Start-up Grant for Continued Research in Science Education

提高公众对科学事业的理解和提高科学素养已被确定为美国的关键目标。科学学习发生在正式的（即教室）以及非正式的（即后院）设置和有可能，至少，在这些学习环境之间的结果有质的差异。至关重要的是，科学家与专业科学教育者合作，不仅要确定科学素养的组成部分，而且要了解在这些不同的环境中学习是如何发生的，并帮助向其他科学家和教育者提供这一信息，他们最终将负责在正式和非正式环境中对人口进行教育。这项提案寻求资金继续和完成的重要研究，我开始作为一个国家科学基金会PFSMETE研究员，并支持初步研究和开发的两个其他项目，直接从我的博士后职位。对于前者，我建议分析，目前和出版我正在进行的工作，了解最影响学生的态度和动机的因素，在一个既定的学生/科学家的伙伴关系，森林观察。这些新项目包括一项名为Neighborhood Nestwatch的社区数据收集计划对参与者科学素养的影响研究，以及保罗史密斯学院两门环境教育课程的开发和实施，这将是自然资源科学学士学位中环境科学教育重点的基石。

Improving the publics" understanding of the scientific enterprise and improving scientificliteracy have been identified as critical goals in the United States. Science learningoccurs in formal (i.e. classroom) as well as in informal (i.e. backyards) settings and thereare likely to be, at least, qualitative differences in outcomes between these learningenvironments. It is critical that scientists collaborate with professional science educatorsnot only to identify the components of scientific literacy, but also to understand howlearning occurs in these different settings and to help provide this information to otherscientists and educators who will be ultimately responsible for the education of thepopulation in both formal and informal settings. This proposal seeks funding to continueand complete the important research that I began as a National Science FoundationPFSMETE Fellow and to support the preliminary research and development of two otherprojects that have resulted directly from my post-doctoral position. For the former, I amproposing to analyze, present and publish my ongoing work on understanding the factorsthat most affect student attitudes and motivation in an established Student/ScientistPartnership, Forest Watch. The new projects include a study of the effects of acommunity data collection program called Neighborhood Nestwatch on scientific literacyin participants, and the development and implementation of two environmental educationcourses at Paul Smith's College that will be the cornerstones for the creation of anenvironmental science education emphasis within the Natural Resource Bachelor ofScience degree.