ED43C-01 INVITED 13:40h
Thoughts on Engaging Universities in School and Community Partnerships - Steps Towards an Interactive University
How do we engage research universities in partnerships with K-12 schools and community organizations in ways that matter to both higher education and schools and communities? And how do we do this in ways that scale? In particular, how do we involve the academic core of the campus---faculty, organized research units, libraries, research museums---in these critical educational partnerships. In this talk, the author will lay out a framework for thinking about higher education-school partnerships and argue for a strategy that engages the academic core of the campus in this work. As part of this, he will talk briefly about the important role of both educational technology and "collaborative infrastructure" in these partnerships, using examples from the University of California Berkeley's Interactive University and its partnerships with K-12 programs and community groups in the Bay area.
ED43C-02 13:55h
A New Approach to Reach Latino Populations in Rural and Urban Settings
Current statistics indicate that Latino populations have lower high school and college graduation rates than Anglos or African Americans. If Latinos do not pursue baccalaureate and higher degrees, then this group will be left behind as technological advances increasingly drive our society. The drop out rate affects not only the individuals, families, communities, and society from many different aspects, including financial independence, but also loss of potential contributing members of society in science, engineering, etc. Houston, an urban area, with a Latino population of 39% and Brownsville, a rural area represented by 84% Latinos, are two Texas areas where universities, schools, museums, and NASA are reaching out to increase science skills and graduation rates. Many Houston families have the opportunity to be introduced to different options, but Brownsville families do not have the same opportunities as the area lacks a strong industrial and technological base. We have developed programs to improve the space and Earth science knowledge base by providing summer science enrichment programs for K-12 students, family events, exposing high school students to college opportunities, and training high school and college students to serve as mentors to their peers. The peer mentors lead many of the outreach venues, interacting with the public with demonstrations and interactive science activities. In addition, we have developed a series of teacher workshops and modules on integrated science and mathematics. The teacher workshops are designed to provide the teachers with a wealth of integrated examples for classroom use.
ED43C-03 14:10h
The Colorado MESA Program and CU-LASP: A Model for After School Program/Research Institution Collaboratives
Colorado MESA is an after school program operating throughout the state with a long track record in promoting science, math and engineering education to largely underserved K-12 student populations. Currently, 81 percent of MESA students are from groups underrepresented in the math/science careers, and 85 percent of MESA students come from low- and moderate-income families. Through a combination of weekly student programs, field trips to universities and industry partners, family orientations, individual academic counseling and required curriculum, Colorado MESA offers an opportunity for students to explore STEM subjects and careers that they might not otherwise have access to - with tangible results. In the Colorado MESA Class of 2003, 97 percent of students planned on entering college this fall, with 86 percent indicating that they will enroll in math/science-based majors. In the last year, the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, a large space and earth sciences institute, has relied on the Colorado MESA program as its primary K-12 partner in Education and Public Outreach. LASP incorporates MESA into its proposal writing opportunities, from E/PO additions to individual research proposals to mission-level educational programs. In addition to funding opportunities, LASP provides scientists and engineers in a variety of contexts and content areas, while MESA works to incorporate those resources into their after school programs. The interface between the after school programs and the research institution requires ongoing communication and coordination in order to evaluate and fine-tune curriculum and activities based on feedback from MESA advisors and teachers. Currently, the MESA/LASP partnership has funded programs in astrobiology, planetary sciences and engineering.
