RISES (Re-energize and Invigorate Student Engagement through Science) is a coordinated suite of resources including 42 interactive English and Spanish STEM videos produced by Children's Museum Houston in coordination with the science curriculum department at Houston ISD. The videos are aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards, and each come with a bilingual Activity Guide and Parent Prompt sheet, which includes guiding questions and other extension activities.
PocketMacro is a mobile app designed by The Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University to help users better identify benthic macroinvertebrates commonly found in streams and other waterways. In Summer 2021, the app and other supplemental materials were highlighted during trainings for educators held at the Stroud Water Research Center.
The evaluation team from Rockman et al Cooperative (REA) surveyed and interviewed educators who participated in the summer trainings to determine what they took away from the experience and to gather feedback about the PocketMacro app
Supported by the National Science Foundation, the Global Soundscapes! Big Data, Big Screens, Open Ears project employs a variety of informal learning experiences to present the physics of sound and the new science of soundscape ecology. The interdisciplinary science of soundscape ecology analyzes sounds over time in different ecosystems around the world. The major components of the Global Soundscapes project are an educator-led interactive giant-screen theater show, group activities, and websites. All components are designed with both sighted and visually impaired students in mind. Multimedia
Digital Observation Technology Skills (DOTS) is a framework for integrating modern, mobile technology into outdoor, experiential science education. DOTS addresses longstanding tensions between modern technology and classical outdoor education by carefully selecting appropriate digital technology for educational purposes and by situating these tools in classical experiential pedagogy.
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R. Justin HoughamMarc NutterCaitlin Graham
Roots of Wisdom (also known as Generations of Knowledge) is a 5-year project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF-DRL #1010559) in support of a cross-cultural reciprocal collaboration to develop a traveling exhibit, banner exhibit, and education resources that bring together Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and western science. The summative evaluation for public audience impacts was conducted by the Lifelong Learning Group (COSI, Columbus, OH), in collaboration with Native Pathways (Laguna, NM).
In this essay, I argue that the rise of personal genomics is technologically, economically, and most importantly, discursively tied to the rise of network subjectivity, an imperative of which is an understanding of self as always already a subject in the network. I illustrate how personal genomics takes full advantage of social media technology and network subjectivity to advertise a new way of doing research that emphasizes collaboration between researchers and its members. Sharing one’s genetic information is considered to be an act of citizenship, precisely because it is good for the
As recognized by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, the human community has reached a point in which it is faced with an array of choices that will determine the quality of our lives and the state of the global environment for present and future generations. One possibility is that at long last we will pave a path toward environmental stewardship and sustainable development. But it is also quite possible that we will travel a less enlightened course, running down the earth's natural capital and severely limiting the choices our descendants will face.
In this Connecting Researchers to Public Audiences (CRPA) project, the researchers from Florida State University, in partnership with their local public broadcasting station (WFSU-TV), will engage the audience in an exploration of the ecosystem services of coastal habitats. The main content focus is the important linkages among coastal foundation species (oysters and salt marsh plants), the human and ecological communities they support, and the ecosystem services they provide. In particular, the project illuminates the roles of biodiversity and consume-prey relationships in influencing ecosystem services, while conveying the excitement of ecological research. The complementary target audiences are the general WFSU viewers and listeners, groups that actively use or promote coastal habitats, and graduate students at Florida State University and Florida A&M University. The main deliverables include: 1) a TV documentary, a series of short videos and radio spots; 2) a research blog; and 3) a science communication three-day workshop for current and future researchers to converse with the public about key learning goals. In addition, in year two of the grant, the PIs will deliver a monthly seminar series focused on effective communication skills for scientists. The resulting documentaries will be broadcast by WFSU and offered to other PBS stations via APT and/or NETA. Other materials will be made available via PBS Learning Media and other portals. Community group project collaborators, such as SciGirls and the Science Cafe, will extend the reach and impact of the project. The project design includes formative evaluation which will focus on ways to improve the accessibility and usability of the research blog, and summative evaluation which will review each component of the deliverables. Results of the summative evaluation will be posted on www.informalscience.org. This proposal addresses the communication gap between scientists and the public by simultaneously targeting both audiences with deliverables designed to promote dialogue and understanding. By highlighting compelling natural history information and key ecological concepts associated with current research, the project will provide engaging educational experiences to a wide audience. These activities will not only educate the public about specific research but also demonstrate the process of science. Finally, the proposed seminar for students, along with the other informal learning opportunities throughout the project, will enhance the communication skills and outreach abilities of a diverse group of graduate students.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Randall HughesDavid KimbroRoberto Diaz de Villegas
Quest, produced by KQED, is a multimedia initiative designed to raise the profile of STEM issues throughout the Northern California region and activate citizens to discuss and investigate them. Led by KQED, Quest is created and maintained by an active consortium of 16 participating informal science education organizations. Based on the successful Quest model, KQED will build on its prior collaborative work to develop regional partnerships with other public broadcasting stations and community-based organizations around the country, making possible a new and innovative partnership in science media production and informal science education. This grant will support a) a growing collaborative of science centers, museums, research institutes, and community-based organizations for editorial development, education outreach, and content creation; b) the production of at least 10 hours of television, weekly radio science news reports, and a dynamic online website that supports and extends the broadcast material; and c) educational resources and professional development workshops. STEM content will encompass research drawn from the physical sciences, life sciences, and earth sciences. Most of the stories will also incorporate content about the technology and engineering used to support scientific endeavors. The KQED Educational Network (EdNet) will administer the community and educational outreach initiatives, including creating viewer/listener guides, developing and delivering workshops, and providing information built around Quest media. Project collaborators include the Bay Institute, California Academy of Sciences, Chabot Space and Science Center, East Bay Regional Park District, Exploratorium, Girl Scouts, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Hall of Science, Museum of Paleontology, Oakland Zoo, and The Tech Museum of Innovation. In expanding the model to regional hubs, Quest will also involve the Coalition for Public Understanding of Science (COPUS), the Encyclopedia of Life, and an array of peer public broadcasting organizations. This project offers a useful and exciting model for public television and radio stations nationally in building community collaborations that advance informal science education. The detailed and informed ways in which the team works with its community partners via multiple platforms are innovative. This proposal builds on prior work in Northern California to explore additional regional partnerships with other public broadcasting stations and community-based organizations, making possible a unique partnership in science media production and informal science education. This project extends reach by developing up to ten regional "hubs" across the country. Evaluation will be conducted by Rockman et al.
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.
This project will research factors influencing the implementation of programs designed to increase diverse participation in informal science. The goal is to provide the informal science education field with information and tools that will help them design effective programs that more effectively engage a broad range of diverse audiences. The project has two major components. First, the project will research the implementation of a citizen science project, Celebrate Urban Birds (CUB), in major U.S. cities. Citizen science projects involve public volunteers in gathering scientifically valid data as part of ongoing research. Second, building on results of the research, the project will launch a website and learning community (called a Community of Practice or CoP) supporting informal science educators that are involved in designing and implementing informal science programs with an emphasis on engaging diverse participants. The project will be lead by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (CLO), a leader in designing and researching citizen science projects, in collaboration with the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) and five science center members of ASTC, where the CUB program will be implemented and researched. The objective of the research is to better understand contextual factors and how they impact implementation even when accepted practices are followed. Such research is key not only to revealing accepted practices but also to understanding how projects are implemented in the face of concrete operational, cultural, economic, and demographic variables. The research will use a comparative case study approach, which is designed for studies requiring holistic, in-depth investigation. The development of the website and the CoP will be guided by a Network Improvement Strategy, a research-based approach to designing educational CoPs. The development of the CoP will involve the project stakeholders including the informal science organization practitioners, community organization representatives, CUB staff, ASTC staff, advisors and consultants. This strategy will allow the project team and pilot sites to leverage their diverse experiences and skill sets to improve practice; provide space for researchers and practitioners to work together as partners; and develop a nuanced set of strategies that can be implemented across a variety of organizational contexts.
An IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services) National Leadership project with University of California Museum of Paleontology (lead), Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Museum of the Earth and University of Kansas Natural History Museum to create a tree portal website with learning research, curriculum material and guides on how to effectively use and teach about the tree of life for teachers and museum professionals.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
University of California-BerkeleyTeresa MacDonaldRoy CaldwellAnna ThanukosLisa WhiteDavid HeiserRobert Ross