In this article we describe a model designed for rural settings that uses community-based “STEM Guides” as human brokers to engage isolated 10- to 18-year-old youth in STEM. The STEM Guides connect youth with opportunities that already exist in their communities, including after-school programs, clubs, camps, library activities, special events, contests, and competitions. STEM Guides also introduce youth and their families to virtual opportunities, such as citizen science monitoring, and statewide experiences, such as the Maine State Science Fair.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Jan MokrosJennifer AtkinsonSue AllenAlyson SaundersKate Kastelein
This article describes the research and development of an NSF-funded, five-year experimental program to strengthen informal (out-of-school) STEM learning by youth in five rural communities. The central component of the model was a cadre of community members known as ‘STEM Guides’ who were hired to work as brokers between youth and the STEM learning resources potentially available to them. These STEM Guides were respected adults with credible connections to youth, flexible schedules, the ability to travel within the community, and enthusiasm for identifying local STEM resources. The Guides were
This document is the final summative evaluation report written by EDC, the external evaluator of the STEM Guides project. The report concludes that the project was highly ambitious, with many dynamic and evolving pieces. It was deemed successful as a model of brokering connections between students aged 10-18 and STEM resources and opportunities in rural Maine communities. The STEM Guides program contributed to the increase in STEM awareness within each community, as well as connecting youth with interesting and relevant STEM experiences.
This NSF INCLUDES Design and Development Launch Pilot is to expand the Navajo Nation Math Circle model to other sites, and to develop and launch a network of math circles based on the NNMC model. The Navajo Nation Math Circle model is a novel approach to broadening the participation of indigenous peoples in mathematics that, ultimately, seeks to improve American Indian students' attitudes towards mathematics, persistence with challenging problems, and grades in math courses. Navajo Nation Math Circles bring teachers, students, and mathematicians together to work collaboratively on challenging, but meaningful and fun, math problems. Through this NSF INCLUDES project, additional math circles across the Navajo Nation will be launched and a mirror site in Washington State serving additional tribes (such as Puyallup, Muckleshoot, Tulalip, and Stillaguamish) will be established.
Originating approximately a century ago in Eastern Europe as a means to engage students in mathematical thinking, math circles bring teachers, students, and math professionals together to work collaboratively on challenging, but relevant and interesting, math problems. Navajo Nation Math Circles, established math circles in various Navajo Nation communities, are the foundation of this INCLUDES project. One goal of this effort is to launch a network with the capacity to support the replication and adaption of math circles in multiple sites as an innovative strategy for encouraging indigenous math engagement through culturally enriched open-ended group math explorations. In addition, the Navajo Nation Math Circle model will be expanded to new math circles in the Navajo Nation, as well as in Washington State to serve additional tribes. Cells in the network will implement key elements of the Navajo Nation Math Circle model, adapting them to their particular contexts. Such elements include facilitation of open-ended group math explorations, incorporating indigenous knowledge systems; a Mathematical Visitor Program sending mathematicians to schools to work with students and their teachers; inclusion of mathematics in public festivals to increase community mathematical awareness; a two-week summer math camp for students; and teacher development opportunities ranging from workshops to immersion experiences to a mentoring program pairing teachers with mathematicians.