ED43C-04 14:25h
Reciprocal Education Experiences In Two GK-12 Programs: Teachers Learning And Students Teaching In Diverse Settings
The National Science Foundation's Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) Program has enabled science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduate schools across the country to become more active in local area K-12 schools. An overview of a graduate student's experiences, insights gained and lessons learned as a Fellow in the 2003-2004 Universidad Metropolitana's (UMET) environmental science and the 2004-2005 University of South Florida's (USF) ocean science GK-12 Programs is presented. The major goals of the 2003-2004 UMET GK-12 Program were 1) to enrich environmental science teaching and learning via a thematic approach in eight local public schools and 2) to provide UMET graduate students with exposure to teaching methodologies and practical teaching experience. Utilizing examples from local environments in and nearby Carolina, Puerto Rico to teach key science principles at Escuela de la Comunidad Juana Rodriguez Mundo provided numerous opportunities to relate science topics to students' daily life experiences. By 2004, the UMET GK-12 Program had successfully engaged the entire student body (primarily comprised of bilingual minority kindergarten to sixth graders), teachers and school administrators in environment-focused teaching and learning activities. Examples of such activities include tree planting projects to minimize local erosion, conducting a science fair for the first time in many years, and numerous opportunities to experience what "real scientists do" while conducting environmental science investigations. During the 2004-2005 academic year, skills, insights and lessons learned as a UMET GK-12 Fellow are being further enhanced through participation in the USF GK-12 OCEANS Program. The overall objectives of the 2004-2005 USF GK-12 OCEANS assignment at Madeira Beach Elementary School in Saint Petersburg, Florida are to 1) engage students from various ethnic backgrounds and cultures in hands-on science activities, 2) enhance the school's third grade ocean science education curriculum, and 3) foster dialog between students at Madeira Beach Elementary School and Escuela de la Comunidad Juana Rodriguez Mundo, via exchange of pictures, video recordings, letters and emails related to environment-focused learning activities being undertaken at the two schools. In addition to these objectives, during the 2004-2005 academic year several ocean science-focused activities, the majority of which were adapted and/or identified from either the UMET GK-12 or USF OCEAN GK-12 Programs, will be utilized to further stimulate Madeira Beach Elementary School third graders' critical thinking skills. Examples of such activities, including hands-on exercises, case studies, games and field trips are highlighted in this presentation.
ED43C-05 14:40h
Successful Strategies for Earth Science Research in Native Communities
A small U.S. Geological Survey pilot project utilizes strategies that are successful at involving the Native community in earth science research. This work has ignited the interest of Native students in interdisciplinary geoscience studies, and gained the recognition of tribal community leaders from the conterminous United States, Alaska, and Canada. This study seeks to examine land use, climatic variability, and their related impacts on land-surface conditions in the ecologically sensitive Tsezhin Bii' region of the Navajo Nation. Work conducted by predominantly Native American researchers, includes studies of bedrock geology, surficial processes, soil and water quality, and plant ecology, as well as the history of human habitation. Community involvement that began during the proposal process, has helped to guide research, and has provided tribal members with information that they can use for land use planning and natural resource management. Work by Navajo tribal members who have become involved in research as it has progressed, includes K-12 science curriculum development, community outreach and education on environmental and geologic hazards, drought mitigation, grazing management, and impacts of climate change and land use on medicinal plants.
http://climchange.cr.usgs.gov/hopibuttes/
ED43C-06 14:55h
Reaching for the Stars: A New NASA-National Federation of the Blind Initiative
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) recently launched a unique new partnership which will inspire and empower blind youth to consider opportunities in science, technologies, engineering, and math related careers from which they have typically been excluded. This partnership presents a framework for successful cultivation of the next generation of scientists. By partnering with the NFB Jernigan Institute, a one of a kind research and training facility developed and directed by blind people, NASA has engaged the most powerful tool for tapping the potential of blind youth. By teaming NASA scientists and engineers with successful blind adults within a national organization, the NFB, this partnership has established an unparalleled pipeline of talent and imagination. The NASA/NFB partnership seeks to facilitate the means that will lead to increased science and technology employment opportunities for the blind, and particularly within NASA. The initiative is facilitating the development of education programs and products which will stimulate better educational opportunities and supports for blind youth in the STEM areas and better preparing them to enter the NASA employment path. In addition, the partnership brings the unique perspective of the blind to the continuing effort to develop improved space technologies, which may be applied for navigation and wayfinding, technologies for education and outreach, and technologies for improving access to information using nonvisual techniques. This presentation describes some of the activities accomplished in the first year of the partnership. Examples include the establishment of the first NFB Science Academy for Blind Youth which included two summer science camps supported by NASA. During the first camp session, twelve middle school age blind youth explored earth science concepts such as identification and characterization of soils, weather parameters, plants, and the independent dissection of a dog fish shark. During the second camp, twelve high school age blind youth prepared a science payload for a one half size patriot rocket fueled by a hybrid rocket motor and successfully completed the procedures necessary to launch the rocket from the Wallops Flight Facility. These and other activities will be highlighted to demonstrate the effectiveness of partnership, imagination, and innovation that has come from the collaboration between these two organizations.
