The "Mentored Youth Building Employable Skills in Technology (MyBEST)" project, a collaboration of the Youth Science Center (YSC) and Learning Technology Center (LTC) at the Science Museum of Minnesota, is a three-year, youth-based proposal that seeks to engage 200 inner-city youngsters in learning experiences involving information and design technologies. The goal of the project is to develop participants' IT fluency coupled with work- and academic-related skills. The program will serve students in grades 7 through 12 with special emphasis on three underrepresented groups: girls, youngsters of color, and the economically disadvantaged. Project participants will receive 130 contact hours and 70% will receive at least 160 hours. Each project year, including summers, students participate in three seasons consisting of five two-week cycles. Project activities will center on an annual technology theme: design, engineering and invention; social and environmental systems; and networks and communication. The activities that constitute project seasons include guest presenter workshops; open labs facilitated by guest presenters, mentors and adult staff; presentations of student projects; career workshops and field trips. The project cycles feature programming (e.g., Logo computer language; Cricketalk), engineering and multi-media production (e.g., digital video; non-linear editing software). Each cycle will interface with an existing museum-related program (e.g., the NSF-funded traveling Cyborg exhibit). Mentors will work alongside participants in all technology-based activities. These mentors will be recruited from university, business, community partners and participant families. Leadership development is addressed through teamwork and in the form of internships and externships. Participants obtain work experience related to technology in the internship and externship component. The "MyBEST" project will serve as a prototype for the Museum to test the introduction of technology as central to the design and learning outcomes of its youth-based programs. An advisory board reflecting expertise in youth development, technology and informal science education will guide the program's development and plans for sustainability. Core elements of the "MyBEST" program will be integrated into the Museum's youth-based projects sponsored by the YSC and LTC departments. The Museum has a strong record of integrating prototype initiatives into long-standing programs.
SRI and Girls, Inc. of Alameda County will develop a problem-based program for underserved middle-school girls. "Build IT" will serve 300 girls in three years providing each with 150 contact hours of programming. The program is designed to increase IT fluency, motivate girls to engage in IT related activities, encourage the pursuit of IT careers and increase interest in mathematics. Participants will progress through three stages: Apprentice, Journeygirl, and Specialist. Apprentices learn how to use Internet communication tools and interact with design professionals in a variety of IT fields. Journeygirls engage in software design and create small mobile devices while working in conjunction with software engineers in Stanford University's Learning, Design, and Technology Program. Specialists continue to work in design teams and build valuable project and resource management skills. A curriculum will be developed that builds on NSF-funded products such as Techbridge (HRD 00-80386) and Imagination Place (HRD 97-14749), while addressing communication technologies, networking, wireless and mobile communication tools, web development and computer programming. Troubleshooting and leadership skills will also be included. Additional activities consist of professional development for Girls, Inc. staff to build IT fluency, as well as Family Tech Nights to encourage parental involvement.
DATE:
-
TEAM MEMBERS:
Melissa KochMelissa BryanMarie BienkowskiDeborah Emery
The Ocean Institute (OI), in partnership with Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Scripps), Capistrano Valley Boys & Girls Clubs (BGC) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), is developing "SeaTech," a multi-year, Youth-based ITEST program providing 120 female and minority middle and high school students from underserved populations with 391 contact hours of information technology (IT)-intensive oceanographic research experiences. SeaTech content focuses on understanding the acoustic behaviors of whales and dolphins, specifically, sound production, noise impacts and acoustic population census in California, the Bering Sea and the Southern Ocean. SeaTech offers a two-year core program for 13 & 14 year olds consisting of a "Breadth of Exposure" phase and a "Depth of Skills" phase totaling 299 hours. The core program has three distinct elements -- after-school clubs, field explorations and summer research institutes -- and is augmented with efforts before and after: an Early Pipeline Development phase (52 hours) for youth age 12, and Internships (40 hours) for youth age 15. The three-year ITEST grant will host three cohorts of 40 participants each. Each youth participant will receive 391 total contact hours. Through efforts directed at parents, SeaTech anticipates involving 60 parents in about 80 hours of activities each year. Coordinated through and with the expertise of Capistrano Valley BGC, recruitment will include orientation and information programs, a bilingual brochure and direct efforts by BGC staff. In addition, recruitment will happen from local schools. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: IT-based studies of marine mammal bio-acoustics will 'hook' student interest in after-school clubs, field explorations and summer research institutes. SeaTech advances understanding of the role of broader pipeline development in addressing chronic recruitment and retention problems in teen-targeted IT programs. BROADER IMPACTS: SeaTech programming has been meticulously and demonstrably integrated into the afterschool programming at the BGC. The SeaTech Club provides organizational structure to the teen activities at the BGC; however, the IT curriculum is also integrated into two nationally renowned extant structures called Career Launch and Club Tech. Findings from the project's examination of recruitment, retention and parental involvement will have broad implications to the field of informal science education.
DATE:
-
TEAM MEMBERS:
Harry HellingKelly ReynoldsJohn HildebrandCandice Dickens
Thinking SMART is a comprehensive five-year program that will encourage young women to pursue careers in science, mathematics and technology. The project focuses on girls ages 12-18, and will especially target those who are underserved and underrepresented in the sciences, including girls from diverse backgrounds and persons with disabilities. Key elements include four science/engineering module options, a two-tiered mentoring component, training, resource materials, online activities and an awards program. The modules (Material Girls, Eco Girls, Galactic Girls, Net Girls), focus on engineering, ecology, physics and computer science respectively, and will be aligned with national standards. The modules are implemented during the school year and include weekly programming, a summer camp and a spring "Women in Science and Engineering" conference organized by girls. Weekly meetings are augmented by online activities, in which girls interact with other participants and mentors, publish reports and obtain career information. Additionally, participants who complete all four modules are eligible to become paid mentors for younger participants. Five publications will be produced to support the program, including manuals for mentors (both adults and youth), module activities, a parent guide and a guide for implementation sites on community partnerships. Thinking SMART materials will be developed and piloted tested at eight sites in conjunction with Girls, Inc. affiliates in Nashua, NH, Worcester, MA, Oakridge, TN and Shelbyville, IN, with input from the Society of Women Engineers. Extensive training will also be provided for pilot programs and future dissemination. Finally the E3 Awards Program will motivate implementation sites to create high quality local programs. It is anticipated that more than 1,500 Girls, Inc. affiliates will adopt "Thinking SMART."
DATE:
-
TEAM MEMBERS:
Brenda StegallJanet StantonHeather Johnston NicholsonShalonda MurrayJoe Martinez