The Ross Sea Project was a Broader Impact projects for an NSF sponsored research mission to the Ross Sea in Antarctica. The project, which began in the summer of 2010 and ended in May 2011, consisted of several components: (1) A multidisciplinary teacher-education team that included educators, scientists, Web 2.0 technology experts and storytellers, and a photographer/writer blogging team; (2) Twenty-five middle-school and high-school earth science teachers, mostly from New Jersey but also New York and California; (3) Weeklong summer teacher institute at Liberty Science Center (LSC) where teachers and scientists met, and teachers learned about questions to be investigated and technologies to be used during the mission, and how to do the science to be conducted in Antarctica; (4) COSEE NOW interactive community website where teachers, LSC staff and other COSEE NOW members shared lesson plans or activities and discussed issues related to implementing the mission-based science in their classrooms; (5) Technological support and consultations for teachers, plus online practice sessions on the use of Web 2.0 technologies (webinars, blogs, digital storytelling, etc.); (6)Daily shipboard blog from the Ross Sea created by Chris Linder and Hugh Powell (a professional photographer/writer team) and posted on the COSEE NOW website to keep teachers and students up-to-date in real-time on science experiments, discoveries and frustrations, as well as shipboard life; (7) Live webinar calls from the Ross Sea, facilitated by Rutgers and LSC staff, where students posed questions and interacted directly with shipboard researchers and staff; and (8) A follow-up gathering of teachers and scientists near the end of the school year to debrief on the mission and preliminary findings. What resulted from this project was not only the professional development of teachers, which extended into the classroom and to students, but also the development of a relationship that teachers and students felt they had with the scientists and the science. Via personal and virtual interactions, teachers and students connected to scientists personally, while engaged in the science process in the classroom and in the field.
Nearly 79,000 questions sent to an Internet-based Ask-A-Scientist site during the last decade were analyzed according to the surfer's age, gender, country of origin, and the year the question was sent. The sample demonstrated a surprising dominance of female contributions among K-12 students (although this dominance did not carry over to the full sample), where offline situations are commonly characterized by males' greater interest in science. This female enthusiasm was observed in different countries, and had no correlation to the level of gender equity in those countries. This suggests that
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Ayelet Baram-TsabariRicky SethyLynn BryAnat Yarden
resourceprojectWebsites, Mobile Apps, and Online Media
SETAC is funded by the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union and emerges out of the need to undertake specific action for the improvement of science education. It regards science education as among the fundamental tools for developing active citizens in the knowledge society. SETAC draws on the cooperation between formal and informal learning institutions, aiming to enhance school science education and active citizenship looking further into the role of science education as a lifelong tool in the knowledge society. On the day of the project’s conclusion, 31 October 2010, after two years of work SETAC contributes the following products and results to the field: 1. “Quality Science Education: Where do we stand? Guidelines for practice from a European experience” This is the concluding manifesto that presents the results of the SETAC work in the form of recommendations for practitioners working in formal and informal science learning institutions; 2. “Teaching and Learning Scientific Literacy and Citizenship in Partnership with Schools and Science Museums” This paper constitutes the theoretical framework of the project and innovative ways of using museums for science education and develop new modes of linking formal and informal learning environments; 3. Tools for teaching and learning in science: misconceptions, authentic questions, motivation. Three specific studies, leading to three specific reports, have been conducted in the context of the project, looking in particular into notions with an important role in science teaching and learning. These are on: Children’s misconceptions; Authentic questions as tool when working in science education; Students’ attitudes and motivation as factors influencing their achievement and participation in science and science-related issues; 4. Activities with schools: SETAC developed a series of prototype education activities which were tested with schools in each country. Among the activities developed between the partners, two have been chosen and are available on-line for practitioners to use and to adapt in their own context. These are: The Energy role game, a role game on Energy invites students to act in different roles, those of the stakeholders of an imaginary community, called to debate and decide upon a certain common problem; MyTest www.museoscienza.org/myTest, which aims to encourage students to engage in researching, reflecting and communicating science-oriented topics; 5. European in-service training course for primary and secondary school teachers across Europe. The training course is designed in such a way as to engage participants in debate and exploration of issues related to science education and active citizenship. The course is open to school teachers, headteachers and teacher trainers from all EU-member and associate countries. Professionals interested can apply for a EU Comenius grant. All the products of the project as well as information about the training course are available at the project website, some of them in more than one languages: www.museoscienza.org/setac
