Explanatoids: Gender-Sensitive Signage to Seed Science Talk in Public Places

孩子们可以从他们的日常经验中获得丰富的科学技术知识。在参观博物馆、观看教育电视、浏览网页或阅读科学书籍时，孩子们正在积极地发展原始科学推理技能、科学领域的新生理论、有趣的科学事实知识、著名的科学叙事知识，以及对不同类型的科学家在其专业工作中所做的事情的早期想法。当孩子们在小学和中学接受科学教育时，当他们梦想着长大后可以做什么时，当他们选择高中及以后想要学习的课程时，那些有实践科学和技术思维的经验和兴趣的人更有可能去探索并取得成功。事实上，所有的孩子和他们的父母都配备了培养早期数学所需的工具或科学素养，但这些对话和活动需要从一个种子开始一个简单的观察，一个意想不到的结果，一个问题。对于具有高水平科学素养和兴趣的家庭来说，这些种子可以从个人经验中播种。事实上，在国家科学基金会最近的一项调查中，超过四分之三的科学家报告说，他们对科学的热情是在早期的校外活动中发展起来的，比如与父母一起散步，参观博物馆，或者在家里拆开收音机或发射火箭。我们毫不怀疑，以博物馆和媒体为基础的非正式科学基础设施将对科学素养和科学成就产生积极影响，但最大的影响将是那些已经最有可能进入科学和技术教育和专业管道的人--那些去博物馆、观看教育节目和访问教育网站的家庭的孩子。有趣的是，在积极性高的家庭中，男孩比女孩更有可能获得这些好处。有证据表明，父母带女儿去科学博物馆的可能性比带儿子去的可能性要小，而且即使在去博物馆的家庭中，父母向男孩解释展览科学的可能性也是女孩的三倍多（即使男孩和女孩都是在三岁左右的时候）。对于那些对追求科学不感兴趣的家庭呢？这些家长已经不太可能为了家庭娱乐而参观科学博物馆，他们可能也没有意识到在日常生活中有多少“可教的时刻”可以促使他们与孩子谈论数学、科学和技术，尤其是如果他们是女孩的父母。在一个成功的试点项目的基础上，我们建议通过开发、放置、并在匹兹堡最广泛的儿童和家庭聚集的地方保持吸引人的性别敏感科学导向的标志。 我们把这些信号称为“类寄生虫。“虽然科学博物馆和以科学为导向的媒体是非正式科学教育的重要力量，但儿童和他们的家庭必须在其他形式的休闲活动中寻找它们。 相比之下，我们的类人猿将科学带给人们，并将女孩完全纳入这一推广活动。我们正在寻求为期三年的支持，以便将我们的试点工作发展成为一个全面的区域项目，可以在其他地方复制，作为一个对性别问题有敏感认识的模式，在社区内提高数学/科学素养。 该项目将包括开发和安装对性别问题有敏感认识的标志，以及为整个宾夕法尼亚州西南部地区的家长和教师制作相关的辅助材料。该项目将利用家庭通信公司之间已经建立的独特伙伴关系。（罗杰斯先生社区的生产商），当地基金会，卡内基梅隆大学，匹兹堡大学的学习研究发展中心，肯尼伍德游乐园，匹兹堡教师学院，匹兹堡儿童博物馆，匹兹堡公园保护协会。形成性和总结性评价将提供定量和定性措施，以衡量该项目如何：（1）在数学、科学和技术方面消除对女孩和妇女的负面陈规定型观念;（2）提高女孩的兴趣，并使其成功参与这些领域的教育和职业抱负;（3）促进人们认识到数学、科学和技术是该地区未来经济福祉的组成部分。

Children can develop a wealth of knowledge about science and technology from theireveryday experience. When visiting museums, watching educational TV, surfing the Web, or reading science-oriented books, children are actively developing proto-scientific reasoning skills, nascent theories for scientific domains, knowledge of interesting sciencefacts, knowledge about famous scientific narratives, and early ideas about what differentkinds of scientists do in their professional work. When children encounter science instruction in elementary and middle school, when they dream about what they might do when they grow up, and when they make choices about the courses they want to take in high school and beyond, those with experience and interest practicing scientific andtechnical thinking are more likely to seek it out and to succeed.Virtually all children and their parents come equipped with the tools needed to cultivateearly math or scientific literacy, but these conversations and activities need to start from a seed a simple observation, an unexpected outcome, a question. For families with high levels of scientific literacy and interest, these seeds can be sown from personalexperience. Indeed, more than three quarters of scientists in a recent NationalScience Foundation survey reported developing their passion for science in early,out-of-school activities such as nature walks with their parents, family visits to museums, or taking apart radios or launching rockets at home. We have no doubt thatmuseum-based and media-based informal science infrastructure will have a positive effect on scientific literacy and science achievement, but the biggest effects will be forthose who already are most likely to enter the educational and professional pipe-line for science and technology--the children of families that go to museums, watch educational programming, and visit educational web sites.Interestingly, boys more than girls are most likely to reap these benefits within highlymotivated families. There is evidence to suggest that parents are less likely to bring their daughters to science museums than their sons, and that even among museum-goingfamilies, parents were more than three times more likely to explain the science of an exhibit to boys than to girls (true even when the boys and girls were as young asone to three-years old). What of families who may not be as comfortable with or as interested in pursuing science? These parents, already less likely to visit science museums for familyrecreation, may also not be aware of how many "teachable moments" exist in everyday life to prompt conversations with their children about math, science and technology, andespecially so if they're parents of girls.Building on a successful pilot project we propose to seed the development of scientificand technical literacy by developing, placing, and maintaining engaging gender-sensitivescience-oriented signage in the places where the broadest cross-section of Pittsburgh's children and families gather. We call these signs "explanatoids." While science museums and science-oriented media are important forces for informal science education, childrenand their families must seek them out over other forms of leisure activity. In contrast, our explanatoids bring science to the people, in a way that includes girls fully in that outreach.We are asking for support for three years to develop our pilot work into a full-scaleregional project that can be replicated elsewhere as a gender-sensitive model forenhancing math/science literacy within a community. The project will include thedevelopment and installation of gender-sensitive signage as well as the production of associated support materials for parents and teachers throughout the SouthwestPennsylvania region. The project will leverage unique partnerships already built betweenFamily Communications, Inc. (producers of Mister Rogers Neighborhood), local foundations,Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh's Learning Research &Development Center, Kennywood Amusement Park, The Pittsburgh Teachers Institute,The Pittsburgh Children's Museum, and The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. Formative and summative evaluation will provide quantitative and qualitative measures of the waysthat the project (1) counters negative stereotypes about girls and women in math, science and technology; (2) enhances girls' interests and successful participation in those arenas in schooling and career aspirations; and (3) advances the recognition thatmath, science and technology are integral to the regions future economic well-being.