The executive summary of the Formative Research Report for the project: Fostering Joint Parent/Child Engagement in Preschool Computational Thinking by Leveraging Digital Media, Mobile Technology, and Library Settings in Rural Communities.
This is the formative research report for the project: Fostering Joint Parent/Child Engagement in Preschool Computational Thinking by Leveraging Digital Media, Mobile Technology, and Library Settings in Rural Communities
This project will teach foundational computational thinking (CT) concepts to preschoolers by creating a mobile app to guide families through sequenced sets of videos and hands-on activities, building on the popular PBS KIDS series Work It Out Wombats!
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Marisa WolskyJanna KookJessica Andrews
Through Project BUILD, a STAR Library Network (STAR Net) program funded by the National Science Foundation, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Space Science Institute’s National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) offered the virtual Dream, Build, Create program which consisted of (1) the award-winning documentary Dream Big: Engineering Our World and (2) five live-streamed panels of diverse engineers (Dream Teams) who shared their stories of what it means to be an engineer.
The external evaluation, conducted by Education Development Center (EDC), aimed to examine how
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Institute of Museum and Library Services—recognizing an opportunity to leverage our shared public service missions— joined forces on a leadership initiative to help public broadcasters, libraries, and museums collaborate on the local level to meet community needs. This initiative resulted in the funding of 20 Community Collaboration projects. The Partnership for a Nation of Learners: Joining Forces, Creating Value report provides grantee success stories that can guide local organizations who would like to collaborate on behalf of their
Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) conducted summative evaluation of the educational resources kit for Forgotten Genius, a program from the PBS television series Lives in Science. Forgotten Genius explored the life of the scientist Percy Julian, an African American chemist who persevered in the face of racism to become one of the great scientists and inventors of the 20th century. GRG's evaluation focused on how public librarians used and assessed the educational resources kit, as well as their suggestions for revising the kit and conducting future science-related library outreach. The
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Marianne McPhersonJennie MurackIrene F GoodmanWGBH
Nebraskans for Public Television is developing the math strand in Reading Rainbow. Under this grant, the project will "re-purpose" 30 existing Reading Rainbow program for use in mathematics learning, produce two new math-focused programs, and institute a comprehensive outreach campaign. Books currently being considered for the new programs are Mama Bear, which looks at money and its uses and examines some simple economics; and Echoes for the Eye which explores patterns in nature. The outreach will solicit and involve families served by the National Urban League; recruit school and community-based children's librarians in the math-based literature effort; and expand the local public broadcasting outreach efforts related to the math focus of the series from the eight model stations in the previous year to all interested public television stations. The target will be to involve at least 75 stations in substantive outreach to families and schools. The project also will develop and disseminate a new print piece modeled after the very successful Math is Everywhere Reading Rainbow Teachers Guide which has been used by over 3,000 teachers. Twila Liggett will continue as Executive Producer and Project Manager and LeVar Burton will remain as host and Co-Executive Producer. Cecily and Larry Truett will be Supervising Producer and Producer/Director respectively. Advisors include Herbert Ginsburg from Teachers College, Columbia University; Lucille Mahon, Math Coordinator, NYC Community School District 2; Solomon Garfunkel, Executive Director, COMAP, Inc.; and Judith Jacobs, Director of the Center for Education and Equity in Mathematics, Science, and Technology at California State Polytechnic University.
FETCH is a new PBS television series with accompanying Web and outreach activities targeted to 6- to 10-year olds. The program brings science learning to young children by uniquely blending live-action with animation, game show convention with reality programming, and humor with academics. The intended impacts are to: 1) reach the target audience about what it means to be a scientist and encourage them to pursue a science career; 2) provide outreach partners with curriculum that supports content-rich ISE activities and career explorations in varied settings; and 3) demonstrate how media can be used to teach substantive science and share the results of project evaluation with others in the field. The requested funds will allow the project to expand the science curriculum with 20 new half-hour episodes and expand the Web site, focusing on three new science themes that highlight a range of careers: habitats, structures, and chemistry. In addition, funds will support new educational resources for libraries and other youth-serving organizations. FETCH is produced by WGBH; content and outreach partners include the Association for Library Service to Children, the National Wildlife Federation, and the American Chemical Society in addition to outreach partners in 3,200 youth-serving organizations. American Institute for Research will conduct formative evaluation for the project; Goodman Research Group will conduct summative evaluation of both the television show and the FETCH Future Scientist Guide.
