Explanatoids: Gender-Sensitive Signage to Seed Science Talk in Public Places

孩子们可以从他们过去的经历中获得丰富的科学技术知识。当参观博物馆、看教育电视、上网或阅读以科学为导向的书籍时，孩子们正在积极发展原始科学推理技能、科学领域的萌芽理论、有趣的科学事实知识、著名科学叙事的知识，以及关于不同类型的科学家在他们的专业工作中做什么的早期想法。当孩子们在小学和初中遇到科学教育，当他们梦想长大后可能会做什么，当他们选择高中及以后想学的课程时，那些有经验和兴趣实践科学和技术思维的人更有可能寻求并成功。实际上，所有的孩子和他们的父母都配备了培养早期数学或科学素养所需的工具，但这些对话和活动需要从一个种子开始一个简单的观察，一个意想不到的结果，一个问题。对于科学素养和兴趣水平较高的家庭，这些种子可以从个人经验中播种。事实上，在国家科学基金会最近的一项调查中，超过四分之三的科学家报告说，他们在早期的校外活动中培养了对科学的热情，比如与父母一起进行自然散步，家人参观博物馆，或者在家里拆开收音机或发射火箭。我们毫不怀疑，以博物馆和媒体为基础的非正式科学基础设施将对科学素养和科学成就产生积极影响，但最大的影响将是那些已经最有可能进入教育和专业技术管道的人--去博物馆、观看教育节目和访问教育网站的家庭的孩子。有趣的是，在志向高涨的家庭中，男孩比女孩更有可能获得这些好处。有证据表明，与儿子相比，父母带女儿参观科学博物馆的可能性更小，而且即使在参观博物馆的家庭中，父母向男孩解释展览的科学知识的可能性也是女孩的三倍多(即使男孩和女孩都只有一到三岁，情况也是如此)。那些可能对追求科学不太满意或不那么感兴趣的家庭怎么办？这些家长已经不太可能为了家庭娱乐而参观科学博物馆，他们可能也没有意识到日常生活中存在多少“可教的时刻”，以促使他们的孩子谈论数学、科学和技术，特别是如果他们是女孩的父母。在一个成功的试点项目的基础上，我们提议通过在匹兹堡最广泛的儿童和家庭聚集的地方开发、放置和保持吸引人的性别敏感的科学导向标牌，来促进科学和技术素养的发展。我们把这些迹象称为“解释性的”。虽然科学博物馆和以科学为导向的媒体是非正式科学教育的重要力量，但儿童和他们的家人必须在其他形式的休闲活动中寻找它们。相比之下，我们的解说书将科学带给人们，让女孩完全参与其中。我们请求三年的支持，以将我们的试点工作发展成一个全面的区域项目，可以在其他地方复制，作为提高社区内数学/科学素养的性别敏感模式。该项目将包括开发和安装对性别问题有敏感认识的标牌，并为宾夕法尼亚州西南部地区的家长和教师制作相关的辅助材料。该项目将利用家庭通信公司(罗杰斯先生社区的制片人)、当地基金会、卡内基梅隆大学、匹兹堡大学学习研究和开发中心、肯尼伍德游乐园、匹兹堡师范学院、匹兹堡儿童博物馆和匹兹堡公园保护协会之间已经建立的独特合作伙伴关系。形成性和总结性评价将为以下方面提供定量和定性的衡量标准：(1)消除在数学、科学和技术方面对女孩和妇女的负面陈规定型观念；(2)提高女孩在学校教育和职业抱负方面的兴趣和成功参与；(3)进一步认识到数学、科学和技术是区域未来经济福祉不可或缺的一部分。

Children can develop a wealth of knowledge about science and technology from theireveryday experience. When visiting museums, watching educational TV, surfing the Web, or reading science-oriented books, children are actively developing proto-scientific reasoning skills, nascent theories for scientific domains, knowledge of interesting sciencefacts, knowledge about famous scientific narratives, and early ideas about what differentkinds of scientists do in their professional work. When children encounter science instruction in elementary and middle school, when they dream about what they might do when they grow up, and when they make choices about the courses they want to take in high school and beyond, those with experience and interest practicing scientific andtechnical thinking are more likely to seek it out and to succeed.Virtually all children and their parents come equipped with the tools needed to cultivateearly math or scientific literacy, but these conversations and activities need to start from a seed a simple observation, an unexpected outcome, a question. For families with high levels of scientific literacy and interest, these seeds can be sown from personalexperience. Indeed, more than three quarters of scientists in a recent NationalScience Foundation survey reported developing their passion for science in early,out-of-school activities such as nature walks with their parents, family visits to museums, or taking apart radios or launching rockets at home. We have no doubt thatmuseum-based and media-based informal science infrastructure will have a positive effect on scientific literacy and science achievement, but the biggest effects will be forthose who already are most likely to enter the educational and professional pipe-line for science and technology--the children of families that go to museums, watch educational programming, and visit educational web sites.Interestingly, boys more than girls are most likely to reap these benefits within highlymotivated families. There is evidence to suggest that parents are less likely to bring their daughters to science museums than their sons, and that even among museum-goingfamilies, parents were more than three times more likely to explain the science of an exhibit to boys than to girls (true even when the boys and girls were as young asone to three-years old). What of families who may not be as comfortable with or as interested in pursuing science? These parents, already less likely to visit science museums for familyrecreation, may also not be aware of how many "teachable moments" exist in everyday life to prompt conversations with their children about math, science and technology, andespecially so if they're parents of girls.Building on a successful pilot project we propose to seed the development of scientificand technical literacy by developing, placing, and maintaining engaging gender-sensitivescience-oriented signage in the places where the broadest cross-section of Pittsburgh's children and families gather. We call these signs "explanatoids." While science museums and science-oriented media are important forces for informal science education, childrenand their families must seek them out over other forms of leisure activity. In contrast, our explanatoids bring science to the people, in a way that includes girls fully in that outreach.We are asking for support for three years to develop our pilot work into a full-scaleregional project that can be replicated elsewhere as a gender-sensitive model forenhancing math/science literacy within a community. The project will include thedevelopment and installation of gender-sensitive signage as well as the production of associated support materials for parents and teachers throughout the SouthwestPennsylvania region. The project will leverage unique partnerships already built betweenFamily Communications, Inc. (producers of Mister Rogers Neighborhood), local foundations,Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh's Learning Research &Development Center, Kennywood Amusement Park, The Pittsburgh Teachers Institute,The Pittsburgh Children's Museum, and The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. Formative and summative evaluation will provide quantitative and qualitative measures of the waysthat the project (1) counters negative stereotypes about girls and women in math, science and technology; (2) enhances girls' interests and successful participation in those arenas in schooling and career aspirations; and (3) advances the recognition thatmath, science and technology are integral to the regions future economic well-being.