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David AucklyHenry FowlerJayadev Athreya
The Montana Girls STEM Collaborative brings together organizations and individuals throughout Montana who are committed to informing and motivating girls to pursue careers in STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The Collaborative offers professional development, networking and collaboration opportunities to adults who offer and/or support STEM programs for girls and other youth typically under-represented in STEM. The vision of Montana Girls STEM is that every young person in Montana has the opportunity to learn about STEM careers and feels welcome pursuing any dream they
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Suzi TaylorRay CallawayCathy Witlock
The Art of Science Learning, Phase 2 was an NSF-funded research and development project to investigate the value of incorporating arts-based learning techniques in STEM-related group innovation processes. The project team created a new, arts-infused innovation curriculum in consultation with leading national practitioners in the arts, creativity, and innovation, then deployed that curriculum in “innovation incubators” in San Diego, Chicago, and Worcester (Mass.) in partnership with informal STEM institutions in those cities. At each incubator, diverse members of the public (from high school
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Peter LinettSteve ShewfeltNicole BaltazarNnenna OkekeDreolin FleisherEric LaPlantMadeline SmithChloe Chittick PattonSarah LeeHarvey Seifter
This poster was presented at the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) PI Meeting held in Bethesda, MD on February 29-March 2. Earth Partnership: Indigenous Arts and Sciences (IAS) refines a model for integrating Indigenous and Western STEM education utilizing a 10-step framework for ecological restoration, project-based learning, and professional development. Through community dialogues and a collaborative design process with Native Nations of Wisconsin, Earth Partnership is developing an Indigenous Arts and Sciences approach that has allowed Native participants to voice their insights
The Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, in collaboration with several informal science education and other cultural and business organizations in San Diego, Chicago, and Worcester, MA are implementing a research and development project that investigates a range of possible approaches for stimulating the development of 21st Century creativity skills and innovative processes at the interface between informal STEM learning and methods for creative thinking. The goal of the research is to advance understanding of the potential impacts of creative thinking methods on the public's understanding of and engagement with STEM, with a focus on 21st Century workforce skills of teens and adults. The goal of the project's development activities is to experiment with a variety of "innovation incubator" models in cities around the country. Modeled on business "incubators" or "accelerators" that are designed to foster and accelerate innovation and creativity, these STEM incubators generate collaborations of different professionals and the public around STEM education and other STEM-related topics of local interest that can be explored with the help of creative learning methodologies such as innovative methods to generate creative ideas, ideas for transforming one STEM idea to others, drawing on visual and graphical ideas, improvisation, narrative writing, and the process of using innovative visual displays of information for creating visual roadmaps. Hosting the project's incubators are the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership (San Diego), the Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago) and the EcoTarium (Worcester, MA). National partners are the Association of Science-Technology Centers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Americans for the Arts. Activities will include: the formation and collaborative processes of three incubator sites, a research study, the development of a creative thinking curriculum infused into science education, professional development based on the curriculum, public engagement events and exhibits, a project website and tools for social networking, and project evaluation. A national advisory council includes professionals in education, science, creativity, and business.
Earth Partnership: Indigenous Arts and Sciences (EP) will develop and refine a model for integrating Indigenous and informal and formal K-20 educators in ecological restoration, project-based learning and professional development. EP will involve participants in Native habitat restoration on community spaces, school grounds and nearby natural areas as a context for intergenerational STEM learning across age, ecosystem, discipline, learning style, culture and place. EP integrates Native knowledge and core values including relationship, reciprocity, respect and responsibility with Western STEM concepts and processes. The project will integrate the expertise of university social, physical, life and learning scientists and community and tribal practitioners to design, develop and test informal STEM learning incorporating ecological restoration, citizen science and cultural diversity. EP grows out of a teacher professional development model funded by NSF and is a network that now includes participating individuals and organizations from many states. This network will enhance dissemination and provide a foundation for a larger project growing out of the results of this project. EP will build capacity of Native and non-Native informal educators and citizens to work together to generate engagement among young people and adults with ecological STEM learning and stewardship. The approach will integrate culturally authentic resources, inquiry and citizen science process skills (e.g., data collection, analysis, ecological restoration, water stewardship) in multiple learning settings. Stronger multicultural, intergenerational and community partnerships will be supported to restore aquatic and terrestrial habitats through community-based stewardship projects and Service Learning. Through EP, Native youth will be encouraged to explore STEM careers that will meet future workforce needs for managing tribal resources and become knowledgeable citizens able to use critical thinking and analysis of STEM-related issues in their communities. The project will use a developmental evaluation approach to assess project planning processes and outcomes of educational programs.
