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.
This position paper, co-authored Center for Childhood Creativity's Director Elizabeth Rood and Director of Research Helen Hadani, details the importance of exposing children ages 0-8 to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) experiences. The review of more than 150 empirical studies led Rood and Hadani to conclude that, despite what has been previously thought, modern research supports the understanding that children are capable of abstract thinking and STEM-learning from infancy, beginning before their first birthday.
The Roots of STEM Success, authored in support of classroom
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Helen Shwe HadaniElizabeth RoodAmy EisenmannRuthe FousheeGarrett JaegerGina JaegerJoanna KauffmannKatie KennedyLisa Regalla
DESIGN SQUAD GLOBAL (DSG) is a web-based, mobile-accessible digital hub and outreach initiative that creates new opportunities to empower middle school youth to solve real-world problems and understand the impact of engineering in a global context. The project builds on the Design Squad model for engineering education (including a television show and website). The ultimate goals of Design Squad Global are to: (1) develop innovative ways to incorporate effective engineering education into informal learning environments; (2) inform the field about promising practices in cross-cultural
STEM learning ecosystems harness contributions of educators, policymakers, families, businesses, informal science institutions, after-school and summer providers, higher education, and many others towards a comprehensive vision of STEM learning for all children. This paper offers evidence of the impact of cross-sector partnerships on young people, and a logic model template for communities so they may further develop the attributes, strategies, and measures of progress that enable them to advance opportunities for all young people to succeed. Further research will help us expand the promise
This project will help address the urgent need for a new engineering workforce. Middle school students will be entering a workforce that is increasingly global. They will need not only technical skills but also global competencies including: the ability to investigate the world, recognize perspectives, communicate ideas, and take action. This model integrates engineering with global competencies and will provide new knowledge about how this type of learning experience impacts students and educators. This project builds on the success of the previous Design Squad project funded by NSF and developed by WGBH, which has implemented a national model for engineering education for middle school youth. This project expands the model internationally, connecting U.S. based youth with those in Southern Africa (including South Africa, Botswana, and Swaziland). The project partners are FHI 360, a non-profit organization in 60 countries around the world that helps build capacity for improving lives. They will facilitate the implementation of the afterschool programs in Southern Africa . The US dissemination partners include Promise Neighborhoods Institute, Middle Start, Every Hour Counts, and the National Girls Collaborative Project. Project deliverables include a global engineering curriculum; a web platform with videos, games, activities; an afterschool Club Guide; and a Community of Practice for informal engineering educators. A knowledge building component will provide new evidence on how high quality accessible resources and strategies can impact students' development of global competencies and engineering skills to solve real world problems. An iterative approach will be used to develop the resources including the global engineering afterschool curriculum, Club guide, and other components. The methodology uses a continuous cycle of improvement including: assess/design, test/ implement, synthesize/reflect, and utilize/disseminate. The Summative Evaluation will generate evidence about whether and how this kind of collaborative work builds children's understanding of engineering, motivation to participate, and confidence in taking informed action on behalf of pressing global problems. This will contribute to a larger body of work about whether and how engaging with global, collaborative engineering problems leads to greater self-efficacy for children with very different backgrounds, experiences, and opportunities. This project will add new knowledge about how the well-honed Design Squad model in the U.S. can be expanded with a global context and global partners. This proposal was co-funded by EHR/DRL, Engineering/EEC, and International Science and Engineering. During the project period approximately 125,000 children in the US and 5000 children in southern Africa will be reached. In the long term, with the continued global access to the resources, the reach will potentially be in the millions.