The Boston Children's Museum will collaborate with Action for Boston Community Head Start Programs and Evergreene Research and Evaluation on an integrated research-to-practice project whose focus is science learning by pre-school age children. It will produce the following deliverables: a research-based Adult-Child Interaction Inventory (ACII) cataloging a spectrum of nonverbal and verbal interactions that occur during science engagement between parents, grandparents, or caregivers and young children; an ACII User Guide for museum professionals detailing how the inventory can be used for exhibit and professional development; a 2,800 sq ft Peep's World permanent exhibition informed by the ACII research; and a best practices survey highlighting effective strategies for eliciting positive adult-child interactions derived from a Community of Practice established by this project. The project will apply the research findings on nonverbal adult-child behavior to designing exhibits eliciting interactions supporting early childhood STEM learning. Project outcomes will benefit museum exhibit and program developers, preshool educators and families with children ages 3 to 5.
DATE:
-
TEAM MEMBERS:
Gail RingelTimothy PorterAnn Marie StephanLorrie Beaumont
Through programs (including small group conversations, citizen conferences, and public forums) an interactive exhibition, and two research studies that address issues that are fundamental to establishing museums as places of public dialogue and deliberation, this project engages the general public, policymakers, and caregivers in deliberations around the latest early childhood development (ECD) research. It also builds on an increased understanding of the importance of ECD to expand civic engagement around this urgent social issue. The overall goal of the project is to help audiences understand child development, how environment and experiences impact development, and what we as a society can do to support our youngest citizens. Specifically, audiences explore: How the brain develops from birth until kindergarten (or age five); how a child's environment and experiences sculpt the brain, with some experiences enhancing the child's self-control and learning, and other experiences that actually impede development; and what the project audiences can do to ensure that all children have a strong foundation to learn and thrive.
EDC and the Lawrence Hall of Science propose an intensive, innovative mentoring and professional development model that will build the capacity of community-based organizations (CBOs) to deliver high-quality science and engineering curricula to children in after-school programs. The program's goal is to alleviate two consistent problems of after-school STEM providers: high turnover rate and the ability to lead/teach high quality science activities. The project will put in place a broad network of trainers in three regions of the country, leveraging the expertise and collaboration of two well-established and trusted national informal education networks. The extensive collaboration involves 14 organizations total including nine science centers (of varying sizes), three state 4-H agencies, the National 4-H Council and EDC. The primary audience for this project is the trainers (science center, 4-H, others) who currently (or may in the future) train CBO staff. EDC, LHS, and three "mentor" science centers will supervise these trainings and develop the new PD resources designed to improve the quality of training that CBO staff receive from these and other trainers. The National 4-H Council will help coordinate training and dissemination of products through the 4-H national network Goodman Research Group will conduct formative and summative evaluations of the project. DELIVERABLES: This project will deliver: 1) a model of prolonged training and support to build the capacity of CBOs to lead high quality science and engineering curricula with children; 2) a mentoring model to support and supervise trainers who work directly with CBOs; and 3) professional development tools and resources designed to improve the quality of training delivered to CBO staff. STRATEGIC IMPACT: This project will impact the national after-school professional development field by (a) demonstrating a model for how science-center, 4-H, and other trainers can build the capacity of CBOs to improve the way they lead science and engineering projects with children, (b) nurturing a cadre of mentor institutions to assist others to adopt this capacity-building and professional-development model, and (c) developing professional development tools and resources that improve the quality of training delivered by trainers to CBO staff. COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS: The three "mentor" institutions are: (1) the Lawrence Hall of Science, (2) the Science Museum of Minnesota, and (3) the Boston Children's Museum. The six science centers include (1) COSI Toledo in Toledo, OH; (2) Headwaters Science Center in Bemidji, MN; (3) Providence Children's Museum in Providence, RI; (4) Rochester Museum and Science Center in Rochester, NY; (5) River Legacy Living Science Center in Arlington, TX; and (6) Explora in Albuquerque, NM. The three 4-H partners include (1) 4-H New Hampshire, (2) 4- H Minnesota, and (3) 4-H California.
Madison Area Technical College will refine and evaluate the effectiveness of Fusion Science Theater (FST), a combination of theater, science demonstrations, and participatory components, as an ISE teaching model, to test its transferability through development and trials of an exportable version (Science-in-a-Box), and to recruit appropriate partners nationally in preparation for a larger scale implementation and evaluation. A Fusion Science Theater event utilizes the collaborative effort of applied expertise in science, theater and education. These events support playful interactions as characters engage the emotions of the audience. The Act-It Out sequences invite children and parents to become involved in modeling scientific concepts, thus creating an environment where learning is the product of social interaction and kinesthetic, affective and interpersonal learning. To provide proof-of-concept that this a transferable model, an independent, interdisciplinary team from the University of Wisconsin, Madison Biotechnology Center will produce their own FST event that will be evaluated and compared to an existing FST program. The Madison Children's Museum will partner as a venue for the event and provide expertise in the planning process. The ultimate project resulting from this planning would include workshops to train collaborative teams from around the country in the principles and practices of FST, promotion of cross-disciplinary collaboration among professionals, and honing of an evaluation design for FST events. The trained teams would then produce FST events that reach children, their parents and the general public. The planning grant project design includes activities necessary to further test, verify and document Fusion Science Theater events. It provides a proof of concept of model effectiveness and transferability. It also initiates, develops and assesses ways to train other groups to implement the model and publicizes the model to national professional networks to spread the work and recruit site teams.
