RISES (Re-energize and Invigorate Student Engagement through Science) is a coordinated suite of resources including 42 interactive English and Spanish STEM videos produced by Children's Museum Houston in coordination with the science curriculum department at Houston ISD. The videos are aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards, and each come with a bilingual Activity Guide and Parent Prompt sheet, which includes guiding questions and other extension activities.
The Earth and Sky radio series proposes to produce, distribute, market and evaluate 72 compelling environmental radio programs on oceanic and atmospheric topics featuring NOAA scientists, data and information. These programs will air at a rate of 24 programs per year over a three-year period as part of Earth and Sky's regularly scheduled programming to its many affiliates. Earth and Sky will feature this new radio programming on our web site. The programs will be available in both text and a variety of audio formats including downloadable mp3 files, streaming m3u files, and will be available for podcast. The web site will also feature additional information that augments and supports the content of the radio programs, including links to relevant information, encouraging web visitors to delve deeper into a topic area and learn more. Project Learning Tree (PLT) is an award-winning environmental education program designed for teachers and other educators, parents, and community leaders working with youth from preschool through grade 12. PLT will correlate their vast catalogue of existing environmental education curricula to each show. Correlations for each program will be listed next to that show in the dedicated PLT section of Earth and Sky's website.
Youth participants in an informal after school science program created a multimodal digital video public service announcement video. This paper considers the counterstories that emerge within the video and during the making of the video that challenge existing definitions of science literacy. The investigation suggests youth engage in expansive learning where vertical knowledge and horizontal knowledge inform their actions toward community based energy issues. Vertical knowledge describes the scientific knowledge youth engage while horizontal knowledge refers to the locally situated knowledge
Geosciences Careers for Kids and Parents is a Track 1 program by Jim Metzner Productions (JMP) that uses its current communication platforms - the Pulse of the Planet (PoP) radio programs and website and the Kids Science Challenge website - to involve upper elementary children and their parents/caregivers and other adults in learning about geosciences research and careers. JMP's award-winning PoP radio program, which reaches 1,000,000+ listeners weekly, profiles geoscientists and encourages parents to involve their children in the geosciences. The PoP companion pulseplanet.com website provides podcasts of past radio programs and additional resources for engaging learners in the geosciences. On JMP's Kidsciencechallenge.com website, children (8-13 years of age) will find "kid friendly" profiles and videos of geoscientists and their careers, rich resources and interactivity on the sciences and further career activities, presented as part of a project that has already actively engaged thousands of children in learning about and "doing" science. The Pulse of the Planet and Kids' Science Challenge websites receive an average of 9,600 page views daily. PBS television's The News Hour and the PBS education site will feature our video segments on geoscientists featured in PoP programs.
Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) conducted summative evaluation of the Journey to Planet Earth: The State of the Ocean's Animals project. GRG has served as external evaluator for Journey to Planet Earth since 1999. Journey to Planet Earth is a PBS series that explores the fragile relationship between people and the world they inhabit. The most recent evaluation included two components: 1) a viewer study of the Ocean's Animals episode in the series (hosted and narrated by Matt Damon), and 2) an evaluation of the outreach initiative that complemented the series. The broad goal of the
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Marianne McPhersonElizabeth BachrachIrene F GoodmanScreenscope, Inc.American Association for the Advancement of Science
Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) conducted summative evaluation of Origins of the Universe, the 4-part NOVA miniseries. The Origins series chronicled the history of the earth's formation, how the universe evolved to permit the emergence of life on earth, the likelihood that there is life beyond earth, and the tools and techniques scientists use to study the universe. In June 2007, Thomas Levenson, MIT professor and Executive Producer of the series, won the inaugural Walter P. Kistler Science Documentary Film Award for his work on Origins. An extensive outreach campaign accompanied the series
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Jennifer BeckJennie MurackUnicorn Projects, Inc.Irene F Goodman
CEG (formerly Veridian inSight, LLC) performed a formative study, including six focus groups, in October 2009 on behalf of WGBH. The focus groups took place in Boston, MA, Nashville, TN, and Phoenix, AZ. In each city, we conducted two focus groups. We divided the groups with respect to age (e.g., 6-7 year olds were recruited for one group in each city, 8-9 year olds were recruited for the second focus group in each city). A total of 41 children participated in the study. The goal of the formative study was to gather kids' feedback on the animated LOOP Six-Minute Sample. The focus group
The Coalition for Watershed Education, consisting of the Land Access Information Association, Great Lakes Children's Museum, Interlochen Public Radio and Northwestern Michigan College Great Lakes Studies Institute will implement a comprehensive science education project for youth and adults. The major components include: Watershed Discovery field experiences, Soundscapes radio broadcasts, Waterscapes exhibits, a project website, and the expanded Great Lakes Coalition for Watershed Education. Watershed Discovery is a field-based experience for youth ages 11-17. Teams of 6-10 youth will work with mentors who specialize in GPS, GIS, geology and geography to research and collect data on the Great Lakes watershed. These students will also use their new knowledge to produce radio segments as part of the Soundscapes component. Youth teams will be trained to interview sources, gather information and write scripts for use on the local National Public Radio affiliate. The Great Lakes Children's Museum will design a permanent, interactive watershed of 1,500 square feet, as well as a traveling exhibit of 500 square feet for visitors ages 7-12. Other deliverables include "A Community Guide to Watershed-based Science Education" (available in print and CD-ROM), a one-day regional dissemination conference, and an interactive website. Strategic impact will be realized through the development of a novel model for watershed education, its subsequent replication and summative evaluation outcomes. It is estimated that over 40,000 children will be reached by this community-wide initiative.