This is a Broad Implementation proposal. Our goal is to create a vibrant, sustained community of practice around the established Café Scientifique New Mexico model for engaging high school teens in science, technology, engineering and math; scale-up will be accomplished via a national network of committed partners. The adult Cafe Scientifique model for engaging citizens in science has proven very effective and has been implemented widely. The interaction in a social setting with a scientist-presenter around a hot science topic is the key to the model’s success. With ISE funding, the model has been adapted by Science Education Solutions for the high school teen audience. Cafe Scientifique New Mexico, now starting its fifth year, has had documented success in providing teens with increased STEM literacy and a more realistic picture of scientists as real people leading interesting lives. Teens come to better understand the nature of science and are more likely to see the relevance of science to their lives. Scientists express strong satisfaction with the nature of our coaching and the resulting quality of their science communication. The program has been continually evaluated and improved, and is now ready for broad implementation. Intellectual Merit: Teenagers are the adult citizens and workforce of tomorrow. Teens are reaching a critical life juncture and are making choices that affect their future life style, life-long learning behaviors, and careers. Yet they are increasingly dropping out of the STEM pipeline in school. Even teens interested in STEM often know little about science and engineering careers and the nature of scientific research. Teen Cafés can play an important role in addressing these challenges. We have two major objectives: 1. Implement the Café Scientifique model of Teen Cafés in a national network of sites committed to adopting and adapting the program and validating its impacts with diverse audiences; and 2. Create a vibrant and sustainable community of practice comprised of ISE and STEM professionals interested in engaging teens in STEM through Teen Cafés. We have formed a core network of six initial partners: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Center for STEM Research, Education, and Outreach; The Florida Teen SciCafé Partnership; North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh; Science Discovery, University of Colorado; The Pacific Science Center in Seattle; and The Missouri AfterSchool Network (MASN) – Project LIFTOF. We will add two more core partners in Year 3. The core partners will join the Teen Cafe Network in a staged fashion in years 1 - 3. Each will reach sustainability over a three-year funding period. Each node has a local area network of partners consisting of organizations that will host local Cafes; scientific organizations with potential presenters; schools and other organizations for recruiting teens; and entities capable of contributing to financial sustainability. The network will provide a structure for a dynamic, growing, and sustainable community of practice to implement the Teen Café model, in which high school teens will gain skills in scientific discourse, thought, and exploration. STEM professionals will gain improved skills for communicating with public audiences and a new perspective on their research from a broader societal perspective. ISE professionals will gain capacity to adapt, implement, test, and further disseminate the Teen Café model and increased capability for preparing STEM experts to communicate effectively with teen audiences, along with tools, resources, and expertise to help them do so. Science Education Solutions will manage the project and provide the resources to support the community of practice, while continuing Cafe Scientifique New Mexico as a ninth network node. We will stimulate intensive ongoing communication of lessons learned across the network as partners start up their Cafe programs; external observers will be able to watch the program unfold. Broader Impacts: We will build capacity for serving teens and effective communication of science in the broad ISE and STEM communities by encouraging and nurturing others wishing to start a Cafe program and join the network. We have partnered with 10 large science and science education organizations, each with its own extensive network, which will allow us to further propagate the Teen Cafe Network. They are: National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net), The American Institute of Physics (AIP), Science Cafés.org (to include NOVA), Science Festival Alliance, Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science (CUAHSI), Informalscience.org, Project Liftoff: Elevating Science Afterschool, ITEST Learning Resource Center, and The Center for Multiscale Modeling of Atmospheric Processes (CMMAP). Each partner will also target underserved and diverse teen audiences for their programs.
Community Ambassadors in Science Exploration (CASE) is a new model for encouraging the appreciation and understanding of science among underserved families through: a corps of teen and adult peer presenters; a curriculum of hands-on learning experiences for families of diverse ages and backgrounds; a regional network of museum-community collaboration; integration of community and museum resources through joint programming; and a longitudinal research study of program impacts. CASE will serve over 20,000 people over three years with peer-presented family learning opportunities and museum experiences. In addition, CASE will train a total of 108 science ambassadors who will offer science workshops at community-based organizations in the languages spoken by their constituencies. Through CASE, the ambassadors will gain training and experience in informal science education that can open the door to possible future career opportunities in community and museum settings. Building on a ten-year history of museum-community collaboration, CASE will be conducted by PISEC, the Philadelphia/Camden Informal Science Education Collaborative. PISEC includes four major Philadelphia informal science institutions: The Franklin Institute, the Philadelphia Zoo, The Academy of Natural Sciences and The New Jersey State Aquarium. This organization conducts research and outreach projects in support of family science learning.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Minda BorunKathleen WagnerAngela WengnerNaomi Echental
Acting on behalf of a group of academic, educational and public-service organizations the University of California-Santa Barbara proposes to improve aquatic science education in informal settings that include youth-service organizations such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, YMCA, YWCA, Boys and Girls Clubs and 4-H. The specific emphasis will be on the close interdependence between humans and the aquatic environment and on the need for enlightened social action in defense of that environment. The thrusts of the project will be to establish the California Aquatic Science Education Consortium; to develop multiple copes of sets of instructional materials on topic of aquatic science appropriate for informal educational settings; and to develop a program for training a cadre of trainers who in turn will train volunteers in the use of the materials. The program has a significant potential for broader national application.