WGBH Educational Foundation is requesting funds to produce 20 new shows and new outreach and Web activities for "ZOOM," which will be renamed "Hot Seat." "Hot Seat" is a daily half-hour PBS television series targeted to kids ages 8 to 11. Uniquely by and for kids, the program gives its viewers a chance to explore, to experiment and to share their creativity. The series, along with its far-reaching outreach, offers its audience an innovative curriculum that promotes the acquisition of basic math and science knowledge and the development of problem solving skills called "Habits of Mind." The intended impacts are to: (1) establish a project that uniquely integrates television, the Web and outreach as a model for how media can teach science and math; (2) engage kids and teach them science and math content and process skills; (3) provide curriculum and professional development to organizational partners. Innovation includes developing three new content areas for the series -- Invention, Space Science and Earth Science -- and evolving the project design by incorporating new production techniques that enhance the "reality factor" of the science programming. Outreach for the project will include printed materials for kids, families and educators. A new collaborative partnership is being developed with the American Library Association to help distribute the new afterschool curricula to librarians across the country. "Hot Seat" will support the existing network of "ZOOM" outreach partners and convert the museum "ZOOMzones" to "Hot Seat Spots." "ZOOM" currently is carried by 269 public broadcasting stations and is viewed by 4 million children each week.
WGBH is developing LAZYBONES (working title), a new television series for 10- to 14-year-olds, that is an engineering game show. Each week LAZYBONES' eight players, aged 17-21, engineer easy solutions to life's arduous tasks. The aim of the program is to use humor and irony to hook its target audience and turn them onto the creativity and productivity of engineering. The purpose of the project is to (1) teach kids to learn about engineering by using science and technology to solve real-life problems; (2) help bridge the critical years for keeping kids interested in science and math, and; (3) improve the public image of engineering, especially among girls and minorities. This grant is for the Test Video Development Phase of the project. During this phase, WGBH will produce a test video in order to further evaluate and refine the concept, appeal and educational content of the show and outreach materials. Note: This project led to the series "FETCH! With Ruff Ruffman."
WGBH is requesting a planning grant to support the development of a new public television initiative aimed at enhancing young children's mathematical competencies. The target age for the "Go Figure" series is 3- to 6-year olds. The goal of the proposed planning phase is to: complete a math curriculum serving as the overall pedagogical framework for the series; develop a production bible that will include descriptions of the format, setting, characters, tone, sample storylines and possible interstitials; produce a sample script and animatic, and conduct formative testing of the animatic. Devising an outreach strategy in collaboration with key national partners will also be part of the planning phase. The project will be developed by the WGBH children's television team, and advised by leading child development specialists and experts in early math education.
Twin Cities Public Television is producing 13 new episodes and new outreach and Web activities for the fourth season of DragonflyTV, the weekly science television series targeted at children ages 9-12. The series presents authentic inquiry-based investigations, created by and for children. The programs focus on children doing their own scientific investigations and sharing the excitement that comes from making their own discoveries. The programs also include real scientists doing research on related themes and snapshots and home movies of the scientists when they were kids. Outreach for DragonflyTV consists of an interactive website where children can share their science investigation, programs at selected Boys and Girls Clubs of America and 4H Clubs, Teacher's Guides distributed through the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and PBS stations, and the development of new community partnerships with established informal science organizations. Multimedia research and Rockman et al will conduct formative and summative evaluations.
WGBH Educational Foundation is requesting $1,709,863 to produce 20 new shows and new outreach and Web activities for ZOOM. ZOOM is a daily half-hour PBS series targeted to kids ages 8 to 11. Uniquely by and for kids, ZOOM gives its viewers a chance to explore, experiment and share their creativity. The series, along with its far-reaching outreach, offers its audience an innovative curriculum that promotes the acquisition of basic math and science knowledge and the development of problem solving skills called "Habits of Mind." The goals for Season VII are to: (1) develop three new content areas-"Survivor Science," "Sleuth Science," and "Conservation Science"; (2) launch "ZOOM Into Action and Conserve," a new campaign designed to give kids conservation activities to fuel their volunteerism and help them understand the science behind their efforts; (3) create new science training materials for afterschool program leaders; and, (4) conduct summative evaluation to continue to gauge ZOOM's effectiveness at teaching math and science to targeted audiences. Outreach for the project will include print materials for kids, families and educators. ZOOM-related activities at community-based organizations include 1,450 ClubZOOM science afterschool programs and 23 ZOOMzone science museum exhibits. ZOOM currently is carried by 261 public broadcasting stations and is viewed by close to 5 million children per week. The 2,400-page interactive web site is updated weekly and attracts almost 43,000 visitors per day.
Twin Cities Public Television is producing seven new episodes for the DragonflyTV GPS (Going Places in Science) series. DragonflyTV is a weekly science television series on PBS targeted at children ages 9-12. DragonflyTV GPS presents children engaged in inquiry-based investigations, on-location in science centers across America. The purpose of this project is to 1) complete a full season of GPS episodes, giving PBS programmers a complete "season" and 2) shine the GPS spotlight on the network of smaller science museums, showing the distinctive contribution they make to their communities and to informal science education. The series presents authentic inquiry-based investigations, created by and for children. The programs focus on children doing their own scientific investigations and sharing the excitement that comes from making their own discoveries. Each investigation will demonstrate the direct connection between learning experiences in science centers and the application of those lessons in everyday life. DragonflyTV segments are cleared for any and all uses beyond broadcast, and are distributed on DVDs, videotapes, streamed online and even offered for iPod downloads. The GPS programs will involve ten or more science center partners, and be coordinated with the assistance of lead partners -- the Association of Science Technology Centers (ASTC) and the Science Museum of Minnesota. Multimedia Research and RMC Research will conduct formative and summative project evaluations, respectively.
