Suitable for planners, educationalists and environmentalists, this book introduces the theory and the practice of children's participation, and its importance for developing democracy and sustainable communities.
Participants track the Monarch Butterfly's spring migration by reporting their first sighting of an adult monarch butterfly. They also report the first spring sightings of milkweed, monarch butterfly eggs and/or caterpillars. The purpose of the study is to provide insight into the broad movement patterns and timing of monarch migration and possibly range expansion.
A three-year project, Science Experiences and Resources for Informal Education Settings (SERIES), involves collaboration between the 4-H Youth Development Program, practicing scientists, science education centers, and community service agencies to provide community-based science experiences for youth. Goals for national dissemination of the SERIES project are: 1) Increase the quality and quantity of science experiences for youth as leaders and as learners; 2) For youth to actively experience how science concepts and processes relate to their everyday lives; 3) Provide opportunities for youth to take positive leadership roles in their homes and communities; and 4) Provide opportunities for youth to investigate educational and career possibilities in science and technology through a scientist mentor relationship. SERIES builds upon the materials, and instructional/coaching model successfully developed and tested during the Califronia SERIES Project. National dissemination by 4-H assures SERIES availability to the 5,100,000 youth currently enrolled in 4-H. Expected outcomes of SERIES are: 1) Refine and produce final versions in English and Spanish of four SERIES community service science units; 2) Develop two new units; 3) Development of an "inquiry coaching" module for adult volunteers; 4) Develop and asses apprentice-like mentoring experiences for SERIES teens to work directly with scientists; and 5) Establish four SERIES regional dissemination centers, working collaboratively with 4-H, science centers and other youth serving agencies to provide national dissemination of the SERIES program model to 28 states.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Richard PonzioLaurel DeanHerbert Thier
The New York Hall of Science and Community School District #24 request $46,744 for a planning grant whose goal is to empower parents by bringing informal science and math education experiences to create a working team of parents, teachers, and museum staff to underserved, ethnically diverse students in their formative years, and their families. A major objective is to develop a framework for a science resource kit for home use by parents and children in grades K-3, and related parent training. The target audience is low income, minority, recently immigrated parents, with little to no involvement in their children's education. Parents from the target audience will serve on the Planning Team. The function of the kits is to provide exciting, intergenerational, exploratory experiences in math and science that are related to the school curriculum. Each kit will be designed to be completely portable and will appear to be a large trunk with wheels. Contents may include: a laptop-size computer; hand lenses and two small microscopes; diffraction gratings and flourescent sources; ramps and balls; mirrors, lenses and other optics.
In-Touch Science provides informal learning experiences to help children ages 8 to 11 understand the science in their everyday lives. Each science theme is introduced through a hands-on activity in one subject area and is reinforced through a second experience based in a different field of science. By linking concepts common to the paired fields, the program teaches children to make connections between what they've learned in one context and what they observe in another arena. The program targets children enrolled in special needs programs, 4-H clubs, school-age child care facilities, and home schooling. The program engages, supports and sustains community science facilitators, the majority of whom are not experienced educators. They will be trained to work with the children, using the Learning Cycle, a guided discovery strategy. Cornell developed the curricula for three paired disciplines: 1) Engineering and Plant Science, 2) Animal Science and Fiber Science, and 3) Chemistry and Environmental Science. Instructional materials for the project consist of three curricula, a facilitator-training guide, and supply kits.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Charlotte CoffmanDan BrownDaniel Tennessen
The Developmental Studies Center is supporting the active involvement of parents in their children's mathematical development, helping parents understand more about how their children learn mathematically and socially, and increasing the likelihood that children will discuss mathematics with an adult who is significant in their lives. The first phase of this project develops, pilot tests, and evaluates a Homeside Math resource book for each grade level, K-2, with activities teachers can send home to foster positive interaction about mathematics between parents and their children. These activities are related to exemplary school curricula, particularly those developed with NSF support. The next phase develops a limited number of additional activities to add to the Homeside Math collection to be published as Community Math. Community Math is a resource book for youth workers with activities that foster mathematical discussions between children ages 5-8 and a significant adult and can be used in a variety of community organization settings and sent home for family use. Workshops are developed for parents, teachers, and youth workers to strengthen their knowledge of child-centered instructional strategies, meaningful activities, and how children develop mathematically and socially. And facilitator workshops are developed for parents, teachers, and youth workers to enable them to lead workshops for parents.
The Wildlife Conservation Society is developing and implementing a five-year science program for 420 parents and 210 teachers of children in grades K-8. Linked directly with school curricula and the new National Science Education Standards, the program will bridge the gap between parents and schools, and position the Zoo as a partner and intermediary to help parents and teachers improve the quality and quantity of science education. The program consists of four interrelated components: 1) A series of workshops that will prepare the 420 parents and 210 teachers to work in teams for better and more widely available science education; 2) A series of education projects that will enable workshop participants to teach thousands of other parents and educators about the importance of science literacy, the need for active parental engagement in children's education, and the crucial role that informal science institutions play in augmenting formal science instruction; 3) A series of four Science Advocacy Fairs at the Zoo that are expected to raise the visitor's consciousness on a large scale about the above issues; and 4) A symposium for educators from schools and informal science centers in the region to disseminate successful methods for involving parents in science education.
