The National Academy of Sciences’ LabX program came into existence in 2017 with a directive to develop programming meant to engage with a young-adult (18-37 years old) target audience who are active decision-makers and whose actions impact current and future policies. While conducting preliminary research, the LabX staff and advisory board discovered that available research on young adults’ relationship with science was sadly lacking in detail, beyond obvious conclusions about high levels of interest in technology and social experiences.
To fill these knowledge gaps, gain a deeper
As part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funding for the In Defense of Food project directed by Kikim Media, the independent evaluation firm Knight Williams Inc.1 conducted a summative evaluation of the project’s key deliverables, which included: a PBS television broadcast program, an outreach effort, and an educational curriculum. This report (Study 2 of 3) focuses on the outreach effort.
Small Matters is a scientific storytelling project in response to a supplemental funding opportunity designed to pair an NSF Center for Chemical Innovation with an Informal Science Education organization. Meisa Salaita, Director for Education & Outreach for the Center for Chemical Evolution, and Ari Daniel, independent radio and multimedia producer and science journalist, collaborated on this project designed to increase chemical literacy in the general public and promote partnerships between scientists and informal science educators. In the tradition of folklore, educators have used storytelling to stimulate students’ critical thinking skills across and within disciplines, demonstrating an improvement in comprehension and logical thinking, enhancing memory, and creating a motivation and enthusiasm for learning. Within science, storytelling allows learners to experience the how of scientific inquiry, including the intellectual and human struggles of the scientists who are making discoveries. Accordingly, our project uses multimedia and live performance to engage the public in learning about chemistry through storytelling. We have developed a series audio pieces entitled Small Matters aimed at enriching public science literacy, namely within the chemical sciences. The format of these pieces includes standard public radio narrative style, short scientist-narrated nuggets, and imaginative sonic explorations of key chemistry concepts. The stories have been disseminated through a variety of broadcast media connections, including "Living on Earth" and local Atlanta public radio station WABE. In addition to the audio-based science journalism pieces that we have been producing, we have taken the stories we uncovered and brought them to live audiences, integrating chemistry, journalism, and the arts to create a human connection between our scientists and the public. The radio pieces were woven in with performances of poetry, comedy and satire in collaboration with literary performing arts group The Encyclopedia Show to create a live variety show (May 2013). In addition, scientists identified through our production of Small Matters were trained in storytelling techniques and brought together for an evening of live storytelling in Atlanta with The Story Collider (March 2014).
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TEAM MEMBERS:
NSF/NASA Center for Chemical EvolutionMeisa Salaita
Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) conducted a summative evaluation of the second season of NOVA scienceNOW, the PBS series that explores cutting-edge scientific and technological innovation in real time. (GRG also served as the external evaluator for NOVA scienceNOW during Season One). In addition to the television series, WGBH-TV developed a companion website, a series of high school classroom activities, and a Science Cafe outreach initiative, designed to discuss, in non-academic environments, the latest developments in science. The Season Two evaluation included: 1) a viewer study
Goodman Research Group, Inc. (GRG) conducted a summative evaluation of the first season of NOVA scienceNOW, the PBS series that explores cutting-edge scientific and technological innovation in real time. The evaluation included two primary components: 1) an evaluation of the television series, and 2) an evaluation of the outreach, which consisted of a companion website and a series of Science Cafes hosted around the country. GRG's evaluation was designed to assess the project's effectiveness in meeting its overall goal of engaging a variety of audiences more deeply with scientific research in
The NSF-funded 400 Years of the Telescope project was a unique partnership among a public television station, a production studio, two planetariums and a leading astronomical society in the United States. Its five main components included a one-hour PBS documentary, a 22-minute planetarium program, a website with astronomical infromation, "star parties"(nighttime astronomical viewing events) and promotional events hosted by PBS affiliate stations. The summative evaluation focused on three main evaluation questions: 1) What are the individual and cumulative impacts of the menu of deliverables
