Black Representation - Authoring STEM Stories for Climate Risk Preparedness

黑人代表 - 为气候风险防范创作 STEM 故事

• 批准号: 2314101
• 负责人: Ed Greene
• 金额: $ 25万
• 依托单位: Knology Ltd.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-09-01 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2314101&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Black; Representation; Authoring; STEM; Stories

Discussions of climate science have become more common in children's literature in recent years. Studies show that books and other media can teach children effective techniques for managing the risks they and their families face from floods, fires, excessive heat, and other weather-related disasters. However, Black voices and stories are rare within this literature, despite the fact that these disasters are more likely to impact areas home to communities of color. To address this imbalance, this conference project will bring together Black children's media creators with climate scientists and developmental psychologists to promote climate science story making that speak to the concerns, circumstances, and experiences of Black audiences. Expertise in the science of climate change and children's development will be captured in a podcast series that will be used to spark conversations and explorations for making children's stories during three hybrid convenings organized using a participant-driven (unconference) format. The intention for these convenings is to lay a foundation for the production of climate science children's media that supports the unique needs of Black families, helping them and their children prepare for and respond to a multitude of environmental threats.This conference project is a collaboration between Knology, the Highlights Foundation, the National Black Child Development Institute, and the Association of Children's Museums. Across three, two-day unconferences, Black climate scientists, developmental psychologists, informal learning practitioners, authors, illustrators, and publishers will develop strategies for creating climate-related STEM content that are relevant to the lived and future experiences of Black families and children. Their deliberations will address four central questions: (1) What kinds of STEM-related knowledge should be incorporated into children's climate change literature? (2) What is known about existing methods for bringing discussions about climate risk preparedness into early learning spaces and places, and how applicable are these for popular media directed at Black communities, families, and children? (3) What visual and textual storytelling techniques are best suited to the task of centering Black presences in such a way that affirms Black life and nurtures Black children's relationships with the natural world? (4) How can children's literature serve as a vehicle for dismantling anti-Blackness in early environmental education? By working together before, during, and after the unconference convenings, participants will create and publish a suite of resources (including a library of research briefs, a podcast series, conference proceedings, reports, and a guidebook) to help Black media makers develop characters, plot arcs, and story outlines that Black families can use to talk with their children about climate science. The project's outputs will help support making children's media that is better suited to the experiences of Black families, and that contributes to a broader awareness of STEM careers among children of color. With a focus on centering equity and building climate resilience in communities that have been marginalized, this conference focuses on supporting children's media creators and draws attention to the significant role they hold in engaging young children and their families in dialogue on critical issues of climate change and the behaviors and mindsets towards adaptation, mitigation, and resilience.This Conference project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which supports projects that: (a) contribute to research and practice that considers informal STEM learning's role in equity and belonging in STEM; (b) promote personal and educational success in STEM; (c) advance public engagement in scientific discovery; (d) foster interest in STEM careers; (e) create and enhance the theoretical and empirical foundations for effective informal STEM learning; (f) improve community vibrancy; and/or (g) enhance science communication and the public's engagement in and understanding of STEM and STEM processes.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.

近年来，关于气候科学的讨论在儿童文学中变得越来越普遍。研究表明，书籍和其他媒体可以教孩子们有效的技术来管理他们和他们的家人面临的洪水、火灾、过热和其他与天气有关的灾害的风险。然而，黑人的声音和故事在这些文献中很少见，尽管这些灾难更有可能影响到有色人种社区的家园。为了解决这种不平衡，这个会议项目将把黑人儿童媒体创作者与气候科学家和发展心理学家聚集在一起，促进气候科学故事的制作，讲述黑人观众的担忧、情况和经历。气候变化科学和儿童发展方面的专业知识将被收录在一个播客系列中，该系列将在三次采用参与者驱动（非会议）形式组织的混合会议上引发关于制作儿童故事的对话和探索。这些会议的目的是为气候科学儿童媒体的制作奠定基础，以支持黑人家庭的独特需求，帮助他们和他们的孩子为大量的环境威胁做好准备和应对。这个会议项目是由Knology、高光基金会、国家黑人儿童发展研究所和儿童博物馆协会合作完成的。在为期三天的会议上，黑人气候科学家、发展心理学家、非正式学习从业者、作家、插画家和出版商将制定策略，创建与气候相关的STEM内容，这些内容与黑人家庭和儿童的生活和未来经历有关。他们的讨论将解决四个核心问题：(1)哪些stem相关知识应该纳入儿童的气候变化文学？(2)关于将气候风险准备讨论引入早期学习空间和场所的现有方法，我们知道什么？这些方法对针对黑人社区、家庭和儿童的大众媒体是否适用？(3)什么样的视觉和文本叙事技巧最适合以黑人存在为中心的任务，以一种肯定黑人生活和培养黑人儿童与自然世界的关系的方式？(4)儿童文学如何在早期环境教育中成为消解反黑人的载体？通过在非会议会议之前、期间和之后共同努力，参与者将创建并发布一套资源（包括研究简报库、播客系列、会议记录、报告和指南），以帮助黑人媒体制作人塑造角色、情节线和故事大纲，黑人家庭可以用这些资源与孩子们谈论气候科学。该项目的产出将有助于支持制作更适合黑人家庭经历的儿童媒体，并有助于提高有色人种儿童对STEM职业的认识。本次会议的重点是在被边缘化的社区中建立公平和气候适应能力，重点是支持儿童媒体创作者，并提请注意他们在让幼儿及其家庭参与关于气候变化关键问题的对话以及适应、减缓和适应能力的行为和心态方面所发挥的重要作用。本次会议项目由推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划资助，该计划支持以下项目：(a)促进研究和实践，考虑非正式STEM学习在STEM公平和归属方面的作用；(b)促进个人和教育在STEM方面的成功；(c)促进公众参与科学发现；(d)培养对STEM职业的兴趣；(e)为有效的非正式STEM学习创造和加强理论和经验基础；(f)改善社区活力；及/或(g)加强科学传播和公众对STEM和STEM过程的参与和理解。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。