The goals of the Seattle Partnership for Family Science are to enhance science literacy; increase parental involvement in their children's science education; and increase the numbers and ethnic diversity of families participating in school-based and community science programs. The Partnership will use the existing Seattle Partnership for Inquiry-Based Science, funded by a National Science Foundation grant for local Systemic Change, as the framework for the proposed activities. During the planning phase, the project staff will: * identify barriers to participation by families in their children's education paying special attention to ethnic minorities and individuals with limited proficiency in English; * develop and pilot-test an array of methods aimed at reducing these barriers; * promote awareness and involvement of parents in inquiry-based science activities; * develop new inquiry-based tools for science investigations; and * establish collaborative partnerships among the Seattle School District, the University of Washington, the Woodland Park Zoo, and other informal science centers.
San Francisco State University is collaborating with MESA of California to replicate the Mission Science Workshop (MSW) model for informal science education to establish 10 self-supporting interactive Community Science Workshops (CSW's) throughout California. The overriding theme for activities at the CSW's is to let children and parents "be" scientists as they explore through the use of interactive exhibits, hands-on building/tinkering activities and content workshops, while at the same time ensuring they learn correct science concepts. Content to be presented is from the areas of Engineering, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Mathematics. The target audience is primarily African-American, Latino, and Native American children in grades K-8 and their families.
The Discovery Center is a "hands-on" science museum with a mission to provide the public with a basic science literacy. The proposed HOFPP project is an outreach program that will take an informal science education activity to disadvantaged parents and children in the facilities of four (first year) collaborating "parents": The Urban League, the Spanish Action League, the North American Indian Club and Girls Inc. of Central NY. The purpose of the program is to encourage and enable parents of disadvantaged school children to play an active role in their child child's education. Phase I of the program is implemented as a series of ten weekly classes in which parents and children will work together on hands-on science activities; Phase 2 follows with a science club program. Graduates will be informally channeled into an inner-city magnet school for science and math. Past Discovery Center outreach programs have already demonstrated ability to attract disadvantaged parents. The proposed program will touch 1,000 disadvantaged persons during the initial three-year period. During the third year the HOFPP project will be transported and implemented at a Science museum in another New York State community. A three year cost-shared NSF project is proposed that will be later sustained by The Discovery Center operating budget with local donations. A professional outside evaluation will be performed to measure program success. Program reports, materials and consultation will be propagated to other interested organizations to gain maximum impact.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Rachel NettletonMary StebbinsAnnette SalsberyElizabeth Kneale
The Franklin Institute and the Girl Scouts of the USA will develop, implement, and evaluate "Girls at the Center," a family outreach program that will foster girl-centered, learning within the context of the family. Partnerships will be promoted between local science and technology centers and Girl Scout Councils. It is a multi- component program that will increase girls' and their families' understanding of and interest in basic science principles and processes. Consisting of a series of family-oriented activities that coincide with the school year, science/technology centers will serve as the hosts. These museum-based activities will be supplemented by home-based activities. The activities will follow the constructivist theory of education and will cover a broad menu of scientific disciplines including ecology, energy, and human physiology as well as science careers opportunities. They will be linked to the requirements for the Girl Scout recognition (badges) program. It is building on the success of a previously NSF funded project "National Science Partnerships for Girls Scout Councils and Museum" and is expected to reach 75,050 girls and 112,575 adults in 25 sites across the US during the funding period. It will be institutionalized and will continue to operate in those sites as well as expand to other sites after the NSF-funded period.
The Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia, PA, in collaboration with the Girl Scouts of the United States of America, the largest voluntary organization for girls in the world, requests NSF support for the National Science Partnership for Girl Scout Councils and Science Museums. This three-year project establishes partnerships between seven Girl Scout councils and six science-technology museums in six regions across the nation to promote science interest and knowledge in young American women. The project provides hands-on science activity kits and training workshops for Girl Scout leaders that assist them in conducting science activities with their troops. The science activities are directly linked to the existing Girl Scout badge program and help Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts (ages 8-11) fulfill science-related badge requirements. Each council/museum partnership will develop a specific program that involves the local underserved populations in Girl Scout science activities. during the three years of federal support, the National Science Partnership will develop a specific program that involves the local underserved populations in Girl Scout science activities. During the three years of federal support, the National Science Partnership will directly serve 11,500 leaders and 138,000 Girl Scouts. Extensive project dissemination will encourage the involvement of new partnerships and the institutionalization of the National Science Partnership by GSUSA, councils, science museums, and other formal education organizations so that the project has the potential to reach the more than 2.3 million Girl Scouts and 780,000 leaders across the United States.