The objective of this youth media project is to provide 14-24 year olds with training and hands-on experience in engineering, and the physical and biological sciences. The project is designed around core practices that engage youth in original research and inquiry through experimentation, development, and creative use of new technologies and tools to communicate STEM to the public. Youth Radio project participants in Oakland, CA, Atlanta, GA and Washington, DC include 540 youth, 80% of whom are low-income and/or youth of color, plus another 400 youth via off-site outreach in schools and community centers. Core deliverables include: (1) "Brains and Beakers," eight live events per year where a visiting STEM researcher brings his/her work out of the lab and onto the stage at Youth Radio facilities, demonstrating key principles and discoveries and interacting with youth participants; (2) "Youth Radio Investigates," an annual 6-part multimedia series, where youth partner with university and industry-based researchers to explore the veracity of scientific claims applied to products and services and they use every day; (3) The "Application Development Lab," where youth develop, create and disseminate online embeddable and downloadable applications (12 annually) that serve real needs in youth communities. The digital media produced by the youth will be broadcast by National Public Radio and distributed online through various sites including iTunes and BoingBoing.net, one of the most frequently visited technology-focused sites on the web. Project advisors include STEM researchers in universities as well as highly experienced and successful new media technology developers. Project partners include National Public Radio, KQED, the California Academy of Sciences, and the Oakland Unified School District. This project builds on the successful prior work (NSF #0610272) that initiated a Science and Technology program within the Youth Radio organization. The summative evaluation by Rockman et al will measure how the program affects students' science and technology knowledge, skills, and attitudes. It will build on the evaluation from the prior NSF funded project (#0610272) that highlighted the organizational and staff growth processes as Youth Radio discovered how to design and implement successful, sustainable STEM programs. Rockman will evaluate the new programs (Youth Investigates, Brains and Beakers, and the Application Lab), measuring the following STEM-related student outcomes/impacts: perceptions of selves as producers/creators of science or technology; attitudes toward science and perceptions of scientists; understanding the process of scientific inquiry and research and/or technology skills development; and understanding or interest in careers in science or technology (based on National Research Council report, 2009). Data will be collected from the youth at the Oakland site and from the other Youth Radio bureaus to determine which aspects of the program transfer to multiple sites and which ones are unique to a specific location or set of circumstances. Methods include surveys of student attitudes, participant focus groups, interim assessments, objective skills assessments, and interviews. This project provides an innovative new model for collaborations between STEM researchers and under-represented youth resulting in digital media that impacts the youth as well as the public's understanding and engagement in science.
This project is designed to bridge the "public understanding of science" radio model with a "public engagement with science" approach using a new public media tool - the "Public Insight Network". Radiolab, an innovative hour-long radio program has developed a highly innovative and successful format over the past 5 years that fosters interest and understanding in STEM based on audiences' natural curiosity. It has exposed non-science attentive listeners to transformative STEM concepts such as Stochasticity (physics, statistics, neuroscience), Musical Language (behavioral science, neurology, acoustics) and Space (mathematics, astronomy, technology, engineering). This project will expand the model using innovative online strategies that will connect listeners with working scientists, with each other and with the Radiolab hosts. This new model is grounded in the direct interaction of audiences and scientists which positions listeners as active creators and curators of content rather than passive recipients. The target audience is young adults 18 years old and above. Key organizational partners are The Public Insight Network (and their affiliation with the National Academies of Science), American Public Media, the Borough of Manhattan Community College and Brooklyn College. Project deliverables include 30 hour-long Radiolab programs for broadcast on public radio stations; interactive, user generated articles for the web site; live online chats, engagement "apps" for mobile smart phones; and live events at college campuses and science centers. In addition, the project will implement a mentorship program to train college-aged underrepresented students that have demonstrated an interest in science and/or science journalism. Formative evaluation will gather actionable information from audiences and scientists than can inform the design of the deliverables.The summative evaluation will assess the success of the strategy for engaging audiences in ongoing science learning. Audiences are projected to increase from the current base of 1 million radio listeners per season and 2 million podcast downloads per month. The intended learning outcomes for the audience include their gaining greater knowledge and exposure to current scientific research, and increased engagement by becoming participatory learners through online interactions with science professionals and other listeners.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Ellen HorneJad AbumradRobert KrulwichSoren Wheeler