Hacking Your Mind: The Science of Personal Relevance

作为加强非正式环境中学习的整体战略的一部分，推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划为各种环境中使用的创新资源提供资金。这个媒体和研究项目将告知成年观众有关NSF资助的社会，行为和经济（SBE）科学家的发现，这些科学家正在极大地重塑经济学，营销，医学和政府等领域。由科学记者Miles奥布莱恩主持的四个黄金时段PBS特别节目将由SBE的主要科学家制作，并由包括卡内基梅隆大学的Baruch Fischhoff和宾夕法尼亚大学的Robert Kurzban在内的专家顾问小组进行审查。该项目的一个关键创新是参与性研究战略，使公众能够直接参与科学行为研究，并发现他们的参与揭示了他们自己的生活。它围绕YouTube功能、Facebook和在线游戏构建，将建立在公众通过科学研究支持的社交媒体了解自己和他人的兴趣之上。该项目的合作者包括媒体公司，俄勒冈州公共广播，以及卡内基梅隆大学，宾夕法尼亚大学，耶鲁大学和查普曼大学的研究人员。这个项目是独特的，它的战略相结合的广播电视节目侧重于社会，行为和经济学研究与参与性研究的组成部分，从事科学研究的观众是个人相关的。它将填补非正式学习研究文献中的一个重要空白，并有可能影响不断发展的媒体实践，包括新的在线社交媒体工具。RMC将进行形成性评估，以帮助告知项目的可交付成果，项目的总结性评估，以及项目第3年的实验研究。这项研究基于这样一个假设，即那些被分配观看整个电视连续剧并参与所有参与性研究活动的参与者，与那些接触有限的人相比，将在STEM兴趣和参与方面获得最大的收益。研究参与者将被随机分配到对照组（无服务）或三种治疗条件之一：只看电视;只参与网站;或两者兼而有之。将使用前测试和后测试以及统计工具来比较变化。子研究将检查剂量水平和有效性，以吸引那些以前对STEM不感兴趣的人。

As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds innovative resources for use in a variety of settings. This media and research project will inform adult audiences about the discoveries of NSF funded Social, Behavioral, and Economic (SBE) scientists that are dramatically re-shaping fields as diverse as economics, marketing, medicine and government. Four primetime PBS specials hosted by science reporter, Miles O'Brien, will be produced featuring leading SBE scientists and vetted for inclusion by a panel of expert advisors including Baruch Fischhoff of Carnegie Mellon and Robert Kurzban of the University of Pennsylvania. A key innovation in the project is a participatory research strategy that will enable the public to take part directly in scientific behavioral research and discover what their participation has revealed about their own lives. Built around YouTube features, Facebook, and online games it will build on the public's interest in learning about themselves and others via social media supported by scientific research. The project collaborators include the media company, Oregon Public Broadcasting, and researchers at Carnegie Mellon, University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, and Chapman University. This project is unique in its strategy for combining broadcast television programs focusing on Social, Behavioral, and Economics research with a participatory research component that engages audiences in scientific studies that are personally relevant. It will fill an important niche in the informal learning research literature and has the potential to impact media practice that continues to evolve incorporating new online social media tools. RMC will conduct formative evaluation to help inform the project deliverables, a summative evaluation of the project, and an experimental research study in Year 3 of the project. The research study is based on the hypothesis that those participants assigned to watch the entire television series and engage in all participatory research activities will experience the greatest gains in STEM interest and engagement as compared to those who only have limited exposure. Research participants will be randomly assigned to the control group (no services) or one of the three treatment conditions: view TV only; engage in participatory website only; or both. Pre-tests and posttests and statistical tools will be used to compare changes. Sub-studies will examine dosage levels and effectiveness in engaging those who have not previously been interested in STEM.