Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance. Soon to be made into an HBO movie by Oprah Winfrey and Alan Ball, this New York Times bestseller takes readers on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored”
Research Questions: (1) To what extent do children's and parent's interest in math and science increase as a result of exposure to one or more of the project's components? (2) To what extent do children and parents want to engage further with Mateo y Cientina after initial exposure to the cartoon through one or more of the project's components? (3) To what extent do parents and children think they've learned new concepts about math and science as a result of completing a Mateo y Cientina activity? (4) To what extent do parents and children gain confidence in their understanding of math and
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Sarah MushlinUniversity of CaliforniaColleen Kuusinen
ConCiencia News was the first Spanish-language news service in the United States focused exclusively on health, science and environmental news, providing free of cost news stories to a diverse array of Hispanic media including 100+ newspapers and magazines, top Hispanic web portals, and almost 150 Spanish-language radio stations. Each news story features original content developed by SRF journalists, and Hispanic researchers are often features to serve as role models for the public. The summative evaluation focused on two primary audiences for the Spanish-language stories: 1) the professional
Washington Independent Writers is engaged in a planning phase toward publication of Quest?, a 4-page, tabloid sized newspaper about science, technology, and society for children and their families. The target audience is children age 8 to 16, with a focus on the 10-14 year-old age group, along with their parents, teachers, and counselors. A prototype version of the paper has been published locally and distributed through Safeway stores. During the planning phase, the PI and staff will conduct the following activities: Conduct front-end evaluation of the target audience with particular emphasis being given to identifying ways to reach underserved and underrepresented groups; Work with science, technology, and graphics experts to improve the quality of the content and design; Explore traditional and new distribution mechanisms and cooperative arrangements; Create and test interdisciplinary procedures for evaluation; Establish a network of individual, community, corporate, and institutional supporters, including educators, community leaders, scientists, and engineers; Create linkages with schools and school programs; Explore funding sources and sponsorships; Continue building a Board of Advisors.
This project will create the infrastructure to provide Hispanic media with an ongoing source of high-quality science news tailored to meet the needs and interests of Hispanics. The proposed Hispanic Science News Service website will be a downloadable internet resource site for Hispanic print, radio and internet editors, journalists and producers to access science stories, radio capsules and science information resources. This service would be promoted through partnerships with the National Association of Hispanic Publishers, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and The Hispanic Radio. Specific media deliverables will include: Exploracion, a weekly, Spanish-language newspaper column; La Ciencia en Breve: El Universo a tu Alcance (Science News Briefs); Exploracion, a daily science radio news capsule; and uploads of science content to the Univision.com website.
The Self-Reliance Foundation (SRF) requests Phase II support from NIH for the "Hispanic Role Model and Science Education Outreach Project." The project's goal is to develop daily, nationally broadcast, Spanish-language radio programming which encourages the development of science literacy in relation to biomedical research, introduces careers in biomedical research and other health sciences, and provides parents with information on how their children can achieve academic success. In addition, SRF proposes to support further learning through an 800-telephone number outreach service which links listeners with information and local resources, a related Web site with resources and links related to program topics, and a weekly newspaper column. SRF's daily programs reach a cumulative weekly audience of over two million. Through the proposed three year project, SRF can produce 90 short-form (two to five minute) and six one-hour programs on biomedical research, science education, and careers that will reach over two to three million listeners each week in the U.S. and additional listeners throughout the Western Hemisphere. The radio programs are already broadcast daily or weekly on over 100 Spanish-language stations reaching 80% of U.S. Hispanics. The programs will bring listeners the latest information on biomedical findings and how to use this information in everyday life, inspirational interviews with Hispanic biomedical research scientists, and practical information for students and parents on how to pursue careers at all levels in biomedical research fields and the health professions. Through partnerships with the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), the National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services Organizations (COSSMHO), the ASPIRA Association, and other national groups, SRF will identify Hispanic biomedical research scientists and health care practitioners as experts in the development of editorial content of shows and as guests for role model interview shows.
The Self-Reliance Foundation (SRF) Conociendo Tu Cuerpo (Know Your Body) Hispanic Community Health Sciences Education project is an initiative designed to introduce Hispanic students and families to biomedical science and health education resources, and increase their participation levels in these fields. The educational goals of the project are to: (1) Encourage Hispanic undergraduate students to pursue careers in biomedicine and science through a mentoring program at the university level; (2) Inspire an interest in biomedical science among Hispanic elementary-age students and parents through community outreach activities; (3) Inform Hispanic parents about biomedical science education standards and academic requirements for pursuing biomedical and science related careers; and (4) Inform and inspire Hispanic students and their families about the biomedical sciences and related careers through a series of daily nationally broadcast Spanish-language radio capsules, and a nationally syndicated Spanish newspaper column. Conociendo Tu Cuerpo (Know Your Body) includes several key components: A model, Washington, D.C., area coalition of informal science, health, community, education, and media organizations that will publicize and provide hands-on health science activities at community festivals and other community settings; Hispanic undergraduate student health-science fellows to be trained and provided experience in facilitating health science activities; and nationally broadcast Spanish-language radio capsules that will cover topics in areas of biomedicine, research, education, and health-science careers. Parents and students will be able to access additional information about biomedical science opportunities and Hispanic role models in the biomedical sciences through the project's Conociendo Tu Cuerpo website and the bilingual 800 telephone help line promoted by 147 participating radio stations and 102 newspapers nationwide. The project will be supported at the national level through collaboration with the Hispanic Radio Network and the Pacific Science Center. The Washington, D.C., collaborative will include the Capital Children's Museum, local Spanish language radio stations, area universities, and health and community organizations. Development Associates, the largest American education and evaluation consulting corporation, will evaluate the project.