Twin Cities Public Television is producing a new national initiative, the "Science Center Showcase" (SCS) for DragonflyTV, the weekly science television series targeted at children ages 9-12. The initiative will entail six new episodes presenting children engaged in inquiry-based investigations, on-location in science centers across America. The series presents authentic inquiry-based investigations, created by and for children. The programs focus on children doing their own scientific investigations and sharing the excitement that comes from making their own discoveries. Each investigation will demonstrate the direct connection between learning experiences in science centers and the application of those lessons in everyday experience. The SCS will involve ten or more science center partners, and be coordinated with the assistance of lead partners, ASTC and the Science Museum of Minnesota. Multimedia Research and RMC Research will conduct formative and summative evaluations, respectively. The SCS model combines DragonflyTV's unique strengths in media with the rich resources of the nation's science centers. For informal science professionals, the SCS will define new ways media and museum professionals can work together and learn from each other. It will also provide new opportunities for partnerships and collaboration between public television stations and science centers across the country. For the television audience, the programs will demonstrate the richness and variety of sciences experiences for kids in science centers and beyond. Through new collaborative efforts with ASTC, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and other science centers, the DragonflyTV's "Science Center Showcase" project has the potential to communicate to a national television audience the richness and variety of engaging opportunities for authentic STEM inquiry that are available for young people at science centers across the country. The project also has the potential to a) contribute to research into how knowledge is transferred from science centers to experiences in the natural world, and b) educate exhibit developers and television professionals in new approaches to informal science education.
Investigations in Number, Data and Space is an elementary school mathematics curriculum which reflects research on, and best practices in, learning and teaching mathematics in grades K-5. NSF funded the development of the original curriculum, starting in 1990. This revision of the "Investigations" curriculum will focus on the integration of algebraic thinking throughout the curriculum, the development of comprehensive assessment tools, and the strengthening of the number and operations strand. This work is informed by feedback from the field, as well as by recent recommendations for improving the mathematics curriculum. These revisions will be carried out and tested in an established network of school system partners, teacher collaborators and educational leaders. In addition to revising the curriculum, the project will develop materials to support teachers as they implement the curriculum. Additional materials will be developed for parents and administrators. The summative evaluation of the project will include longitudinal student achievement data, following two groups of students for three years each. Cost sharing will include substantial contributions from the publisher, Scott Foresman, and the developer, TERC.
This project will produce an educational 30-minute DVD/TV film and interactive website with classroom materials about climate change and its effects on biota by presenting past and current research on the Adelie penguin, Antarctica's most accessible indicator species. The project will target students in grades 5-8. Each component of "Penguin Science" will present an engaging case study to teach students about ecology, the complex science of climate change and its impacts, both positive and negative. It will not only feature the work of David Ainley and co-PI's Grant Ballard and Katie Dugger, but also William Sladen who began the first NSF-sponsored penguin studies 48 years ago during the International Geophysical Year (IGY). Archival film clips of Sladen and his work from the 1970 documentary, "Penguin City" (CBS), will convey the value of long-term research and show biotic changes during just one professional lifetime. The project will be completed in 2007 to coincide with the International Polar Year.
The goal of this project is to educate children between the ages of 10 and 18 about the ecology of insects and forests, how human activities affect their interaction, and how scientific research is conducted. It will disseminate information throughout Indiana based on research award DEB 0345331, Cicadas and Forests Education. For a period during May and June 2004 the United States was captivated by periodical cicadas in an unusual convergence of popular and scientific interest. This project will use this heightened awareness as a vehicle for informal science education as additional broods emerge in 2007 and 2008 in the Midwest and South. The project will use existing video footage from the research to produce a documentary film on periodical cicadas for airing on public television stations and distribution on DVDs to schools; an interactive computer-based presentation in PowerPoint; and an interactive 3-D animation of the cicada life cycle for use in a science center. Project collaborators include local public television stations, Wonderlab (a science museum), the Indiana State Museum and school systems in Indiana.
This planning grant proposal would develop the logistical, programming and creative specifications for production of Magic Porthole, an innovative Web-based science game for 8-14 year olds. The content and learning will focus on the value and significance of intact coral ecosystems to human communities, encouraging young people to seek more sustainable relationships with their environment. The project will use existing video footage of coral reef life along with new live action footage, text, stills, music and flash animation. The 8-14 year olds will be engaged in a sustained mystery story that will pull them more deeply into scientific content. The organizational collaborators are environmental education and media organizations.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Janine SelendyJan PostWilliam FinneganBrett Pierce
The Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) will collaborate with the Children's Museum of Houston, Miami Museum of Science and the New California Media (an association of over 500 ethnic media organizations) to provide youth ages 7-10 with standards-based science and math activities using newpapers as a vehicle. Mathematics and science challenges, already field-tested by the LHS, are presented as educational inserts using cartoons, on a weekly or monthly basis. The content to be addressed includes numbers and operations, algebra, geometry, science as inquiry and life science through engaging formats in Spanish-language newspapers. While building on the "Newspapers in Education" program, strategic impact will be realized by demonstrating the ability of a more intensive approach to reach families of underserved and underrepresented audiences through a collaboration of print media, museums, libraries, schools and community organizations. The ultimate goal is to increase exposure to informal science education activities at museums and in Spanish-language media. Deliverables include the newspaper activities (designed for families to use at home), family sessions at local libraries, science centers, after school programs and community organizations as well as a festival and website. Promotional sessions at New California Media Expos and workshops at the Asociation of Science and Technology Centers conferences will introduce the project to media and museum partners. This project will target underserved communities in California, Texas and Florida and is estimated to reach more than 450,000 families by year three.