WGBH is producing Seasons II and III of ZOOM, a television series featuring kids that gives viewers in the 8- to 11-year-old range a chance to explore, experiment, and share their creativity with the world. Each season would consist of 40, daily, half-hour shows -- each including a number of science and/or mathematics segments. A unique aspect of ZOOM is that every idea and activity on the show comes from a child who writes or e-mails the show and who is credited on-air for his or her contribution. Production staff and a working group of advisors with expertise in science and math education take these raw ideas and develop them into program segments and outreach projects designed to encourage "habits of mind" -- a set of problem-solving skills and dispositions toward science and math that has been developed in concert with the advisors. Three over-arching science and math-based themes also guide the way science and math are presented over the course of a season. Outreach for Seasons II and III will build on the solid base of outreach developed for Season I, and will consist of: ZOOMerang: Every child who communicates with ZOOM will get something back such as a compilation of science and math activities, jokes, poems, recipes and a series update. ClubZOOM: A set of standards-based science and math activities will be developed along with guidance for how to create after-school clubs. This effort will be pilot tested at 20 sites. ZOOMzones: These are areas in science-technology centers and museums that are devoted to ZOOM and include opportunities for youth and families to interact with science and math content featured on ZOOM. Ten pilot ZOOMzone sites were developed for Season I (from 80 applications). The number of ZOOMzones will be increased and continuing support will be offered to existing sites during Seasons II and III. ZOOMdays: During Season III, WGBH will develop ZOOMdays at shopping malls to reach youth who may not have access to ZOOMzones or ClubZOOM. ZOOMweb site: This web site provides an outreach extension to the TV series by collecting and sharing submissions; illustrating and producing science and math activities; creating a ZOOM community; providing research links to other sites; and aiding adults who are interested in furthering ZOOM's science and math activities in their homes, classrooms, museums and after-school programs.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is developing, producing and testing a pilot phase for an after school program designed to engage children 9-12 years old in recreational science education. The materials will provide a structured yet flexible daily experience aligned with age-appropriate learning goals. Individuals and teams of children engage in the program by registering on-line, following the developing story line, and performing science activities on and off line. The activities will remain available on the Internet for continued use by after school programs, home schools, small teams of children and individuals working independently.
Community Science Workshops: Beginning a National Movement is an extension of a successful, NSF-funded project that created a network of community science centers in California. The San Francisco State University will now take this successful venture to a national level by working with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) to establish a new Community Science Workshop (CSW) 8-10 in underserved communities over the next four years. Once sites are selected, CSW directors participate in an intensive two-week training program. This is followed by visits by site mentors, and ongoing support through the WWW and other media, which contributes to the establishment and eventual sustainability of the centers. Each site partners with larger, established museums and science centers locally to gain much needed assistance with exhibits and education programs. Community Science Workshops contain permanent exhibit space, a workshop area for student projects and classroom/storage space. They serve a variety of audiences through after school, family, school and summer science programs. Potential locations include Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and the District of Columbia.
The Developmental Studies Center (DSC) will implement "Home, School and Community: AfterSchool Math for Grades 3-5," a program that targets at-risk and low income children in afterschool programs. AfterSchool Math trains youth workers to help students in grades 3-5 better understand measurement and geometry concepts, building on the success of the NSF-funded Home, School and Community mathematics program for grades K-2 (ESI #97-05421). The project develops, field-tests and evaluates thirty math games and ten story guides, which support the social and mathematical development of children, while emphasizing cooperative learning. The content for all materials will be aligned with national standards in mathematics. A 12-hour professional development workshop for youth workers and an 18-hour workshop for facilitators or youth worker leaders are also planned. Two training videos and a facilitator manual will be produced to support this aspect of the project. Field testing will occur in Kansas, Louisiana and Missouri. This proposal has been augmented to include a special emphasis on rural communities which doubles the number of field test sites from 50 to 100. A Rural Outreach Specialist will conduct focus group meetings to determine needs unique to rural programs and lead the field testing in these communities. It is anticipated that over 3,200 youth workers will be trained and a national cadre of more than 300 youth worker leaders will be created.