WGBH Educational Foundation is requesting funds to produce 20 new shows and new outreach and Web activities for "ZOOM," which will be renamed "Hot Seat." "Hot Seat" is a daily half-hour PBS television series targeted to kids ages 8 to 11. Uniquely by and for kids, the program gives its viewers a chance to explore, to experiment and to share their creativity. The series, along with its far-reaching outreach, offers its audience an innovative curriculum that promotes the acquisition of basic math and science knowledge and the development of problem solving skills called "Habits of Mind." The intended impacts are to: (1) establish a project that uniquely integrates television, the Web and outreach as a model for how media can teach science and math; (2) engage kids and teach them science and math content and process skills; (3) provide curriculum and professional development to organizational partners. Innovation includes developing three new content areas for the series -- Invention, Space Science and Earth Science -- and evolving the project design by incorporating new production techniques that enhance the "reality factor" of the science programming. Outreach for the project will include printed materials for kids, families and educators. A new collaborative partnership is being developed with the American Library Association to help distribute the new afterschool curricula to librarians across the country. "Hot Seat" will support the existing network of "ZOOM" outreach partners and convert the museum "ZOOMzones" to "Hot Seat Spots." "ZOOM" currently is carried by 269 public broadcasting stations and is viewed by 4 million children each week.
The Educational Broadcasting Corporation (WNET, New York) is producing 14 half-hour episodes of "Cyberchase," with accompanying outreach, to extend the new animated television series into a second season. " Cyberchase," which began airing on PBS in January, 2002, engages children ages eight to eleven years old in the fun and challenge of mathematics. Its goal is to demonstrate the usefulness of mathematics and empower children to become mathematical problem-solvers by fostering a positive attitude toward mathematics, reinforcing basic mathematics concepts, modeling reasoning skills and motivating children to approach mathematics with confidence. The funds will also support the design and implementation of an outreach program, including materials for parents; a workshop activity kit for schools, libraries and museums; and ten pilot after-school programs. Specifically, outreach components include: A web component that provides mathematical activities and content for the target audience and their parents; A 12-page Cyberchase Magazine (50,000 copies); A 20-page Teacher's Guide (15,000 copies); Collector Cards (50,000 sets of six cards each); and a Poster Peer review, extensive evaluation and a national advisory board will inform all components.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Sandra SheppardCarey BolsterMichael TempletonBarbara Flagg
WGBH is producing four, two-hour programs on the lives of scientists. These programs will be the initial programs in a continuing series of television portraits of distinguished scientists to be broadcast as regular features in the prime-time science series NOVA. The scientists to be covered in the first four programs are Galileo Galilei, Charles Darwin, Marie Curie, and Percy Julian. By illuminating the lives and scientific careers of these important figures, the programs will enhance public understanding of such basic scientific concepts as evolution, the solar system, the chemical bond and the structure of the atom. Ultimately, the programs will give viewers a new perspective on the process of scientific discovery. Ancillary educational support for the programs will include enhanced content on the web site at NOVA Online and classroom support material in the NOVA Teacher's Guide that is mailed to 60,000 teachers nationwide. WGBH also has formed an outreach partnership with the American Library Association to create informal educational resources for use by families, youths, and adults. The core of this special outreach plan is a set of Library Resource Kits that will be available to all 16,000 public libraries. Paula Apsell, Executive Producer for NOVA, will serve as PI for the project. Members of the advisory committee include: Evelyn Fox Keller, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, MIT; Kenneth R. Manning, Thomas Meloy Professor of Rhetoric and of the History of Science, MIT; Noami Oreskes, Associate Professor of History, University of California, San Diego; Daniel I. Rubenstein, Chair of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University; and Neil D. Tyson, Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium.