In our efforts to sustain U.S. productivity and economic strength, underrepresented minorities (URM) (for the purpose of this paper defined as persons of African American, Hispanic American, and Native American racial/ethnic descent), provide an untapped reservoir of talent that could be used to fill technical jobs. Over the past 25 years, educational diversity programs have encouraged and supported URM pursuing STEM degrees. Yet, their representation in STEM still lags far behind that of White, non-Hispanic men.
To understand the reasons why this is occurring, the American Association for
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Yolanda S. GeorgeVirginia Van HorneShirley M. Malcom
This research was commissioned to explore visitors’ experiences in When the Dinosaurs Were Gone (later titled "When Crocodiles Ruled", a temporary exhibition at the Science Museum of Minnesota. As a summative evaluation, the research sought to address several issues and objectives: 1. overall impressions of the exhibition — visitors’ ratings of enjoyment, interest in the information, what they liked most, and what changes they would suggest (or not want) for a traveling version of this exhibit; 2. extent of use of the exhibition — amount of time spent in the exhibition and the extent to which
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People Places & Design ResearchScience Museum of MinnesotaJolene Hart
This formative evaluation gathered feedback from third graders in response to a Leica reel, which is a filmed storyboard with dialogue. The 22 minute video focused on using surveys to gather, organize and analyze data. The research goals were to assess viewers' comprehension of the survey process as presented in the video; their understanding of what a survey is; their perception of being able to do a survey themselves and their interest in doing a survey. Cyberchase is the Emmy Award-winning mathematics series and website on PBS KIDS GO! using broadcast, web, new media and educational
During the scripting phase of production, Cyberchase producers obtained peer reviews of draft scripts from mathematics educators and teachers. This report is a responsive evaluation of the common themes that emerged from 55 reviews of 26 scripts by 25 experts, focusing on script appeal, content presentation and informal learning approach. Cyberchase is the Emmy Award-winning mathematics series and website on PBS KIDS GO! using broadcast, web, new media and educational outreach to impact millions nationwide. Designed for children ages 8 to 11 and packed with mystery, humor, and action
A pilot study of five episodes in the Cyberchase series was conducted in late Fall 2001. The study was designed to assess the broad educational value, impact and appeal of the series, and to pilot the approach and instrumentation for a more extensive study in the spring of 2002. The study included more than 450 children and 20 teachers. Cyberchase is the Emmy Award-winning mathematics series and website on PBS KIDS GO! using broadcast, web, new media and educational outreach to impact millions nationwide. Designed for children ages 8 to 11 and packed with mystery, humor, and action, Cyberchase
With a Small Grant for Exploratory Research, we will identify and measure the properties of spatial layout that affect visitors' exploration and exposure to information in science museum exhibitions. It is the nature of museum learning that it is associated with movement in space. The ways in which displays are arranged in spatial sequences, the ability to simultaneously view different objects, the grouping of objects in space, the rate of change in directions, the relative distance between one display and another, all become powerful aspects of the presentation of knowledge that are far more important in the museum than they are in any other learning environment. This study will apply new techniques for spatial analysis to provide rigorous, quantitative descriptions of spatial layout. These descriptors will then be used to understand how layout affects visitor movement patterns in exhibitions.
The Institute for Research on Learning is undertaking a multifaceted effort to help parents become more involved in the mathematics education of their children. This project establishes a Design Consortium; develops new materials and collaborative activity structures; provides outreach, training, and technical assistance to communities; and disseminates these products to the educational community. The design consortium creates contexts for raising parent participation in communities where it is most needed and uses these contexts to plan and construct mathematics materials based on issues parents face in everyday life. The outreach activities include planning support and workshops for schools, community organizations, and parent groups. Dissemination is done through presentations and talks and through research articles.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Shelley GoldmanJennifer Knudsen
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC is planning and coordinating a visit by Chinese delegates to designated United States Science Museums toward identifying cooperative endeavors related to public understanding of science. Planning also will be done for a separate delegation of informal educators from Japan. Discovery Place will work with the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) to assist in planning and arranging portions of each delegation's visit in order to help science center professionals from all three countries meet and learn more about each other's institutions, programs and priorities. Through this networking, U.S. institutions will be encouraged to participate in exchanges and cooperative projects. The meetings also will help all sides identify potential partners and develop the relationships necessary to pursue joint activities such as staff exchanges, cooperative development of exhibits and programs and design of workshops. Specific planning activities to be undertaken by Discovery Place include: Identifying appropriate museum and media production sites for the Chinese delegation to visit; Coordinating the purposes of the visit with these sites; Working with The Institute of Pacific Asia (IPA is the NSF grantee that is handling the administrative aspects of the Chinese and Japanese visits) to develop a specific agenda for each site visit; Coordinating with ASTC to arrange such activities as: Presentations by members of the Chinese and Japanese delegation in ASTC conference sessions, Participation by members of the Chinese and Japanese delegations in ASTC conference events and sessions, and Assisting IPA in developing an agenda for a one-day US/China delegation meeting immediately following the conference. This project provides rare opportunities for informal science educators and policy makers to explore a wide range of program options for the United States, China and Japan to inform the public and build support for science.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Freda Nicholson
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
The Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education initiated the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship program in 1990. This program provides outstanding secondary mathematics and science teachers with an opportunity to serve in the national public policy arena. NSF funding will support an Einstein Fellow in the Informal Science Education (ISE) program. The Fellow will bring practical insight derived from being a classroom teacher to ISE and contribute to the program development and management. The ISE program supports large regional and national projects targeting informal learners that include linkages to formal education. The Einstein Fellow can contribute feasible suggestions on how those linkages can occur, while learning about the proposal development, submission, peer review and award process. The 11-month experience will enable the educator to learn about the field of informal science education from a national perspective through direct interaction with practitioners and participation in professional development. Collegial exchange occurs monthly as Fellows serving in other Federal agencies meet to discuss their experiences. Additionally, participants are required to submit three written reports to document their experiences.
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 Institute for Learning Innovation, Inc., requests $264,904 to pilot a project for establishing a national program to provide parents and significant other adults with support, training and materials. Also, the project goals will enable parents and other adults to become actively engaged in local science education reform and science literacy for their children. The duration of this project is eighteen months. The cost sharing for this NSF award is 24.6% of the total projected cost of the project. The Institute for Learning Innovation, Inc. will collaborate with the YWCA of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, Boys and Girls Club of Annapolis and the Arundel County Public Schools' Family Involvement Center. Project "ASK with Science" will develop a model program for implementing and disseminating science education materials to young children in underserved communities, thereby creating a grassroots, family-oriented program that can become established in the local communities served by these organizations.