Youth Lead the Way: A Youth Advisory Research Board Model for Climate Impact Education

青年引领潮流：气候影响教育青年咨询研究委员会模型

• 批准号: 2005678
• 负责人: Scott Randol
• 金额: $ 49.94万
• 依托单位: Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-10-01 至 2023-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2005678&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Youth; Lead; Way; Advisory; Research

The impacts of changes in the climate at local and global levels threaten how people live. Some frontline communities, especially in historically disenfranchised and under-resourced areas, are particularly vulnerable to the devastating effects of climatological events such as wildfires, flooding, and urban heat islands. As such, there is an urgent need for collective, evidence-based understanding and engagement to prevent and prepare for these potentially fatal events. Led by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland, Oregon, in collaboration with local and national partners, Youth Lead the Way is an early-stage Innovations in Development project that offers a theory-based approach for youth in climatologically vulnerable communities to work in climate science research alongside field researchers, develop leadership skills, and engage in timely conversations that impact their own communities. The project will develop and evaluate a Youth Advisory Research Board model to equip and support youth and informal STEM education institutions to conduct evidence-based research on local climate impacts and communicate the findings of their research to their communities. Youth Lead the Way advances the work of several previous NSF-funded projects on climate education, youth advisory boards, and collaborative networks to engage the public in informal STEM learning. Findings from this project will support ongoing efforts in the informal STEM education field to meaningfully engage youth and to more effectively communicate science related to climate and its impacts to the public. During this initial two-year early-stage project, youth predominantly from racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in STEM will engage in a year-long extended STEM experience. These youth will work collaboratively with scientists and museum professionals to enhance their skills as climate researchers, science communicators, and educational leaders, while reaching an estimated 4,000 or more public audience members through research and events at OMSI, in their schools, and in their communities. Using a cohort model, the youth will conduct scientifically based research studies on various local climate impact topics while concurrently serving in an advisory role at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, where they will participate in shaping relevant museum programs and practices. The youth will also develop and present climate stories—a communication approach based on storytelling—to raise public understanding and awareness about local climatological changes and impacts. In addition to the youth component, a companion workshop will be held at the Sciencenter in Ithaca, New York, a partner organization, to train staff and formatively assess the feasibility of scaling the model in other museums. At the program level, an exploratory qualitative research study will be conducted to identify the factors of the overall model that contribute to desired outcomes of youth engagement, climate impact education, and informal science education professional development. Interviews, surveys, focus groups, group chats among youth cohort members, and reviews of artifacts generated by the youth will inform this exploratory study. A theory-based guide outlining key findings, considerations, and recommendations will also be produced. The dissemination of this work will be multi-tiered, reaching thousands within the target communities through public programs, professional networks, at conferences, and a live virtual professional development event hosted by the Association for Science-Technology Centers. If successful, Youth Lead the Way will lay the groundwork for a model that promotes youth and public engagement in STEM through climate science research and identifies promising pathways for future research and similar efforts well beyond this project.This early-stage Innovations in Development project is funded by the NSF Advancing Informal STEM Learning program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants.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.

地方和全球气候变化的影响威胁着人们的生活方式。一些前线社区，特别是在历史上被剥夺权利和资源不足的地区，特别容易受到野火，洪水和城市热岛等气候事件的破坏性影响。因此，迫切需要集体的、基于证据的理解和参与，以预防这些潜在的致命事件并为其做好准备。由位于俄勒冈州波特兰市的俄勒冈州科学与工业博物馆（OMSI）牵头，与当地和国家合作伙伴合作，青年带头是一个早期阶段的发展创新项目，为气候脆弱社区的青年提供一种基于理论的方法，与实地研究人员一起从事气候科学研究，培养领导技能，并及时参与影响他们自己社区的对话。该项目将开发和评估一个青年咨询研究委员会模型，以装备和支持青年和非正式STEM教育机构对当地气候影响进行循证研究，并将研究结果传达给社区。“青年带路”项目推进了之前几个NSF资助的气候教育项目、青年咨询委员会和合作网络的工作，以使公众参与非正式的STEM学习。该项目的研究结果将支持在非正式STEM教育领域正在进行的努力，以有意义地吸引青年，并更有效地向公众传播与气候及其影响有关的科学。在这个为期两年的早期项目中，主要来自STEM中代表性不足的种族和族裔群体的青年将参与为期一年的STEM扩展体验。这些年轻人将与科学家和博物馆专业人士合作，提高他们作为气候研究人员，科学传播者和教育领导者的技能，同时通过OMSI的研究和活动，在他们的学校和社区中接触到大约4，000名或更多的公众观众。使用队列模型，青年将进行基于科学的研究，对各种当地气候影响的主题，同时在科学和工业，在那里他们将参与塑造相关的博物馆计划和实践的俄勒冈州博物馆的咨询作用。青年们还将发展和介绍气候故事-一种基于讲故事的传播方法-以提高公众对当地气候变化和影响的理解和认识。除青年部分外，还将在伙伴组织纽约伊萨卡的科学中心举办一个配套讲习班，培训工作人员，并对在其他博物馆推广这一模式的可行性进行形成性评估。在计划层面，将进行探索性定性研究，以确定有助于青年参与，气候影响教育和非正式科学教育专业发展的预期成果的整体模型的因素。访谈，调查，焦点小组，青年组成员之间的群聊，并审查由青年产生的文物将告知这项探索性研究。还将编制一份以理论为基础的指南，概述主要调查结果、考虑因素和建议。这项工作的传播将是多层次的，通过公共方案，专业网络，会议和由科学技术中心协会主办的现场虚拟专业发展活动，在目标社区内达到数千人。如果成功的话，青年带路将为一个通过气候科学研究促进青年和公众参与STEM的模式奠定基础，并为未来的研究和远远超出本项目的类似努力确定有前途的途径。在非正式环境中设计和开发STEM学习。这包括提供多种途径，以扩大获得和参与STEM学习经验，推进创新研究和评估的STEM学习在非正式环境中，并发展的理解，更深层次的学习参与者。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响力审查标准的支持。