AHA! Island is a new project that uses animation, live-action videos, and hands-on activities to support joint engagement of children and caregivers around computational thinking (CT) concepts and practices. Education Development Center (EDC), WGBH’s research partner for the project, conducted an impact study with 108 English-speaking families (4- to 5-year-old children and their families) to test the promise of this CT learning intervention.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Marisa WolskyHeather LavigneJessica AndrewsAshley Lewis-PresserLeslie CuellarRegan VidiksisCamille Ferguson
The data collection procedure and process is one of the most critical components in a research study that affects the findings. Problems in data collection may directly influence the findings, and consequently, may lead to questionable inferences. Despite the challenges in data collection, this study provides insights for STEM education researchers and practitioners on effective data collection, in order to ensure that the data is useful for answering questions posed by research. Our engineering education research study was a part of a three-year, NSF funded project implemented in the Midwest
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Ibrahim YeterAnastasia Marie RynearsonHoda EhsanAnnwesa DasguptaBarbara FagundesMuhsin MeneskeMonica Cardella
Natural disasters are increasing at a rapid rate, with the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters reporting that climate-related disasters occurred more than twice as frequently, on average, from 2000 to 2015 in comparison to the 1980s. Disaster education, on the other hand, is sparse and unsystematic. The goal of our work was to develop brief and impactful educational interventions, accessible to teens throughout the country, and that focused on using technology to confront natural disasters. We did this through the Teen Science Café Network, a group that sponsors out-of-school
Children’s storybooks are a ubiquitous learning resource, and one with huge potential to support STEM learning. They also continue to be a primary way that children learn about the world and engage in conversations with family members, even as the use of other media and technology increases. Especially before children learn to read, storybooks create the context for in-depth learning conversations with parents and other adults, which are the central drivers of STEM learning and development more broadly at this age. Although there is a body of literature highlighting the benefits of storybooks
Engineering is a critical yet understudied topic in early childhood. Previous research has shown that even young children can engage in (versions of) engineering design practices and processes that are similar to those of adult engineers and designers. In this session, we will share and discuss current research projects to explore how different in-school and out-of-school contexts and activities support 3- to 8-year-old children as they engage in engineering design. We will consider ways that the different characteristics of the activities and spaces, as well as the practices of teachers
This study addresses the increasing interest in family learning in informal settings by investigating strategies to better engage families in science talk and practices. As part of a larger design-based research study, we examine how scientists and parents use think-pair-share discussion prompts to support families’ understandings about local community water sources and facilitate experimentation with a surface and underground water model. Grounded in sociocultural theory of learning, we focus on parent-child interactions and family sensemaking. We analyzed four water quality workshops with 44
There is a growing need for science educators and communicators who can support public understanding of complex science issues. Across the United States, science museums increasingly offer volunteer positions to youth, allowing them opportunities to work in a variety of educational programming or research experiences. These programs are often designed to encourage youth to pursue STEM careers but may also have the added effect of inspiring the next generation of science educators and communicators. This study examined how youth volunteer experiences influence career aspirations. Twenty-one
Hispanic youths have traditionally been marginalized from participation in STEM careers, though efforts have been made to increase diversity in STEM careers through targeted learning interventions for these students. However, these efforts often do not purposefully address STEM identity formation, which is a construct closely related to career choice in STEM. Building on previous work that highlights the value of “science talk”, we focus on the childhood experiences of Hispanic/Latine college students that have informed the construction of their STEM identity and contributed to their decisions
Emerging research suggests that families are key to developing the science interests and career aspirations of youth. In order to increase the diversity and numbers of individuals choosing to pursue STEM careers, it is important to better understand the factors that influence career aspirations. The influence parents have on their children’s career aspirations comes from many factors including their science capital and family science habitus. This study examined the influence of a museum-based family STEM program geared to increase the STEM career aspirations of elementary youth on the parent
Embedded assessment (EA) is particularly well-suited for evaluating citizen science volunteers’ proficiency of science inquiry skills; however they remain uncommon in informal education. Using design-based research, we are examining processes to streamline EA development by building on existing data validation procedures within five citizen science projects. Here, we focus on the critical first step of supporting citizen science project leaders in identifying appropriate skills that are important, relevant, accessible, and potentially hiding in plain sight in their existing data. Our research
In order to engage visitors, guests, participants or audiences in positive STEM learning experiences, informal learning institutions need professionals who understand how to design for and facilitate engaging activities. Initial professional training for informal STEM educators, and subsequent ongoing professional learning create considerable challenges. There is a need for providing informal STEM educators with pathways to professionalization that guarantee high quality educators who can support successful informal STEM education. In this symposium, we propose to share research on key aspects
Communication is an essential component to scientific inquiry, and specifically the primary literature is highly valued by scientists. Yet, the role of primary literature within scientific inquiry is generally absent from the science classroom. In this study we examined how middle and high school student perceptions of scientific inquiry changed after they engaged in a peer-review and publication process of their research papers. We interviewed twelve students who published their papers in the [Journal], a science journal dedicated to publishing the research of middle and high school students
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Sarah FankhauserGwendolynne ReidGwendolyn MirzoyanClara MeadersOlivia Ho-Shing