This proposal calls for development, over five years, of a national, interactive, telecommunications-supported Network of 85 or more affiliated neighborhood technology learning centers in inner cities and other impoverished areas, for the purpose of attracting, and then nurturing underserved peoples' active involvement with math, science, and technology. Network affiliates will provide informal opportunities for disadvantaged minority young people and their families and friends to get access to, and learn to use, the most powerful tool for personal empowerment yet known, to engage in explorations designed to increase awareness of their ability to do math and science and of the potential for careers in these areas, and, through telecommunications, to involve themselves with distant peer groups in collaborative investigations. Such opportunities present attractive and cost-effective alternatives to the dead ends that street life, drugs, incarceration, and/or welfare offer. Success in achieving these goals depends, however, on the availability of continuing programmatic and staff development assistance, and on the ability of Network members to engage, not as disparate entities, but as a mutually supportive community, in this momentous task. Proposed Network services include (in addition to telecommunications linkages) the identification, development, and dissemination of technology-mediated math and science activities appropriate to community education, consultative planning and technical assistance, staff development workshops, the development of a resource database, and an annual all-affiliates meeting -- all these to be accompanied by systematized self-assessment procedures. Also included is the development of a Network infrastructure to support continued existence of the Network beyond the grant period.
Through the proposed project, approximately 555,000 youth and adults will improve their knowledge of the basic sciences and mathematics, and learn to integrate and apply these disciplines, by analyzing local environmental problems using remote sensing imagery and maps. Faculty from the Cornell laboratory for Environmental Applications of Remote Sensing (CLEARS) and Cornell Department of Natural Resources will train county teams of teachers, museum and nature center educators, community leaders, and Cooperative Extension agents from throughout New York State to conduct educational programs with youth and adults in their communities. Previously developed CLEARS educator enrichment workshops and training materials will be enhanced and revised based on the interactions among Cornell Faculty, informal and formal science educators, and students during this program. A facultative evaluation focusing on the workshops, training materials, and educator teaching skills, and a summative evaluation focusing on student learning and attitudes, program delivery in the various community education settings, and the effectiveness of the county educator teams will be conducted. The results of the evaluation will be incorporated into a program handbook and used in nationwide dissemination of the program.
Founded in 1979, the Science Skills Center (SSC) is a non-profit community based program which encourages young minority and female students to pursue careers in science, mathematics, and technology. At its current two sites, located in Brooklyn, New York, approximately 400 students, ages six to eighteen, are enrolled in programs where they take accelerated courses in biology, chemistry, physical science, rocketry, oceanography, botany, and advanced mathematics. Classes, which are presented within the cultural and linguistic understanding of minority children, provide students with an opportunity to recognize the relationship of science, mathematics, and technology to their everyday lives. The SSC proposes to replicate its present programs, establishing three additional sites in the New York City area in three years. The SSC also proposes to establish a systematic replication program which would assist other communities, both regional and national, to establish their own SSCs. This project would require a resource person to guide communities in all aspects of program development. To assist in that effort, SSC proposes development of comprehensive educational and administrative manuals as well as the preparation of accompanying training and profile videos. Finally, the SSC proposes to develop a research module in software and manual form which would assess and track student learning, school performance, performance on standardized exams, career aspiration and selection, and student attitudes in a community based science program targeting minority students.
The Franklin Institute Science Museum will, over a three year period, develop a regional Girl Scout leader training programthat provides science education experiences for Girl Scouts. The Girl Scout Council of Greater Philadelphia and the Washington Rock, NJ Council will be primary partners and the source of volunteer leaders and the target audience of member girls. Science Education kits will be developed and tested for Brownies and Juniors, training materials for staff trainers and volunteer leaders developed, leaders trained, and several post.training support mechanisms developed. Program materials are designed for continued use by the Girl Scouts; more than 2,000 leaders will be trained and 20,000 girls will participate in project activities during the three year period. This project is directed at the substantial under representation of women in many science and engineering fields by working with girls in informal settings to overcome patterns of science and mathematics avoidance. Replication and dissemination will be undertaken both within the Girl Scout Council system and among museums, youth organizations, and other informal educators. The proposers are contributing nearly $250,000 in resources to the project; NSF support will be 55% of the project total.
Community Television of Southern California (KCET/Los Angeles) proposes to create a national television series supported by outreach activities designed to motivate parents to participate in and support children's learning and enjoyment of mathematics. This proposal requests National Science Foundation funding of $1 million towards a total twenty-two month project costing approximately $1.7 million. The proposed television series Math Smart (working title) will include 5 lively half-hour programs designed specifically to aid parents and other adult family members of children in first through third grade. The series will be offered for broadcast nationally on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS). Videocassettes of the series and an accompanying Resource Guide will also be made available for home use. National promotional and outreach activities will complement the PBS broadcast, including presentations of national educational conferences and one-day orientation workshops for parents and teachers at selected sites. Over the course of the project, process and outcome evaluation will be conducted to ensure the effectiveness of the MATH SMART materials and activities. The primary goal of the MATH SMART Project is to empower parents to participate in and reinforce the learning of mathematics and a vital par t of everyday life. It is from parents that children develop the foundation for their educational success. Unfortunately, many parents do not possess the mathematical skills or confidence needed to help their children. By providing examples of hands-on learning activities which families can do together at home, MATh SMART offers parents the tools to help excite young children about mathematics. While special emphasis will be given to encouraging minority participation, this project seeks to help all parents and other primary caretakers prepare children for the 21st century.
Talcott Mountain Science Center, in cooperation with the Urban Schools Learning Network (encompassing a variety of state, regional and national partners), seeks $698,141 in National Science Foundation funds under the Informal Science Education Program for a three year national model for increased minority interest and participation in Informal Science Education Program for a three year national model for increased minority interest and participation in informal science education. The title of this partnership is Project PROMMISE )Promoting Role Model Minorities in Science Education). Over the next three years, Project PROMMISE will produce and broadcast at least 30 distance learning programs for thousands of secondary level students in urban and disadvantaged communities throughout the U.S. These Project PROMMISE broadcasts will bring distinguished minority and women scientists, explorers, astronauts and other figures in touch with urban young people through interactive video programming. Broadcasts will be preceded and followed by hands- on informal science education activities. The project also will broadcast national career exposure, exploration, and mentoring programs to better inform urban minority students of academic and career enrollment in secondary and post-secondary math, science and technology studies and cultural isolation by urban students, teachers and urban informal science education institutions. Major national partners for reform and pre- college minority enrichment are participating in the project, including the Edna McConnell Clark Middle School Change Network, the Museum Satellite Network, PIMMS at Wesleyan, the CT Pre- Engineering Program (CPEP). Private sector support has been gained from United Technologies, CIGNA and Union Carbide.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Donald LaSalleGlenn CassisDaniel Barstow
The excitement of astrophysical research and discovery is brought into the high school science and mathematics classes through a flexible set of student activities and projects on variable stars. The project includes a computerized database, of 400,000 measurements of brightness of 150 variable stars in five constellations over 25 years, from which students can deduce properties, processes, and evolution of these stars. Students can make additional measurements and discoveries from carefully selected time sequences of 125 35mm slides or from actual measurements from the night sky. A comprehensive student manual and instructional videos make the materials self-contained and easy to use. The teacher manual enables the instructor to adapt the materials to skills, objectives and local curricula. The material can be used in a variety of contexts: traditional mathematics and science classes at both the high school and college level, independent projects, summer institutes, and community science clubs. The material will be field tested in classes and refined through workshops with teachers. A newsletter and a video about amateur astronomers is planned.