Collaborative Research: Cool Science: Art as a Vehicle for Intergenerational Learning

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）计划资助创新研究，方法和资源，用于各种环境。该计划将获得关于极端天气及其概念的知识，与波士顿和堪萨斯城地区的青年分享。随后，年轻人将通过在快速交通系统上展示艺术作品来分享这些知识。艺术项目将在每组会议结束时以广泛的展览达到高潮。该项目将涉及每个地区200名青年，每年影响1 000名青年、80名成人导师和20 000名成人交通乘客学习极端天气概念。参与组织有马萨诸塞大学波士顿分校、马萨诸塞大学洛厄尔分校、马萨诸塞州艺术学院、堪萨斯大学研究中心、该项目的目标是通过教育青少年，并反过来让他们教育一组选定的使用快速交通系统的成年人，将极端天气的主题带到前台。青年团体将通过与极端天气问题专家的一系列会议来了解这一主题。年轻人将通过自己的诠释来演绎自己的艺术作品。这些艺术作品将在新英格兰（梅里马克山谷和伍斯特地区）和中西部（托皮卡和堪萨斯城地区）的快速交通系统上展出。使用准实验混合的方法（人口统计学，公交车乘客，科学意识的初始水平，和兴趣）的目标是了解与青年艺术的创作和公开展示相关的科学学习成果。在这方面的重要性研究问题是1。艺术与科学的融合如何增强年轻人对极端天气概念的学习？2.青年艺术在多大程度上支持成人学习科学？和3.区域背景如何影响对极端天气的学习？更广泛的影响将来自青年的多样性以及快速交通系统的乘客的多样性，在那里展示了极端天气的艺术。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds innovative research, approaches and resources for use in a variety of settings. This program will derive knowledge on extreme weather and its concepts to be shared with youth in the Boston and Kansas City areas. Subsequently, the youth will share this knowledge by displaying it as art work on the rapid transit systems. The art projects will culminate in broad-based exhibition at the end of each group's sessions. The project will involve 200 youth per region resulting in an impact of 1000 youth per year, 80 adult mentors and 20,000 adult transportation riders in learning about extreme weather concepts. Participant organizations are the University of Mass-Boston, University of Mass-Lowell, The Massachusetts College of Art, the University of Kansas Center for Research Inc., and the Goodman Research Group Inc.The goals of this project are to bring the topic of extreme weather to the foreground by educating youth and in turn having them educate a selected group of adults that use the rapid transit system. Groups of youths will learn about the topic through a series of meetings with mentors who are experts on the issues around extreme weather. The youth will derive their own art-works with their interpretation. These art-works will be displayed on the rapid transit systems in New England (Merrimack Valley and Worcester regions) and the Mid-West (Topeka and Kansas City areas). Using a quasi-experimental mixed methodology (demographics, bus ridership, initial level of science awareness, and interest) the goal is to understand science learning outcomes associated with the creation and public display of youth art. Research questions of importance in this regard are 1. In what ways does blending art with the science enhance youth learning about extreme weather concepts? 2. To what extent does youth art support adult learning of science? and 3. How does regional context affect learning about extreme weather?Broader impacts will result from the youth diversity as well as the diversity of riders of the rapid transit systems where the art of extreme weather is displayed.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.