Broad Implementation of the Better Environmental Education, Teaching, Learning, and Expertise Sharing Professional Learning Model for Outdoor Science Programs

广泛实施户外科学项目更好的环境教育、教学、学习和专业知识共享专业学习模式

• 批准号: 1612512
• 负责人: Craig Strang
• 金额: $ 299.81万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-09-01 至 2022-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1612512&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Broad; Implementation; Better; Environmental; Education

As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program supports new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This project will meet this goal through rigorous research and the broad implementation of an environmental science literacy professional development and learning program for informal educators and youth engaged in outdoor science programs (OSP). With growing support from the literature and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), much attention has been placed on creating and leveraging interdisciplinary science learning opportunities beyond science classrooms. As such, an estimated 300 residential OSPs currently exist in the United States. Unfortunately, the informal educators often charged with facilitating these deep and impactful science learning experiences often lack robust formal training in evidenced-based, age-appropriate environmental science content knowledge and pedagogy specific for the youth in their programs. This issue is often more pronounced in under-resourced and under-served programs and communities. This project will directly address these pervasive challenges in the field by not only providing much needed science focused professional development and resources to informal educators but also by specifically targeting and training informal leaders and educators serving youth in predominately rural areas, low-income communities, and underrepresented communities. Approximately 200 OSP leaders at 100 OSPs around the country will participate in a week-long, intensive training in the professional development model at one of five regional residential leadership institutes. OSP leaders will then redeliver the training to the approximately 1,500 OSP educators/field instructors in their home institutions. The OSP educators/field instructors will then use what they learn through the professional development to facilitate the environmental science learning program (i.e., curriculum, field experiences, resources, pedagogy) to over 1 million youth (grades 3-8) enrolled in their residential outdoor science programs. In addition, a rigorous implementation study, efficacy study and evaluation will be conducted. The implementation study will investigate: (a) Which of the professional learning model practices were implemented and (b) What successes and challenges the programs faced implementing the model. The mixed methods efficacy study will explore: (a) if outdoor science programs contribute to the development of science learning activation and environmental literacy? and (b) what are the features of these experiences that are correlated with increases in science learning activation and environmental literacy. Approximately 25-35 youth will be randomly selected from each of 50 randomly selected sites to participate in the efficacy study. The data and findings from the research and evaluation produced by this project will contribute to a relatively sparse knowledge and research base specific to youth efficacy and implementation processes and practices across nearly 1/3 of the estimated 300 existing residential outdoor science programs in the United States.

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）计划支持在非正式环境中设计和开发STEM学习的新方法和基于证据的理解。该项目将通过严格的研究和广泛实施环境科学素养专业发展和学习计划，为从事户外科学计划（OSP）的非正式教育工作者和青年实现这一目标。随着越来越多的文献和下一代科学标准（NGSS）的支持，人们越来越关注创造和利用科学课堂之外的跨学科科学学习机会。因此，估计目前在美国存在300个住宅OSP。不幸的是，非正式的教育工作者往往负责促进这些深刻和有影响力的科学学习经验，往往缺乏强有力的正规培训，以证据为基础，适合年龄的环境科学内容的知识和教学法，具体为青年在他们的节目。在资源不足和服务不足的方案和社区中，这一问题往往更为突出。该项目将直接应对这一领域普遍存在的挑战，不仅为非正规教育工作者提供急需的以科学为重点的专业发展和资源，而且还专门针对和培训主要在农村地区、低收入社区和代表性不足的社区为青年服务的非正规领导人和教育工作者。全国100个OSP的大约200名OSP领导人将在五个区域住宅领导研究所之一参加为期一周的专业发展模式强化培训。OSP领导人随后将向大约1 500名OSP教育工作者/实地教员在其本国机构重新提供培训。然后，OSP教育者/现场教员将使用他们通过专业发展学到的知识来促进环境科学学习计划（即，课程，实地经验，资源，教学法），超过100万青年（3-8年级）参加了他们的住宅户外科学方案。 此外，还将进行严格的实施研究、功效研究和评估。实施研究将调查：（a）实施了哪些专业学习模式实践，（B）实施该模式的方案面临哪些成功和挑战。混合方法效能研究将探讨：（一）户外科学活动是否有助于科学学习活化与环境素养的发展？以及（B）这些经验的哪些特征与科学学习积极性和环境素养的提高相关。将从50个随机选择的研究中心中随机选择约25-35名青年参与疗效研究。该项目产生的研究和评估的数据和结果将有助于建立一个相对稀疏的知识和研究基础，专门针对美国现有约300个住宅户外科学项目中近三分之一的青年功效和实施过程和实践。