discourse? Does the use of narrative influence participation in knowledge building? Are certain types of narratives more effective in influencing participation in knowledge building? Evaluative feedback for usability, value effectiveness, and ease of implementation from informal educators and leaders from the Connecticut After School Network CTASN) will be included. The evaluation will include documentation on the impact of narrative and multimedia tools in the area of engineering education. Currently, there is very little research regarding children and young teen engagement in engineering education activities using narrative as a structure to facilitate learning engineering concepts and principles. The research and activities developed from this proposed project contributes to the field of Informal Science and Engineering Education. The results from this project could impact upper elementary and middle-school aged children and members from underrepresented communities and girls in a positive way.
The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and The Watermen's Museum, Yorktown, VA, will produce an underwater robotics research and discovery education program in conjunction with time-sensitive, underwater archeological research exploring recently discovered shipwrecks of General Cornwallis's lost fleet in the York River. The urgency of the scientific research is based upon the dynamic environment of the York River with its strong tidal currents, low visibility, and seasonal hypoxia that can rapidly deteriorate the ships, which have been underwater since 1781. Geophysical experts believe that further erosion is likely once the wrecks are exposed. Given the unknown deterioration rate of the shipwrecks coupled with the constraints of implementing the project during the 2011-2012 school-year, any delays would put the scientific research back at least 18 months - a potentially devastating delay for documenting the ships. The monitoring and studying of the historic ships will be conducted by elementary through high school-aged participants and their teachers who will collect the data underwater through robotic missions using VideoRay Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and a Fetch Automated Underwater Vehicle (AUV) from a command station at The Watermen's Museum. Students and teachers will be introduced to the science, mathematics, and integrated technologies associated with robotic underwater research and will experience events that occur on a real expedition, including mission planning, execution, monitoring, and data analysis. Robotic missions will be conducted within the unique, underwater setting of the historical shipwrecks. Such research experiences and professional development are intended to serve as a key to stimulating student interest in underwater archeological research, the marine environment and ocean science, advanced research using new technologies, and the array of opportunities presented for scientific and creative problem solving associated with underwater research. A comprehensive, outcomes-based formative and summative, external evaluation of the project will be conducted by Dr. L. Art Safer, Loyola University. The evaluation will inform the project's implementation efforts and investigate the project's impact. The newly formed partnership between the Waterman's Museum and VIMS will expand the ISE Program's objectives to forge new partnerships among informal venues, and to expand the use of advanced technologies for informal STEM learning. Extensive public dissemination during and after the project duration, includes but is not limited to, hosting an "Expedition to the Wrecks" web portal on the VIMS BRIDGE site for K-12 educators providing real-time results of the project and live webcasts. The website will be linked to the education portal at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, the world's largest organization devoted to promoting unmanned systems and to the FIRST Robotics community through the Virginia portal. The website will be promoted through scientific societies, the National Marine Educators Association, National Science Teachers Association, and ASTC. Links will be provided to the Center for Archeological Research at the College of William and Mary and the Immersion Presents web portal--consultants to Dr. Bob Ballard's K-12 projects and JASON explorations. The NPS Colonial National Historic Park and the Riverwalk Landing will create public exhibits about the shipwreck's archeological and scientific significance, and will provide live observation of the research and the exploration technologies employed in this effort.
Through the Scientists for Tomorrow pathways project, The Science Institute at Columbia College in Chicago will test a model for preparing non-science major, pre-service elementary school teachers to deliver three ten-week informal science education modules to youth in after school programs. The initiative will bring engineering concepts, environmental science, and technology to approximately 240 urban Chicago youth (ages 10-14 years old) and their families. The Science Institute will partner with eight minority serving community based organizations and the Museum of Science and Industry, the Field Museum, and the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance to develop and implement all aspects of the program. The goals of the program are two-fold. First, the project will develop and implement a high-quality STEM based afterschool program for under-represented youth in STEM. Second, the professional development and experience implementing the curriculum with youth in the local communities and within informal science education (ISE) institutions will extend and enrich the pre-service teachers\' STEM content and pedagogical knowledge base and better prepare them to teach science in formal and informal settings. Thirty teachers will receive specialized professional development through a seminar, course, and other support mechanisms in order to best support the implementation of the modules, while building their STEM content expertise, confidence, and pedagogical knowledge. Each module has a different STEM content focus: alternative energy (fall), the physics and mathematics of sound and music (winter), and environmental science (spring). At the end of each module, a culminating youth-led presentation will be held at one of the partnering Chicago museums. Youth will be encouraged to participate in all three modules. The formative evaluation will be conducted by the Co-Principal Investigators. Pre and post assessments, artifact reviews, and interviews will be used for the summative evaluation, which will be conducted by an external evaluator at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The project deliverables include: (a) a teacher training program, (b) an after school curriculum, and (c) media tools - DVDs, website. Over the grant period, the project intends to reach 120 youth each year, over 100 family and community members, and 30 teachers. The larger impact of this project will be the development of a scalable model for bringing relevant STEM content and experiences to youth, their families, and non-science major pre-service teachers. As a result of this project, a cadre of pre-service teachers will have: (a) increased their STEM content knowledge, (b) gained experience presenting STEM content in informal settings, (c) learned effective approaches to deliver hands-on STEM content, and (d) learned to use museum and other ISE resources in their teaching. In fact, after the grant period nearly half of the teachers will continue to work at the centers as part-time instructors, fully supported by the partnering community centers.