The goal of this engineering education project entitled EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN ENGINEERS (EWE) is to encourage more academically prepared high school girls to consider engineering as an attractive option for post-secondary education and subsequent careers in order to increase the number of women who make up the engineering workforce. Specific project objectives are to: 1) mobilize America's more than one million engineers to reach out to educators, school counselors, and high school girls with tested messages tailored to encourage participation in engineering education and careers; 2) help high school counselors and science, math, and technology teachers to better understand the nature of engineering, the academic background needed to pursue engineering, and the career paths available in engineering; 3) equip high school counselors and teachers to share this information with students, especially girls; and 4) reach out to girls directly with messages that accurately reflect the field of engineering and will inspire girls to choose engineering. The WGBH Educational Foundation has partnered with the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and a coalition of more than 50 of the country's engineering associations, colleges, and universities to fundamentally shift the way the engineering and educational communities portray engineering. Based on a needs assessment performed in 2004, the EWE coalition embraces a communication strategy that focuses on the societal value and rewards of being an engineer, as opposed to the traditional emphasis on the process and challenges of becoming an engineer. This project represents a nationwide outreach effort that includes training opportunities for engineers; targeted Web-based and print resources for students, school counselors and teachers, and engineers; and a range of outreach and marketing activities.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Julie BenyoPatrick NataleF. Suzanne Jenniches
This project will produce a multi-part radio project including eight half-hour documentaries, 40-50 short radio features, an audio clearinghouse and a website on scientific research in the Polar Regions. The content of the programs support the goals of IPY. The project will be produced with four international radio partners: the science units of The Australian Broadcasting Co., the BBC World Service, Radio Deustche-Welle and Radio New Zealand. These international collaborators will look at issues such as the influence of conditions in Polar Regions on global climatic change, how animals adapt to rapid environmental change, survival in extreme environments and processes of change among native people in the Polar regions. The programs will reach a large audience in the United States as well as internationally through the collaborating partners. The clearinghouse/website will be designed to provide organized learning resources and an audio archive of the project's radio programs and archival interviews and sounds for use by both the general public and professional audiences. There will be both formative and summative evaluation of the programs and website.
The institution is The Ohio State University at Lima, the university partners are the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Fayetteville State University. It's About Discovery is a unique partnership to engage students and teachers in critical thinking skills in STEM content areas. The Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies (PAS) new science curriculum is the foundation for the project which will include over 700 students and 20-25 teachers. While the primary focus is on students, throughout the life of the project all teachers will participate in professional development focusing on the PAS units to ensure the quality teaching and understanding of the content. Technology will be integrated throughout the program to enable students to create inquiry based projects across state lines and for teachers to continue their professional development opportunities. Community partners will serve as mentors, host field trips, and engage in on-line conversations with students. An interactive website will be created for both teachers and students. The focus is on 8th grade science as it relates to STEM careers, 9th grade physical science and 10th science and mathematics. We are implementing a new Ford PAS curriculum module, Working Towards Sustainability, which comprises of four modules: We All Run on Energy, Energy from the Sun, Is Hydrogen a Solution? and The Nuclear Revolution. Teachers across states will engage in a new professional development model. Students will create projects through on-line conversations. A website will be created for project participants and the ITEST community. These hands-on, inquiry-based learning experiences engage students and prepare and encourage them to pursue science, engineering, and technology in high school and beyond. All PAS curricula use real world experiences, open-ended problems and result in real world applications. Assessments are on-going and inquiry driven. Teamwork and on-line resources and research are built into the curriculum design. The evaluation consists of a multi-method pre-post design. Teachers complete a Pre Survey at the beginning of the program and then again at the end of the school year. Students complete a Pre Survey at the beginning of the school year and a post survey at the end of the school year. In addition, teachers share students' scores on curriculum assessments completed throughout the year, including student scores on the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System's (CASAS) Assessment of Critical Thinking in Science writing tasks.
