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。生活在格兰德河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验。 德克萨斯大学格兰德河谷分校（UTRGV）将改编和研究“能源与U秀”，该节目将向数千名儿童和家庭介绍一场激动人心的戏剧性表演，展示不同形式能源的相互转换。该节目将融合化学演示的兴奋和能源与STEM教育之间的自然联系，在一个完整的制作，舞台上的科学盛会。 该节目的一个基本理念是，让儿童和青年进入大学校园有额外的真实的价值。对于许多参与者来说，这是他们第一次坐在大学的座位上，也是他们第一次有机会在这种环境中想象自己。与最初开发该节目的明尼苏达大学合作，UTRGV将把现在以英语呈现的节目改编为双语，文化上可接受的格式，旨在为西班牙裔家庭观众和学生团体学习能源和相关职业。评估结果表明，该节目有效地吸引了数千名明尼苏达州的学生。目标受众将是小学高年级（4 - 5年级），中学生和他们的父母。 该项目将由美国第二大西班牙裔服务机构UTRGV领导，学生人数为28，000人，其中90%以上是西班牙裔，60%以上是第一代大学生。除了展览，该项目还将包括：（1）指导在不同的国家或国际场地实施该计划和相关资源的手册;（2）为家长，教师和学校辅导员介绍STEM职业和特定STEM大学专业的教育资源;（3）指导UTRGV教师开展外展活动;以及（4）将展览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，并调查有助于该项目产生积极教育影响的因素，这将由一名双语/双文化研究人员进行。 项目研究工具将衡量学生的参与程度，兴趣和学习，以及大学的兴趣，在调查和数据分析之前和之后的演示。该项目将专门研究语言对学生影响的影响。 将对该项目的每个组成部分进行研究，以确定项目干预的有效性（科学示范和示范语言）。为了确定计划的有效性，在计划实施之前，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。该项目将通过示范前和示范后调查和焦点小组来衡量父母对子女STEM职业的看法。学生和家长的研究参与者将能够使用调查或回应他们选择的语言的其他研究活动。 项目成果将有助于知识库关于如何语言和文化适应科学节目和相关资源适应可以有关于STEM知识和职业生涯的学生和家长从低收入和西班牙裔community.This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 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.