This full scale research and development collaborative project between Smith College and Springfield Technical Community College improves technical literacy for children in the area of engineering education through the Through My Window learning environment. The instructional design of the learning environment results from the application of innovative educational approaches based on research in the learning sciences—Egan's Imaginative Education (IE) and Knowledge Building (KB). The project provides idea-centered engineering curriculum that facilitates deep learning of engineering concepts through the use of developmentally appropriate narrative and interactive multimedia via interactive forums and blogs, young adult novels (audio and text with English and Spanish versions), eight extensive tie-in activities, an offline teachers’ curriculum guide, and social network connections and electronic portfolios. Targeting traditionally underrepresented groups in engineering—especially girls—the overarching goals of the project are improving attitudes toward engineering; providing a deeper understanding of what engineering is about; supporting the development of specific engineering skills; and increasing interest in engineering careers. The project will address the following research questions: What is the quality of the knowledge building discourse? Does it get better over time? Will students, given the opportunity, extend the discourse to new areas? What scaffolding does the learning environment need to support novice participants in this discourse? Does the use of narrative influence participation in knowledge building? Are certain types of narratives more effective in influencing participation in knowledge building? Evaluative feedback for usability, value effectiveness, and ease of implementation from informal educators and leaders from the Connecticut After School Network CTASN) will be included. The evaluation will include documentation on the impact of narrative and multimedia tools in the area of engineering education. Currently, there is very little research regarding children and young teen engagement in engineering education activities using narrative as a structure to facilitate learning engineering concepts and principles. The research and activities developed from this proposed project contributes to the field of Informal Science and Engineering Education. The results from this project could impact upper elementary and middle-school aged children and members from underrepresented communities and girls in a positive way.
In collaboration with the libraries of Oklahoma State University (OSU) and Mount Holyoke College, the American Library Association proposes a traveling exhibit and public programs for 40 libraries examining the history and legacy of the Dust Bowl. The project spotlights Ken Burns' film "The Dust Bowl," and brings to public view two little known Dust Bowl archives: online oral history interviews of Dust Bowl survivors at OSU, and letters and essays of Caroline Henderson, a Mount Holyoke alumna who farmed in Oklahoma throughout the Dust Bowl. Libraries will display the exhibit for 6 weeks and present at least 3 public humanities programs from a list provided. The project humanities themes include the interaction between humans and nature; the different ways human beings respond to adversity; and how people living in the Dust Bowl tried to understand their social, economic, and ecological environment.
This project is intended to develop a model for STEM education through local libraries. There are several unique features in this endeavor. The model is being aimed at rural libraries and adult residents that are geographically remote from typical venues such as museums, zoos, and science centers. According to the 2000 census, there are 50 million individuals in this designation and the size of the group is increasing and becoming more diverse. Efforts to impact diverse audiences who are economically disadvantaged will be part of the plan. In many rural locations there are few community venues, but libraries are often present. The American Library Association and the Association Rural and Small Libraries have begun the reinvention of these libraries so they can become more attuned to the communities in which they are apart. Thus, this project is an effort to find new ways of communicating STEM concepts to a reasonably large underserved group. The design is to derive a "unit of knowledge enhancement" (some portion of Climate Change, for example) through a hybrid combination of book-club and scientific cafe further augmented with videos and web materials. Another part of the design is to enhance the base STEM knowledge of library staff and to associate the knowledge unit with an individual who has the specific STEM topic knowledge for a specific unit. Considerable effort shall be expended in developing the models for staff knowledge enhancement with a progressive number of librarians in training from 8 to 20 to 135. To build the content library model, five units of knowledge will be devised and circulated to participating libraries. Evaluation of the project includes front end, formative and summative by the Goodman Research Group. In addition to the "units of knowledge enhancement," the major results will be the model on how best to relate and educate citizens in rural environments and how to educate the library staff.
This project is a full-scale development project that builds upon a pilot program funded by the NSF in 2007 (LEAP into Science/Pilot), developed by The Franklin Institute (FI) in collaboration with The Free Library of Philadelphia. By connecting children’s literature and hands-on science activities in out-of-school settings, LEAP/Pilot has promoted student and family engagement in science and literacy in Philadelphia for over six years. In 2011, a cohort of ten national sites joined the initiative to pilot LEAP into Science resources in multiple out-of-school time contexts and within unique institutional partnerships. The 10 sites, consisting of 27 institutional partnerships representing a diverse group of organizations (museums, libraries, K-12 school districts, universities, and public media). Through continued collaboration in Philadelphia and with these national cohort sites, LEAP into Science: Engaging Diverse Community Partners in Science and Literacy is leveraging the relationships, experiences, and resources initiated in LEAP /Pilot to address the needs of new audiences, meet partners’ requests for enhanced professional development, and study the efficacy of this program in different out-of-school time structures and populations across the country. The result will be an adaptable program that more effectively reaches diverse audiences in science and literacy through community partners, as well as a stronger understanding of implementation for improved sustainability.