Exploring the Euteleost Tree of Life represents the education and outreach of the Euteleost Tree of Life assembling the tree of life research grant (NSF DEB Grant No. 0732819; PI: Ed Wiley) it includes a curriculum activity and a interactive fish tree. Investigating a Deep Sea Mystery, a curriculum module for high school and undergraduate students follows the research of project collaborator Dave Johnson (Smithsonian Institution) to explore deep sea fish phylogeny. The module includes an investigation of What is a fish?, fish anatomy and morphology, and how different lines of evidence (morphological and molecular) can be used to study evolutionary relationships. A fisheye view of the tree of life is a web module featuring an interactive fish tree of life highlight with a series of mini-stories Web material is still in the early stages of development, and will include a splash page with a simplified clickable fish tree through which the different.
Veridian inSight performed an evaluation study in fall of 2009 to evaluate the effectiveness of an online training developed as an outreach component of the FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman series (http://pbskids.org/fetch/). The FETCH! Hands-On Science Training was designed for anyone who wants to lead science activities with elementary-age kids (including after-school providers, teachers, camp counselors, librarians, museum staff, parents, and others). The goals of the evaluation study were to assess the extent to which the FETCH! training was successful at:· Preparing afterschool educators
Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (FWMSH) contracted with Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to evaluate CSI: The Experience National Science Foundation- and Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative-funded project focused on forensic science. The project included a museum exhibition and an online gaming experience (Web Adventure) targeting children ages 9 to 17 and adults. A summative evaluation explored visitors' overall experiences, understanding of forensic sciences, and the research question: Does the Web Adventure extend exhibition visitors' learning of forensic science? A process
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Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
This Communicating Research to Public Audiences project focuses on the Reedy Glacier Antarctic research of Brenda Hall (OPP 0229034) and its relevance to the residents of and visitors to Maine. Collaborators include the University of Maine, the Maine Discovery Museum, the Acadia National Park and Cadillac Mountain Sports (an environmentally active retail company with several stores around the state). The primary deliverable is the development of an interactive software program that presents information and experiences in a two-tiered concept approach -- on the Reedy Glacier and its connection to Maine and on the process of science. The software is being configured into kiosks at the three partnering organizations, into a DVD format for informal and formal settings to be distributed at cost and onto a University of Maine Climate Change web portal currently under separate development. The project web site will provide source code for the portal design so others may use it to create portals and modules of their own. The Maine Discovery Museum intends to create additional exhibitry on the topic with resources outside this proposal, and the Acadia National Park will use the programs in teacher education workshops.
Pulse of the Planet children's science challenge includes 150 radio programs which focus on the interaction between a select group of scientists and youths 8-11, who have been chosen from a nationwide Science Challenge which encourages children to submit questions and potential experiments to scientists. Project partners include a variety of businesses (e.g., sports manufacturers such as K2), media (e.g., internet social networks such as imbee.com, TIME for Kids, Dragonfly TV, and Hispanic Communications Network) and educational partnerships (e.g. Community Science Workshops and the National Science Teacher's Association.) Underserved participants will be reached through Celebra la Ciencia science outreach programs.
This project brings together polar researchers, science centers and broadcast media reporters to tell the story of four polar research expeditions to the general public, teachers and students. The four expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic were chosen based on their relevance to the three primary IPY research emphasis areas defined by NSF. A science writer and a professional photographer/oceanographer reporting on each expedition will do daily webcasts on the "Polar Discovery web site (http://polardiscovery.whoi.edu)" as well as several scheduled real-time phone patches to audiences at the Museum of Science, Boston, the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, The Field Museum (Chicago), the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Pacific Science Center (Seattle), the Birch Aquarium (San Diego), National Public Radio stations, CBS News and to student "reporters" writing for Scholastic Online. Programs will also be broadcast on University of California TV. A museum exhibit at the WHOI Exhibit Center will highlight polar research. Components of it will either travel to partner museums or be replicated in the partnering museums. Photo archives of the expeditionary material will also be created and made available to interested users.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Christopher LinderFrederic HeideJames Kent