Be a Scientist!

“做个科学家！”是一个全面的发展项目，旨在研究一个可扩展的STEM课后项目的影响，该项目培训工程师在服务不足的社区开发和教授基于探究式的家庭科学研讨会（FSWs）。本计划以三年的学生科学兴趣、知识和自我效能的提升为基础，并在规模、广度和深度上测试模型。该项目的合作伙伴包括南加州大学Viterbi工程学院、库珀联盟的Albert Nerken工程系、洛杉矶自然历史博物馆和纽约科学馆。内容重点是物理和工程，包括诸如空气动力学、动物运动、汽车工程、生物力学、计算机体系结构、光学、传感器和变压器等主题。该项目针对的是洛杉矶和纽约1-5年级得不到充分服务的青少年、他们的父母和工程专业人士。设计以动机理论为基础，旨在培养参与者的内在动机和自我导向，而综合设计则考虑了不同家庭的文化、社会和智力需求。科学活动是在一系列家庭科学研讨会中提供的，这些研讨会在洛杉矶的八所合作学校和纽约市的纽约科学馆的课后项目中进行。fsw课程由工程专业的本科生和研究生授课，并由实习工程师担任导师。可交付的主要项目是一项为期五年的纵向评估，旨在评估(1)对在社区环境中提供家庭科学活动的工程专业人员进行强化培训的影响，以及(2)家庭对科学的兴趣和理解。其他项目可交付成果包括一个为期16周的工程专业人员培训计划、20个基于物理的研讨会和课程计划、家庭科学研讨会（洛杉矶40个，纽约5个）、一个家长领导计划和社交网站，以及5个科学培训视频。该项目将惠及近1000名学生、家长和学生工程师。多方法评估将由教育发展中心的儿童与技术中心进行。评估问题如下：诸如招聘、培训和fsw等活动是否与项目目标一致？这对家庭对科学的兴趣和理解有什么影响？这对工程师的沟通技巧和对工作的看法有什么影响？该项目是否可扩展，是否能够产生有效的技术工具，并与学校建立长期合作关系？第一阶段首先由利益相关者创建逻辑模型，并收集有关家庭STEM经验和知识的基线数据。第二阶段包括收集四年来关于招聘、培训、非正式教育工作者联合教学、课程开发、家庭福利工作者和家长领导计划实施的形成性评估数据。最后，总结性评估说明了该项目在提高家庭对科学的理解、家庭参与、社会网络、纵向影响和可扩展性方面达到的目标。一项全面的传播计划通过出版物、会议报告以及博客、YouTube（一个面向家长的在线社交网络论坛）和网站等web 2.0工具，扩大该项目在博物馆、工程、评估和教育专业社区的广泛影响。“做个科学家！”通过开发和评估持续的STEM学习经验模型来推进该领域，帮助非正式科学教育组织扩大参与，促进大学和非正式科学教育组织之间的合作，在服务不足的社区增加基于STEM的社会资本，确定培养对STEM持续兴趣的因素，并授权家长共同投资和维持他们社区的STEM项目。

'Be a Scientist!' is a full-scale development project that examines the impact of a scalable, STEM afterschool program which trains engineers to develop and teach inquiry-based Family Science Workshops (FSWs) in underserved communities. This project builds on three years of FSWs which demonstrate improvements in participants' science interest, knowledge, and self-efficacy and tests the model for scale, breadth, and depth. The project partners include the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California, the Albert Nerken Engineering Department at the Cooper Union, the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History, and the New York Hall of Science. The content emphasis is physics and engineering and includes topics such as aerodynamics, animal locomotion, automotive engineering, biomechanics, computer architecture, optics, sensors, and transformers. The project targets underserved youth in grades 1-5 in Los Angeles and New York, their parents, and engineering professionals. The design is grounded in motivation theory and is intended to foster participants' intrinsic motivation and self-direction while the comprehensive design takes into account the cultural, social, and intellectual needs of diverse families. The science activities are provided in a series of Family Science Workshops which take place in afterschool programs in eight partner schools in Los Angeles and at the New York Hall of Science in New York City. The FSWs are taught by undergraduate and graduate engineering students with support from practicing engineers who serve as mentors. The primary project deliverable is a five-year longitudinal evaluation designed to assess (1) the impact of intensive training for engineering professionals who deliver family science activities in community settings and (2) families' interest in and understanding of science. Additional project deliverables include a 16-week training program for engineering professionals, 20 physics-based workshops and lesson plans, Family Science Workshops (40 in LA and 5 in NY), a Parent Leadership Program and social networking site, and 5 science training videos. This project will reach nearly one thousand students, parents, and student engineers. The multi-method evaluation will be conducted by the Center for Children and Technology at the Education Development Center. The evaluation questions are as follows: Are activities such as recruitment, training, and FSWs aligned with the project's goals? What is the impact on families' interest in and understanding of science? What is the impact on engineers' communication skills and perspectives about their work? Is the project scalable and able to produce effective technology tools and develop long-term partnerships with schools? Stage 1 begins with the creation of a logic model by stakeholders and the collection of baseline data on families' STEM experiences and knowledge. Stage 2 includes the collection of formative evaluation data over four years on recruitment, training, co-teaching by informal educators, curriculum development, FSWs, and Parent Leadership Program implementation. Finally, a summative evaluation addresses how well the project met the goals associated with improving families' understanding of science, family involvement, social networking, longitudinal impact, and scalability. A comprehensive dissemination plan extends the project's broader impacts in the museum, engineering, evaluation, and education professional communities through publications, conference presentations, as well as web 2.0 tools such as blogs, YouTube, an online social networking forum for parents, and websites. 'Be a Scientist!' advances the field through the development and evaluation of a model for sustained STEM learning experiences that helps informal science education organizations broaden participation, foster collaborations between universities and informal science education organizations, increase STEM-based social capital in underserved communities, identify factors that develop sustained interest in STEM, and empower parents to co-invest and sustain a STEM program in their communities.