The article focuses on a study guided by identity theory and a model of interest development to assess the use of comic books for conveying science information. The study employs viruses as scientific content which is reviewed to disseminate, and provide evidence regarding the limited knowledge of general public. It mentions that key concepts are summarized to compare comic and essay formats for disseminating scientific information.
Recent biomedical research has transformed scientific understanding of human biology. But many of these advances haven’t filtered into public awareness, hindering our ability to make good health-related decisions. A new educational program ‒ Biology of Human ‒ will help the public, particularly young people, better understand advances in biomedical research. This innovative, learning research-based science education program is strategically designed to increase awareness of and understanding about new biomedical research developments pertaining to human biology. Biology of Human will provide a sophisticated science education outreach package for students aged 11 to 15 and adults, including parents and educators. The project's goal is to leverage the latest biomedical information and innovations, a dynamic suite of educational and dissemination strategies, and research-driven approach grounded in sociology to broadly educate youth and adults about human biology. A team led by the University of Nebraska State Museum, the Department of Sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the NIH/NCRR-funded Nebraska Center for Virology (a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence) will work with science writers, kids, and educators to complete three specific aims: 1) stimulate interest in and understanding of biomedical research's importance to diverse individuals' health, communities, and environments; 2) establish partnerships among science educators, biomedical researchers, science journalists, and others to create dynamic educational resources focused on biomedical research developments and human biology; and 3) increase youths' interest in biomedical science. Biology of Human will provide adults and youth with several simultaneous, complementary options for learning about how biomedical research has helped us understand human biology including essays, books and blogs; entertaining and scientifically accurate mobile and tablet apps; activities and graphic stories; and a Web site that complements and supports the project's professional development programs. More than 175,000 youth and adults are expected to be directly impacted through this effort.
In the last two years SISSA Medialab designed, tested and evaluated two projects aiming at empowering children (in one case) and teenagers (in the other) to act as science journalists in order to promote a personal, critical attitude towards science and technology. The two groups produced a paper magazine and a blog, respectively, in a participatory process, in which adults acted as facilitators and experts on demand, but the youths were the leaders and owners of the products. Special care was taken to ensure inclusiveness, by involving in the project children and teenagers from any social
This proposed four-year effort envisions a new approach to promoting science literacy through science journalism as a subject of study. It is premised on a critical set of assumptions: (a) Most citizens have the need to interpret scientific information found in popular media (e.g., newspapers, magazines, online resources, science-related television programs); (b) science journalism provides reliable, well-researched science information; (c) authentic science writing provides motivation to learn; and (d) standards and rubrics specifically developed for evaluating students' science-related expository text do not exist. Thus, the project approaches science journalism as a means to assist students to investigate and coherently write about contemporary science and to learn to base assertions and descriptions on reliable, publicly available sources. To this end, the project aims to develop, pilot, and evaluate a model of instruction that focuses on the following aspects: (a) Identifying questions of both personal and public interest; (b) evaluating contemporary science-related issues; (c) making available highly regarded sources of information as exemplars (in-print, online, interviews); (d) synthesizing information; (e) assessing information based on fact-checking using the five Ws (who, what, where, when, and why); and (f) coherently explaining claims and evidence. A hypothesis and a set of research questions guide this effort. The hypothesis is the following: If participating students successfully attain the fundamental elements of the proposed model, then they will become more literate and better critical consumers and producers of scientific information. The main guiding research question of the proposed activity is the following: Does the teaching of science journalism using an apprenticeship model, reliable data sources, and science-specific writing standards improve high school students' understanding of science-related public literacy? Secondary questions include (a) Is the teaching of science journalism an efficacious, replicable and sustainable model for improving science literacy?; (b) How useful are science-related standards and rubrics for scaffolding and evaluating students' science writing and science literacy?; and (c) What is the nature of the engagement in science that this apprenticeship invites?
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Alan NewmanJoseph PolmanE. Wendy SaulCathy FarrarAlan Newman
This paper explores how participating in a program spanning an informal science institution and multiple school sites engaged youth with science in a different way. In particular, teens in the program selected and researched science topics of personal interest, and then authored, revised, and published science news stories about those topics in an authentic publication venue with an outside editor. Through five case studies analyzed according to a sociocultural framework for engagement understood as involving actions, interests and identifications, the authors describe how the news story