Developing a Live Science Show and Educational Outreach Resources to Engage Hispanic Students and Families in the Rio Grande Valley in STEM

作为加强非正式环境学习总体战略的一部分，推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）项目为各种环境中使用的创新资源提供资金。居住在格兰德山谷的许多西班牙裔儿童和家庭缺乏机会参与介绍科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）概念和相关职业的鼓舞人心和教育经历。德克萨斯大学格兰德谷分校（UTRGV）将改编和研究“能量与U秀”，这将向数千名儿童和家庭介绍一场令人兴奋和戏剧性的展示不同形式能量相互转换的表演。该节目将把化学演示的兴奋和能源与STEM教育之间的自然联系融合在一场完全制作的、舞台上的科学盛会中。这个节目的基本理念是，让孩子和年轻人进入大学校园有额外的实际价值。对于许多参与者来说，这是他们第一次坐在大学的座位上，第一次有机会在这个环境中想象自己。UTRGV将与最初开发该节目的明尼苏达大学合作，将目前以英语播出的节目改编为双语、文化无障碍的形式，旨在帮助西班牙裔家庭观众和学生群体了解能源和相关职业。评估结果表明，该节目有效地吸引了数千名明尼苏达州学生。目标受众是小学高年级（4 ~ 5年级）、中学生和家长。该项目将由UTRGV领导，UTRGV是美国第二大西班牙裔服务机构，拥有28,000名学生，其中90%以上是西班牙裔，60%以上是第一代大学生)。除展览外，该项目还将包括：(1)指导在不同国家或国际场馆实施该计划的手册和相关资源；(2)为家长、教师和学校辅导员提供教育资源，介绍STEM职业和具体的STEM大学专业；(3)指导UTRGV教师开展外展活动；(4)将节目传播到其他校园和场地。该项目将进行持续的研究和评估，指导节目的改编，并调查有助于项目积极教育影响的因素，这些将由双语/双文化研究员进行。项目研究工具将测量学生的参与水平，兴趣和学习，以及大学的兴趣，在调查和数据分析前后演示。该项目将具体调查语言对学生影响的影响。本项目的每个组成部分将被研究以确定项目干预的有效性（科学论证和论证的语言）。为了确定项目的有效性，在项目实施前将建立一个关于西班牙裔学生、他们的持久性和对环境的看法的数据基线。该项目将通过前后示范调查和焦点小组来衡量家长对孩子从事STEM职业的看法。学生和家长研究参与者将能够使用他们选择的语言进行调查或回应其他研究活动。项目研究结果将有助于建立知识库，了解适应语言和文化的科学节目和相关资源如何对低收入和西班牙裔社区的学生和家长的STEM知识和职业产生积极影响。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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. Many of the Hispanic children and families who live in the Rio Grande Valley lack opportunities to engage in inspirational and educational experiences introducing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) concepts and related careers. The University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) will adapt and research the "Energy and U Show," which will introduce thousands of children and families to an exciting and dramatic that shows interconverting different forms of energy. The show will meld the excitement of chemical demonstrations and the natural connection between energy and STEM education in a fully produced, on-stage science extravaganza. A foundational philosophy of the show is that there is additional real value in getting children and youth onto a college campus. For many of its participants, this is their first time sitting in a seat at a university, the first opportunity for them to envision themselves in this environment. In partnership with the University of Minnesota, which originally developed the show, UTRGV will adapt the show, now presented in English, to a bilingual, culturally accessible format that is designed to Hispanic family audiences and student groups in learning about energy and related careers. Evaluation results demonstrate that the show has effectively engaged thousands of Minnesota students. The target audience will be upper elementary (4th-5th grade), middle school students, and their parents. This project will be led by UTRGV, nation's second-largest Hispanic Serving Institution, with a student enrollment of 28,000, of which over 90% are Hispanic and more than 60% are first-generation college students). In addition to the show, the project will include: (1) a manual to guide implementation of the program and related resources at different national or international venues; (2) educational resources for parents, teachers and school counselors introducing STEM careers and specific STEM college majors; (3) mentoring of UTRGV faculty in outreach activities; and (4) dissemination of the show to other campuses and venues. The project will conduct ongoing research and evaluation guiding the adaptation of the show and investigation of factors contributing to positive educational impacts of the project, which will be carried out by a bilingual/bicultural researcher. Project research instruments will measure student level of engagement, interest and learning, as well as college interest, in surveys and analysis of data pre and post demonstration. The project will specifically investigate the impact of language on student impacts. Each component of this project will be studied to determine program intervention effectiveness (the scientific demonstration and language of the demonstration). To determine program effectiveness, a baseline of data before program implementation will be established concerning Hispanic students, their persistence, and perceptions of the environment. The project will measure parent perceptions of STEM careers for their children through pre and post demonstration surveys and focus groups. Student and parent research participants will be able to use surveys or respond to other research activities in the language of their choice. Project findings will contribute to the knowledge base concerning how linguistically and culturally adapted science shows and related resources adapted into can have positive impacts regarding the STEM knowledge and careers of students and parents from low-income and Hispanic communities.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.