As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants. This project will research core methods of science documentary film production and impact on audience engagement and understanding. The findings from this study will be used to later produce a film on how the CRISPR genome editing technology will shape agriculture, ecology, and the natural world. The research study and film to be produced will be a collaboration of science communication practitioners and researchers. The intended outcomes are to improve effective science filmmaking and increase impact on audiences. Many people rely on documentary film and videos for science information outside of formal learning environments. Research has shown that video programming can reduce knowledge gaps between those of higher and lower levels of education. But there is little research with findings about what makes a particular style of storytelling effective for engagement and learning outcomes. A recent report of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine identified a significant shortage of social science research with directly applicable lessons for filmmakers. This project addresses this need by providing new frameworks for research and methods to produce science documentaries. Project partners are iBiology, a producer of video resources for learning, and science communication researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
This project will examine two key questions: 1) In a science documentary film, how does the diversity of the scientists profiled and the use of a narrator shape audiences? perception of content and scientists? and 2) What are effective methods in science filmmaking to visualize the invisible (i.e. explain scientific phenomena that are not easily visualized)? The project begins by testing a recently produced film, Human Nature, that tells the story of the discovery of CRISPR (genome editing), told by the scientists who led the effort. Phase 1 testing will include screenings, focus groups, and experiments run through Amazon Mechanical Turk to test what features of the film (editorial voice and visualization styles) are most effective for communicating scientific content. In Phase 2 video test clips will be produced using a combination of narration and visualization strategies. An experimental design run through Amazon Turk will randomly assign participants to watch a clip using different combinations. Researchers will use this data to parse out what effect seems to be related to particular narration and visualization choices. This quantitative experimental data will be supplemented by qualitative data from focus groups with participants with a diverse range of science experience and demographic backgrounds. Researchers will design a survey-embedded experiment with a U.S. nationally representative sample to see how well the findings translate and change in a broader population.
This Innovations in Development award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Dietram ScheufeleSarah GoodwinElliot Kirschner
Learning to See, Seeing to Learn is a National Science Foundation-funded project to develop www.macroinvertebrates.org, a digital observation tool and set of informational resources that can supplement volunteer biomonitoring trainings and improve aquatic macroinvertebrates identification. Project researchers are interested in how trainers and volunteers use the tool, as well as how training that incorporates the tool impacts volunteers’ confidence in and accuracy around aquatic macroinvertebrates identification. In November 2018, project partner, Stroud Water Research Center, conducted a
Changes in household-level actions in the U.S. have the potential to reduce rates of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change by reducing consumption of food, energy and water (FEW). This project will identify potential interventions for reducing household FEW consumption, test options in participating households in two communities, and collect data to develop new environmental impact models. It will also identify household consumption behavior and cost-effective interventions to reduce FEW resource use. Research insights can be applied to increase the well-being of individuals at the household level, improve FEW resource security, reduce climate-related risks, and increase economic competitiveness of the U.S. The project will recruit, train, and graduate more than 20 students and early-career scientists from underrepresented groups. Students will be eligible to participate in exchanges to conduct interdisciplinary research with collaborators in the Netherlands, a highly industrialized nation that uses 20% less energy and water per person than the U.S.
This study uses an interdisciplinary approach to investigate methods for reducing household FEW consumption and associated direct and indirect environmental impacts, including GHG emissions and water resources depletion. The approach includes: 1) interactive role-playing activities and qualitative interviews with homeowners; 2) a survey of households to examine existing attitudes and behaviors related to FEW consumption, as well as possible approaches and barriers to reduce consumption; and 3) experimental research in residential households in two case-study communities, selected to be representative of U.S. suburban households and appropriate for comparative experiments. These studies will iteratively examine approaches for reducing household FEW consumption, test possible intervention strategies, and provide data for developing systems models to quantify impacts of household FEW resource flows and emissions. A FEW consumption-based life cycle assessment (LCA) model will be developed to provide accurate information for household decision making and design of intervention strategies. The LCA model will include the first known farm-to-fork representation of household food consumption impacts, spatially explicit inventories of food waste and water withdrawals, and a model of multi-level price responsiveness in the electricity sector. By translating FEW consumption impacts, results will identify "hot spots" and cost-effective household interventions for reducing ecological footprints. Applying a set of climate and technology scenarios in the LCA model will provide additional insights on potential benefits of technology adoption for informing policymaking. The environmental impact models, household consumption tracking tool, and role-playing software developed in this research will be general purpose and publicly available at the end of the project to inform future education, research and outreach activities.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
David WatkinsBuyung AgusdinataChelsea SchellyRachael ShwomJenni-Louise Evans
Community education with regard to science comes in many forms and is usually designed to address issues within that community. In this proposal, land use is the focus. This is a general topic and applicable in nearly all locations within communities and in the State. In this case, the topic is used to educate adults and high school students providing each with unique identities. Using satellite-enabled tools, the topology of an area can be mapped in detail and assessed for use thus enabling science education for both adults and high school students. The studies will involve intergenerational learning which is an area needing additional study. Also, the proposers are going to broaden the scope so that it impacts several different areas in the State of Connecticut. This is important because in doing so it will include the diversity of cultures within the State and the education results will reflect this diversity. As a part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds research and innovative resources for use in a variety of settings. This proposed effort aims to promote lifelong STEM learning through a focus on conservation, geospatial technology and community engagement. The goals are to: (1) develop particular STEM knowledge and skills, and foster STEM identity authoring/learning in two disparate groups of lifelong learners, and (2) gain a deeper understanding of the ways that this learning occurs through research and evaluation. The project will develop an educational program that focuses on conservation science and recent advances in web-enabled geospatial technologies (geographic information systems, remote sensing, and global positioning systems) that, for the first time, make these technologies accessible and attainable for the public. The focus will be on urban and rural areas with underrepresented populations of STEM learners. Two groups of lifelong learners will be targeted: adult volunteers involved with community land conservation issues, and high school-aged adolescents enabling the project to investigate the processes and impacts of intergenerational learning.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
John VolinDavid MossDavid CampbellChester ArnoldCary Chadwick
As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds innovative resources for use in a variety of settings. This proposed effort embraces broad participation by the three Ute tribes, History Colorado, and scientists in the field of archaeology to investigate and integrate traditional ecological knowledge and contemporary Western science. The project will preserve knowledge from the Ute peoples of Colorado and Utah, including traditional technology, ethnobotany, engineering and math. Results from this project will inform educational efforts in similar communities.
This project will build on the long-standing collaborations between History Colorado (HC), the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Ute Indian Tribe, Uintah & Ouray Reservation, and the Dominguez Archaeological Research Group DARG). HC will implement and evaluate a regional informal learning collaboration focused on Ute traditional and contemporary STEM knowledge serving over 128,000 learners through tribal programs, local history museums and educational networks. This project will advance the understanding of integrated knowledge and the role of Ute people as STEM learners and practitioners. This Informal Science Learning project will increase lifelong STEM learning in rural communities and create a replicable model for collaboration among tribes, history museums, and scientists.