Iridescent is a not-for-profit company that develops and implements informal science and engineering experiences for students by facilitating the translation of the work that scientists and engineers do in a way that makes that work accessible to families. The proposal expands the Iridescent outreach activities funded by the Office of Naval Research, to provide a blended combination of in-person and online support to the families of underrepresented populations. The project is producing twenty videos of scientists and engineers presenting their research that are closely aligned with one hundred scientific inquiry and engineering design-based experiments and lesson plans. These digital resources, collectively called the Curiosity Machine, provide opportunities for parents and children to engage in scientific inquiry and engineering design in multiple face-to-face and online environments, including mobile technologies. The evaluation findings from this project provide a model of how to engage STEM education practitioners, teachers and online communities, to substantively connect underserved communities, in both informal and more formal learning environments to develop experiences with engineering design and to improve students' perspectives about and motivations to prepare for STEM careers. The Curiosity Machine portal is designed to present scientists and engineers explaining the work that they do in a way that makes it accessible to parents and students. Iridescent is working at three sites across the country in South Los Angeles, the South Bronx in New York City, and San Francisco. Students and their families have multiple access points to the science and engineering videos and materials through after school activities, Family Science Nights and summer camps. The project is piloting the use of electronic badges, similar to those offered in the Boy and Girl Scouts as a mechanism to enhance the engagement and persistence of students in the online activities. The project is developing ways to evaluate student engagement and performance through the analysis of the products that students submit online in response to particular science and engineering challenges. Students can also gain extra credit at school for their participation in the Curiosity Machine activities. The materials that the Curiosity Machine activities and challenges use are those that are commonly available to families, and the project provides access to mobile technology to facilitate participation by families. Student access to out of school science and engineering experiences is limited by the resources in terms of time and availability science centers have available. This project develops the resources and tools to bridge the in-school and out of school activities for students through the use of videos and online participation in ways that expand the opportunity of students from underserved populations to continue to engage in substantive science and engineering experiences beyond what they might get during an intermittent visit to a science center. The research and evaluation that is part of this study provides information about how new forms of extrinsic motivation might be used to support student engagement and persistence in learning about science and engineering.
Oceanus (working title) is a multi-platform media project designed to increase ocean literacy and communicate the latest oceanographic research and exploration. Produced by National Geographic Television, the project will focus on the complex science behind the global ocean systems and the many challenges involved in deep-ocean exploration. Oceanus is designed to reach a broad public audience across both genders and all demographics. The project also includes links to formal education, with special outreach efforts to Spanish-speaking students. The project goals are to increase viewer literacy about 1) the essential principles and fundamental concepts underlying ocean systems and functions, and 2) the impact of the ocean on humanity and our influence on it. The deliverables include a 5-part "landmark" television series featuring Dr. Robert Ballard and a host of international scientists, which will premiere on the National Geographic Channel in 2012. The series will employ a new generation of underwater exploration technology which allows for an unprecedented view of the ocean floor. The project also includes digital and online content, a companion book, coverage in National Geographic magazine and National Geographic Kids magazine, formal and informal materials for teachers and students and an outreach program for underserved youth. Multimedia Research will conduct formative evaluation in two phases, and Knight Williams Inc. will conduct summative evaluation in three separate studies to assess the project\'s learning impacts with respect to the television series, web and outreach activities. Oceanus will showcase technical innovations which advance deep-sea film making. The project aims to engage a broad audience with compelling stories about a critical area of science and related cutting-edge engineering. The television series is expected to reach 25 million viewers in the U.S., and the outreach material millions more. The summative evaluation will add to the body of research on the impact of science educational television on adults, and the impact of outreach to underserved audiences with respect to ocean-related topics.
When it comes to STEM education, the nation’s K–12 public schools cannot do it all. The nature of 21st century proficiency in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is too complex for any single institution. The good news is that schools do not have to do it alone. Museums, zoos, nature centers, aquariums, and planetariums are among the several thousand informal science institutions in the United States that regularly engage young people in observing, learning, and using STEM knowledge and skills. Providing a richness of resources unavailable in any classroom, informal science
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Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education (CADRE)
The NRC Framework for K – 12 Science Education (2012) lists five major ideas that are essential to the design of assessments and learning environments: 1) limited number of core ideas of science, 2) cross-cutting concepts, 3) engaging students in scientific and engineering practices, 4) building integrated understanding as a developmental process, and 5) the coupling of scientific ideas and scientific and engineering practices to develop integrated understanding. What implications do these major ideas have for assessment in informal science setting? This paper will discuss each of these ideas