What's the BIG Idea? will infuse STEM content and concepts into librarians' practice in order to establish the public library as the site of ongoing, developmentally appropriate, standards-based STEM programming for young children and their families. This project will facilitate the infusion of STEM content and concepts into all aspects of library service -- programming, collections development, displays, newsletters, and bibliographies. Science educators and advisors will review and critique the project's STEM content. Building on prior NSF-funded projects, an experienced team of STEM developers and trainers will provide librarians with the content, skills and processes needed to stimulate innovative STEM thinking. Vermont Center for the Book (VCB) will train and equip librarians from three different library systems -- Houston, Texas, the Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library System in New York and statewide in Delaware. The strategic impact of this project is ongoing STEM programming for children and families in large, small, urban and rural libraries. VCB will investigate these questions, among others: How can the public library become a STEM learning center? What information, knowledge, training and materials do librarians need to infuse appropriate science and mathematics language and process skills into their practice and programming? Who are the community partners who can augment that effort? How can the answers to these questions be disseminated nationally? Innovation stems from: 1) STEM content to incorporate into their current practice and 2) skills and processes to create their own STEM programming. In addition, the results will be transferable to a wide range of libraries throughout the nation. The Intellectual Merit lies in augmenting librarians' current expertise so that they can incorporate STEM content and materials into all aspects of the library, a universal community resource. The Broader Impact lies in creating a body of content and approaches to programming that librarians all over the country can use to infuse mathematics and science language and content into their interactions with peers, children, families and the community. This will allow inquiry into what and how new informal STEM knowledge and practice can be effectively introduced into a variety of library settings.
After-School Program Exploring Science (APEX) proposes to develop and implement a training model that will enhance the capacity of community-based after-school programs to provide science-learning opportunities for children ages 5-10. Capacity building will center on expanding the human resource base as well as access to hands-on resources that enable investigative science in informal settings. " APEX" will create a series of engaging hands-on science investigations that will be designed for replication in a wide range of informal learning environments. "APEX" community partners include the YMCA, YWCA and Family Christian Association of America (FCAA). The Miami Museum of Science will also partner with Miami-Dade Public Schools, Florida International University and Miami-Dade College to formalize opportunities for paraprofessionals and pre-service teachers to meet a portion of their certification requirements by leading "APEX" Science investigations in after-school programs thereby providing community-based after-school programs with a more stable workforce while at the same time supporting future teachers in the development of inquiry-based teaching skills. Through "APEX" over 275 after-school provider staff will be trained along with up to 300 pre-service teachers and paraprofessionals. The project will work with 93 after-school programs and impact roughly 7,000 high-need students.
WGBH Educational Foundation will produce and distribute 10 new episodes of the award-winning TV series PEEP and the Big Wide World, launching a new initiative "Anywhere Math". In addition, funds will help launch an expanded PEEP Web site, and develop and evaluate an outreach plan targeted to Native American preschoolers. PEEP's three intended impacts are to (1) engage preschoolers in science explorations that promote positive attitudes and inquiry skills, (2) empower parents to encourage and support their children's science activities and promote the ideas of "science play", and (3) provide educational resources and professional development for preschool educators via a curriculum that contributes to the emerging field of preschool science and math education. Project partners include Head Start, Science Olympiad, Countdown to Kindergarten, and the Boston Children's Museum. The series is produced by WGBH and broadcast on TLC and Discovery Kids. This upcoming season the show will also be broadcast on public television via APT. Goodman Research Group will conduct formative and summative evaluations to assess project impact.
WGBH will produce and distribute 10 new episodes of the award-winning television series "PEEP and the Big Wide World ," which is targeted to preschoolers. In addition, the project will expand the PEEP Web site, and develop and evaluate an online multimedia tutorial to help educators engage preschool children in science. The project's three intended impacts are to (1) engage preschoolers in science explorations that promote positive attitudes and inquiry skills, (2) empower parents to encourage and support their children's science activities, and (3) provide educational resources and professional development for preschool educators via a curriculum that contributes to the emerging field of preschool science education. The project's innovative deliverables include a television show that has a unique style and content, a Web site that is navigable by non-readers, and outreach activities that fulfill an important need for preschool science education. The series is produced by WGBH and broadcast on TLC and Discovery Kids. The project's collaborators, which include organizations such as Head Start, the National Education Association, Countdown to Kindergarten, American Library Association, and Boston Children's Museum, help promote the series' educational goals across different platforms, maximize resources, extend impact and reach underserved audiences. The Goodman Research Group will conduct the project summative evaluation.
Michigan Technological University will collaborate with David Heil and Associates to implement the Family Engineering Program, working in conjunction with student chapters of engineering societies such as the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), the Society of Hispanic Professionals (SHP) and a host of youth and community organizations. The Family Engineering Program is designed to increase technological literacy by introducing children ages 5-12 and their parents/caregivers to the field of engineering using the principles of design. The project will reach socio-economically diverse audiences in the upper peninsula of Michigan including Native American, Hispanic, Asian, and African American families. The secondary audience includes university STEM majors, informal science educators, and STEM professionals that are trained to deliver the program to families. A well-researched five step engineering design process utilized in the school-based Engineering is Elementary curriculum will be incorporated into mini design challenges and activities based in a variety of fields such as agricultural, chemical, environmental, and biomedical engineering. Deliverables include the Family Engineering event model, Family Engineering Activity Guide, Family Engineering Nights, project website, and facilitator training workshops. The activity guide will be pilot tested, field tested, and disseminated for use in urban, suburban, and rural settings. Strategic impact will result from the development of content-rich engineering activities for families and the dissemination of a project model that incorporates the expertise of engineering and educational professionals at multiple levels of implementation. It is anticipated that 300 facilitators and 7,000-10,000 parents and children will be directly impacted by this effort, while facilitator training may result in more than 27,000 program participants.
DATE:
-
TEAM MEMBERS:
Neil HutzlerEric IversenChristine CunninghamJoan ChaddeDavid Heil