Recent biomedical research has transformed scientific understanding of human biology. But many of these advances haven’t filtered into public awareness, hindering our ability to make good health-related decisions. A new educational program ‒ Biology of Human ‒ will help the public, particularly young people, better understand advances in biomedical research. This innovative, learning research-based science education program is strategically designed to increase awareness of and understanding about new biomedical research developments pertaining to human biology. Biology of Human will provide a sophisticated science education outreach package for students aged 11 to 15 and adults, including parents and educators. The project's goal is to leverage the latest biomedical information and innovations, a dynamic suite of educational and dissemination strategies, and research-driven approach grounded in sociology to broadly educate youth and adults about human biology. A team led by the University of Nebraska State Museum, the Department of Sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the NIH/NCRR-funded Nebraska Center for Virology (a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence) will work with science writers, kids, and educators to complete three specific aims: 1) stimulate interest in and understanding of biomedical research's importance to diverse individuals' health, communities, and environments; 2) establish partnerships among science educators, biomedical researchers, science journalists, and others to create dynamic educational resources focused on biomedical research developments and human biology; and 3) increase youths' interest in biomedical science. Biology of Human will provide adults and youth with several simultaneous, complementary options for learning about how biomedical research has helped us understand human biology including essays, books and blogs; entertaining and scientifically accurate mobile and tablet apps; activities and graphic stories; and a Web site that complements and supports the project's professional development programs. More than 175,000 youth and adults are expected to be directly impacted through this effort.
This cooperative agreement will support a program of targeted outreach, professional development and national visibility for libraries and museums as important, community-based venues for student/youth game development and STEM learning. IMLS will provide financial support amounting to $100,000 for work over the Project period of January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013. as part of this key learning and development phase, we will conduct activities including targeted outreach, professional development, youth workshops, national promotion and documentation/evaluation.
The Pueblo of Santa Clara's Community Library will continue its important role as a community anchor in fostering 21st-century learning and information use with a range of interactive projects that will engage community members of all ages. Technology Access Nights will foster responsible technology use and awareness among young learners and their families, especially promoting safe social media practices. For hands-on technology learning, youth, elders, and their families will collaborate on two oral history projects. One will gather stories of Santa Clara Pueblo women's achievements and cultural endurance, and the other will document strategies for academic success. Also, a youth mentor/internship initiative will create a cadre of "Bookworm Interns" trained in the Every Child Ready to Read Program®, allowing the interns to practice their new skills during the Summer Reading Program, which will be extended from one to five weeks.
Florida State University and partner University of Alabama will collect and analyze data on how STEM teachers can most effectively collaborate with librarians. The data will be collected at focus groups held at four national conferences: the American Association of School Librarians, the Public Library Association, the National Science Teachers Association, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. This variety of participants at these conferences will allow for diverse opinions, thoughts, and ideas to be compiled, supporting the analysis of how the collaboration between STEM teacher and librarian is working today and providing recommendations on how it could be improved. The overall goal of this planning grant is to assess what is happening in the field so the information can then be shared with the educational and library communities for greater impact.
Westport Library, with its partners, Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) and Connecticut State Library - Division of Library Development (CSL-DLD), and with SPARK! Consulting, will introduce a new model of maker space in libraries and a way to systematically integrate the culture of interactive "making" into the library profession. Westport will introduce a culture of innovation, while honoring the needs of more traditional libraries. There will be self-directed, hands-on maker experiences; maker workshops; and makers-in-residence who will support workshops and innovation labs on topics such as robotics, LED quilt creations, and tinkering with home electronics repairs. The library will also create Interactive Innovation Stations (iStations) to introduce people to the concepts and techniques of innovative thinking. It will be an environment where people can experiment, take calculated risks, and work collaboratively.
The Howard County Library System (HCLS), in partnership with the University of Maryland Baltimore County, will use this grant to enhance the teen digital media lab at the Savage Branch Library by adding science, technology, engineering, and math projects and implementing that same STEM-focused model in three other libraries. The "Hi Tech Academy: The Road to a STEM Career" project will address the increasing demand for workers with STEM-related skills as the number of college graduates in these fields decreases. This program will create a model to be replicated at other libraries, bring awareness of how to best teach these skills, increase interest in STEM for youth, and address the demand for these skills in the community.
Stanford University Library, in partnership with the University of Santa Cruz, will develop a publishable metadata scheme for digital games, including ontology and terminology, as well as a system and tools for citation of in-game events and game states. While the work of collection and preservation is underway, digital games present unique and complex stewardship problems, including methods for description, discovery and citation. As acquisition of this type of collection increases, challenges with cataloguing, storage, and access are compounded. This framework will provide a complete solution to the closely linked problems of finding, accessing, and citing digital games, a growing and important part of modern culture.
The Missouri Botanical Garden and partners at Harvard University, Cornell University, and New York Botanical Garden will test new means of crowdsourcing to support the enhancement of content in the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL). The BHL is an international consortium of the world's leading natural history libraries that have collaborated to digitize the public domain literature documenting the world's biological diversity, resulting in the single, largest, open-licensed source of biodiversity literature. The project will demonstrate whether or not digital games are an effective tool for analyzing and improving digital outputs from optical character recognition and transcription. The anticipated benefits of gaming include improved access to content by providing richer and more accurate data; an extension of limited staff resources; and exposure of library content to communities who may not know about the collections otherwise.