The Educational Broadcasting Corporation (WNET) is producing 13 half-hour animated television programs to engage youth aged 8-11 in the fun and challenge of mathematics. Cyberchase will encourage viewers to develop and sustain positive attitudes toward mathematics, help increase their mathematics knowledge and skills, and actively involve them in mathematical reasoning and problem solving. The premise of the series is that a dastardly fiend is on a mission to take over cyberspace. Three youngsters are summoned into the cyberworld to stop him. Their only weapon: BRAIN POWER! Repeatedly, the young heroes find themselves in danger and must use math and logic to escape. In addition to the television series, Cyberchase materials and outreach will continue to involve children in mathematics. Outreach components include: A web component that provides mathematical activities and content 100,000 free copies of a Cyberchase magazine An insert in the 4th grade edition of Weekly Reader - reaching 30,000 teachers and 800,000 children. Teachers guide to facilitate classroom use of the series The incorporation of Cyberchase activities into the afterschool and weekend programs of Boys & Girls Clubs, the Urban League, and the AAAS Black Church Project The PI and Co-Executive Producer for the project is Sandra Sheppard, WNET's Director of Educational Video. The Co-Content Directors are Cary Bolster, Director of PBS Mathline's K-12 projects, and Michael Templeton, former Content Director of "The Magic School Bus." The Co-Executive Producer will be Kristin Martin, formerly Executive Producer for "The Magic School Bus." Advisors to the project include Glenda Lappan, Frances Curcio, Joel Schneider, Solomon Garfunkel, Laura Jeffers, Jimmie Rios, Susan Markowitz, Virginia Thompson, Simon Graty, Cyrilla Hergenham, Kay Gilliland, and Deborah Anne Robertson.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Sandra SheppardMichael TempletonBarbara Flagg
Kinetic City After School is a two-year project that will produce a web-based after-school program for children ages 9-11. The on-line adventure will enable users to enter a virtual universe where a computer virus (Deep Delete) systematically attacks a new area of science each month (analogous to one of the 12 Project 2061 Benchmarks for Science Literacy). As students battle the virus, they learn Benchmarks learning goals. Each unit invites children to think about the problem, take action and reflect on their experience. The activities accommodate different learning styles and are supplemented by live audio chats with scientists and a self-assessment enables students to earn Kinetic City Power Points. Power Points can be donated to after school programs without computers and Internet access. These sites may in turn, exchange their accumulated Power Points to obtain computers, Internet service and a site license for "Kinetic City After School." Although the program is web-based, most of the activity extensions are done off-line. "Kinetic City After School" will be introduced to after-school sites with a two-day training workshop, with follow-up via phone meetings and site visits. Supporting materials will include a Leader Guide, Journal and Kinetic City Home Crew activity pages for use in the home.
The project is based upon the established Math, Science, and Beyond (MSB) program which consists of a series of evening family science workshops (with curriculum materials developed for classroom settings) in which students and parents explore science and mathematics together through exciting, hands-on activities. Units for each grade level (K-6) focus on physical, earth, and life science. The MSB informal science project will adapt materials and bring the program to informal learning settings - 25 Boys and Girls Clubs of California, and 25 California Department of Parks and Recreation sites. These clubs will receive training, materials, and support to operate Science Clubs (after school MSB sessions), Science Camps (summer, off-track and Spring/Winter Break, week-long MSB sessions), and Science Explorers Family Workshops (1-2 hour sessions for elementary school students and their parents). In addition to the Boys and Girls Clubs, and the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the California Science Implementation Network is a key collaborator on the project.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Mary CavanaghEleanore TopolovacM. SusanJoseph Keating
Design Technology in After School Programs is a collaboration between science centers and community-based programs to provide "hands on" activities for children age 6-10 in an informal setting. This project enables science centers and community-based organizations to use their expertise to conduct outreach for students and their parents using activities developed. The activities will consist of a variety of design projects that will challenge children to build working models of technological devices. The materials involved in the activities are common everyday items that are usually found around the home. The project will be scaled up each of the three years to reach six science centers and 25-30 after school programs in major areas of the eastern part of the United States. The PI will produce a manual for collaboration and a design technology guide for publication and national dissemination. The cost sharing for this project is 33% of the total project budget.