The Kaulele Kapa Exhibit was created to explore the effectiveness of a Hawaiian culture-based framework and approach in increasing learner engagement and depth of knowledge in STEM among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (NHPI) learners. The exhibit utilized hands-on and interactive activities, coupled with scientific and cultural information, to create relevant learning experiences for these communities. To determine the effectiveness, exhibit attendees were invited to complete a survey that asked about how the exhibit influenced their interest and understanding of STEM and Hawaiian culture
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
Integrating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects in pre-college settings is seen as critical in providing opportunities for children to develop knowledge, skills, and interests in these subjects and the associated critical thinking skills. More recently computational thinking (CT) has been called out as an equally important topic to emphasize among pre-college students. The authors of this paper began an integrated STEM+CT project three years ago to explore integrating these subjects through a science center exhibit and a curriculum for 5-8 year old students. We
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Morgan HynesMonica CardellaTamara MooreSean BrophySenay PurzerKristina TankMuhsin MeneskeIbrahim YeterHoda Ehsan
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
The Bay Area Regional Collaboration to Expand and Strengthen STEM (RECESS) is a regional, unified STEM continuum effort from preschool through graduate school and career. RECESS is based on successful collective impact efforts in other fields and employs a participatory action research (PAR) approach to broaden participation in STEM. In the PAR framework, youth and their families will help to define the issues and develop expertise about community needs through a shared research process.
RECESS introduces participatory action research as an innovative element to the collective impact social agency framework. The intent is to determine the extent to which the engagement and involvement of the students and communities targeted can effectively shape the function of the collective impact network of organizations.
During the two year planning phase, RECESS (a) conducts a comprehensive needs assessment and gap analysis; (b) establishes a functioning organization of stakeholders with a common agenda and governance model; and (c) develops a detailed action plan. It is a significant contribution to the body of knowledge on effective and innovative collective impact structures designed to promote STEM education and participation.
The Colleges of Science & Engineering and Graduate Education, and the Metro Academies College Success Program (Metro) at San Francisco State University in partnership with San Francisco Unified School District and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce develop an integrated approach for computing education that overcomes obstacles hampering broader participation in the U.S. science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce. The partnership fosters a more diverse and computing-proficient STEM workforce by establishing an inclusive education approach in computer science (CS), information technology, and computer engineering that keeps students at all levels engaged and successful in computing and graduates them STEM career-ready.
Utilizing the collective impact framework maximizes the efficacy of existing regional organizations to broaden participation of groups under-educated in computing. The collective impact model establishes a rich context for organizational engagement in inclusive teaching and learning of CS. The combination of the collective impact model of social agency and direct engagements with communities yields unique insights into the views and experiences of the target population of students and serves as a platform for national scalable networks.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Keith BowmanIlmi YoonLarry HorvathEric HsuJames Ryan
Puppet interviews can be helpful for getting feedback from young children in informal learning environments like libraries, museums, or afterschool programs. While puppets are a standby for interviewing children in clinical settings and are being used more frequently in some areas of qualitative research, they tend to be under-utilized in informal learning environments - natural settings for puppets because of their connections with play (Epstein et al., 2008). Our team developed a puppet interview protocol for the Gradient research project (Gender Research on Adult-child Discussion in
The data collection for this project involved three audiences: (1) a post-event survey completed by participants at the 'Eight-Legged Encounters' event, (2) a club experience survey completed by middle school students in an after-school club, and (3) focus groups, observations, and end-of-course evaluations conducted with students in the BIOS 497/897 'Communicating Science through Outreach' seminar class at the University of Lincoln, Nebraska. Year two data collection was completed from September 2013 - March 2014. Appendix includes survey.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
University of Nebraska-LincolnEileen Hebets
This report is the result of a project to investigate through a sociocultural lens whether girls-only, informal STEM experiences have potential long-term influences on young women's lives, both in terms of STEM but also more generally. The authors documented young women's perceptions of their program experiences and the ways in which they influenced their future choices in education, careers, leisure pursuits, and ways of thinking about what science is and who does it. This report includes the questionnaire used in the study.
One World, One Sky: Big Bird's Adventure (OWOS) is a bi-national, China-US cooperative project to produce and distribute a planetarium show based on popular characters from Sesame Workshop's television productions in each country for preschool- and kindergarten-aged children, as well as accompanying outreach materials for children, parents and teachers to further enhance learning. The project aims to: (1) provide young Chinese and American children aged four to six with an age-appropriate introduction to astronomy; (2) promote positive attitudes toward science among young children in both
Through a collaboration of the DuPage Children's Museum, Argonne National Laboratory, and National-Louis University, a three-element project is being conducted focusing on the following: 1) a research component that studies children's naive perceptions of the phenomena of air and wind energy, 2) an exhibition component that uses the project research to design, develop, and construct a 3- 4,000 square foot "process" oriented exhibition with a 2-story exhibit tower and 12-15 replicable exploratory workstations, 3) a program component that offers explorations for children adapted for museums, preschools and elementary school classrooms. Target audiences include young children and their parents, pre- and in- service early childhood teachers, and museum professionals interested in reaching very young children.
Playtime Is Science: A National Model for Parent Involvement In Early Science Education is an innovative parent/child science activity program. The overall goal of the model is to enlarge the potential pool of students who are competent in science and technology to include more girls, children of color, with disabilities, and children from low-income families. By engaging parents in partnership with schools and community organizations, Playtime Is Science will increase the science literacy of young children (ages 4-7) as well as that of their parents and other adults in their lives. This three-year project, built on a successful local model developed in New York City public schools, will include the following activities: training and networking for site liaisons; pilot testing and evaluation at three sites chosen for geographic, racial, ethnic, language, and socioeconomic diversity; materials development and production; a formal research study; and intensive national dissemination of Playtime Is Science materials package. Materials to be developed include 1) four videotapes to provide a visual rendering of the program for parents, teachers, and administrators; 2) a how-to manual providing easy-to-follow instructions for implementing the program; 3) and a home activity booklet for parents illustrating science activities which utilize inexpensive, readily-available materials found in every home.