ED43C-07 15:10h
Research Experience for Undergraduates: an International Program Enhancing Interdisciplinary Learning
This NSF-funded research experience for undergraduates (REU) took place in South Africa, where gold mines provided outstanding field sites to investigate biogeochemical processes in deep subsurface environments. Underrepresented minorities were encouraged to participate. Cross-disciplinary training was a major ambition for this REU Site: Biogeochemical Educational Experiences - South Africa. Students were selected from diverse academic disciplines (biology, chemistry, and geology) to participate in this interdisciplinary research program. Research projects included characterizing microbial communities with molecular and biochemical techniques, cultivating microorganisms, utilizing geochemical and isotopic parameters to constrain nutrient cycling in groundwater, investigating extreme enzymes and examining functional genes. During the REU, students collected biofilms and fissure water emanating from gas-rich boreholes in 2-3 km deep mines and performed laboratory research in teams under joint mentorship of U.S. and South African scientists. Research teams consisted of three to five students with at least one student from each country and at least two of the disciplines represented. Team membership reflected students' ranking of their choices among mentor-proposed projects. The REU encouraged students to increase scientific knowledge across disciplines, improve oral and written communication skills, and explore cultural and international challenges for scientific research in the global community. Each research team presented oral progress reports to the other research teams to provide communication skill development and to provide a forum for data exchange and interpretation among the various disciplines. Oral communication training culminated in a public presentation by each team at a university/industry science symposium. Mentors reviewed students' writing skills as they prepared text on experimental design, research findings, data interpretation, and literature reviews, leading to final team reports in manuscript format. Students learned how their research contributes to the big picture of biogeochemical processes in the mines. The group research teams and the forums for discussion allowed the students to gain interdisciplinary knowledge and expanded thought processes and views of interdisciplinary research. Thirty-two undergraduates from three countries have participated in this program. Several students are continuing their REU-initiated research as senior thesis projects at their home institutions; some are applying for graduate study in biogeochemistry, and others have started graduate studies.
http://geomicro.utk.edu
ED43C-08 15:25h
Teaching Research Skills at the K-12 Level
Few programs have as much of an impact on students' understanding of science as science fair projects. Science fair projects allow students to learn the scientific process through observation and discovery, and provides them the opportunity to share the excitement of their discoveries with practicing scientists and engineers. With the increasing demand to meet State and National student achievement levels, schools are focusing on content rather than process. To provide teachers with the knowledge and skills to develop project-based instruction pedagogy, American Indian Programs (AIP) at Arizona State University initiated a State Science Fair. Through the Arizona American Indian Science and Engineering Fair, teachers and students develop scientific skills and knowledge through actively engaging in research. Teaching these skills at the K-12 level increases students' interest in the sciences and provides them the skills to actively engage in research at the post secondary level. With American Indians being the most underrepresented minority in the sciences this effort can have a major influence in students choosing a career in the sciences. Because most teachers lack even a basic understanding of research or the scientific method, AIP has developed a three-day teacher workshop designed to promote greater understanding in the scientific process, research and how to support high quality research projects. Referred to as the AIP Intel Educator Academy, the demand for this type of teacher training is reflective in this workshop being requested and presented in other States as well as internationally. This session will provide: * An overview of the workshop, the development of school-based science fair programs, partnerships to support science learning in schools, how to get involved, and the efforts of AIP to reform science teaching at Arizona Tribal schools through participation in science fairs. * Networking through the AISEF e-mentor program. * In depth information on the AISEF and International Science and Engineering Fair. * A CD resource guide. * A CD with all the information needed to participate in the AISEF and International Science and Engineering Fair.
http://www.east.asu.edu/aip