NEON, Inc. a not-for-propfit corporation, proposes a television series for children, initiallyu 30 programs, suitable for daily or weekly broadcast, for home viewing via PBSA (with appropriate availability elsewhere). Program length: 30 Minutes. The premise: Three Wufniks--creatures from the cartoom world--draw their way into our world and with the help of children, undertake the adventure of finding our what it's all about. Thesek characters (played by adult professional performers in structurally sophisticated fantasy/animal costumes), move from dthe uncertain world of animated film into a range of encounters with ourrock-solid environment, get to know children and adults, scientists and laypeople, and must continually reconstruct their naive theories and their image of life on earth. The concept, designed to appeal to five- to nine-olds, combines education with entertainment (and is inclusive of other age groups, such as parents, to enhance educational effect). School and other non-broadcast distribution of program elements is planned, plus ancillary materials including computer software and print. The educational approach is interdisciplinary, with emphasis both on content and the development of positive attitudes towards science and mathematics; sub-objectives geography and history. The Principal Investigators are a television producer experienced in science programming for children, and a scientist with extensive children's educational television background. Program appeal for girls and minorities is integarl to the design; project staff will also cover a broad spectrum. Encouragement of science-and math-related audience activities is a project objective. Planning includesds extensive outreach and promotion related to the show premise.
National Geographic Television is creating multi-platform media to communicate the scientific and engineering stories unfolding in the Gulf region due to the major oil spill. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is one of the worst environmental disasters to occur in the U.S., and though traditional news outlets continue to report on the spill, there is little discussion about the scientific factors at play. They include the technology and engineering skills needed to stop the leak and contain the oil; the scientific and engineering efforts to mitigate its effects; and the potential impacts on the Earth system. Communicating these scientific and engineering concepts to the public is both critical and urgent. National Geographic is uniquely positioned to take the lead in reporting on the science and engineering behind the spill and its implications. Deliverables will include: a 60-minute "Explorer" documentary television program to air on the National Geographic Channels in September 2010; 16 weekly online "Science Journal" segments featuring interviews with scientists, engineers, and other experts, promoted through National Geographic's social media channels; ongoing online news coverage and blog reports from the Gulf region; and online content for children. Funding from the National Science Foundation will specifically support coverage of the yet-to-be-filmed science and engineering segments for the television program and digital content. The television program and digital content will reach a broad public audience with critical science and engineering concepts. The entire project is designed to communicate scientific messages from the Gulf in real time and over the longer term, and in so doing, to enhance public understanding of science and engineering as it relates to the oil spill crisis.
This planning activity will produce a prototype film on Spanish horses and conduct 10 focus group discussions to determine: audience interest, background knowledge, what viewers would like to see in this documentary, language barriers, cultural barriers, and how the film could be structured to help the public and teachers interact with children. The focus groups will target the follow groups: (1) middle school teachers, (2) elementary school teachers, (3) families with young children, (4) Hispanic families, (5) American Indian families, (6) youth ages 13-19, (7) horse lovers and those involved in horse activities, (8) senior citizens and individuals with disabilities, (9) documentary, museum exhibit and website production professionals, and (10) media and museum marketing professionals. The effort is intended to guide development of a PBS documentary, an interactive website, a companion book, and a museum exhibit on the origins, evolution, migration and impact of Spanish horses. STEM content in mathematics, genetics, paleontology, chemistry, evolution, and animal behavior, integrated with history, will be incorporated into the scripts for this diverse array of media platforms. The project also presents an opportunity to present in a very interesting and real sense the scientific process used for discovery. In addition to producing the prototype film and conducting focus group discussions, this planning grant will help to: clarify the responsibilities of all of the participants, especially the international participants; clarify the contributions from each discipline and scientist; plan in detail ways to achieve the greatest understanding with the anticipated diverse audiences; select the best geographic region, graphics, media, and animation; and establish realistic budgets and elements for production and post-production. Collaborators include: New Mexican Horse Project, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Habitat Media, University of New Mexico and Institute for Social Research, Cambridge University, Texas A &M University, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Selinda Research Associates, and PBS.
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.