Building on Latinx families' strengths to model and promote informal science learning through a culturally responsive telenovela series

家庭在支持儿童的非正式科学学习方面发挥着至关重要的作用。然而，多项研究表明，拉丁裔家庭，特别是在贫困率高的社区，在获得非正式的科学经验和环境方面面临许多障碍。西班牙语剧是一种电视连续剧，全世界讲西班牙语的观众都在观看，它可能为接触这些家庭提供了一个入口。先前的研究表明，肥皂剧是改变成年人行为的有效手段，对儿童有潜在的连锁影响。教育发展中心、扫盲合作伙伴和Univision将采用一种对文化作出反应的方法，通过在美国吸引700万观众的西班牙语电视剧《孩子的幸福》（La Fuerza de Creer）扩大拉丁裔家庭对非正式科学学习的参与。这部五集的电视剧将模拟照顾者和孩子之间积极的非正式科学互动，并为拉丁裔科学家提供积极的榜样。然后，项目团队将以这部电视剧为基础，为护理人员举办五期系列研讨会，进一步探索如何与孩子一起参与这些非正式的科学学习机会。“富尔扎- stem”项目将以家庭的优势和兴趣为基础，利用家庭的力量——富尔扎——让孩子们参与科学探索。这项研究将考察肥皂剧/工作坊与护理人员的实践和对科学的态度之间的关系。La Fuerza-STEM旨在通过一种基于文化的战略来扩大非正式的科学学习，以吸引历史上在STEM中代表性不足的服务不足人群。该项目将采用由家长和科学顾问委员会共同指导的反复研究和设计过程。与来自资源不足社区的大约30名拉丁裔护理人员进行的前端形成性研究将探索他们的非正式科学实践。这些经历将为电视剧的剧本开发提供信息。一项对200名护理人员进行的前后对比研究将调查护理人员对科学的态度如何因观看电视剧而发生变化。然后，该项目将围绕这部电视剧和这些研究成果建立一个5期的系列研讨会。最后，300名护理人员将参加一项随机对照试验，以检验La Fuerza-STEM研讨会在改变护理人员非正式科学态度和实践方面的效果。在整个过程中，该项目将解决首要的研究问题，如何利用与文化相关的电视剧来提高拉丁裔护理人员的科学自我效能感、职业意识和非正式的科学实践？项目成果和产品将通过出版物、会议报告和当地合作伙伴组织公开传播，着眼于开放获取和数据共享。该项目将产生关于将非正式科学内容嵌入基于文化的媒介（电视剧）的有效性的知识，从而提高照顾者与孩子一起参与非正式科学学习体验的信心和能力。这部电视剧预计将有700万观众，它对护理人员非正式的科学态度和实践的潜在影响是巨大的。通过与当地组织开展讲习班，该项目旨在实现自我维持，建立社区伙伴的能力，以便在赠款结束后很长一段时间内向家庭提供针对非正式科学知识和技能的服务。该发展创新项目由推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划资助，该计划旨在(a)推进非正式环境中STEM学习的设计和开发的新方法和基于证据的理解；(b)提供多种途径，以扩大获得和参与STEM学习经验的机会；(c)推进非正式环境中STEM学习的创新研究和评估；(d)让所有年龄段的公众在非正式环境中学习STEM。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。

Families play a vital role in supporting children’s informal science learning. Yet multiple studies have shown that Latinx families, particularly in neighborhoods with a high poverty rate, face many barriers to accessing informal science experiences and environments. Telenovelas, a type of television serial drama watched by Spanish-speaking audiences around the world, may provide an entryway to reaching these families. Prior research has shown that telenovelas can be an effective means of changing adults’ behavior, with potential cascading impacts on children. Education Development Center, Literacy Partners, and Univision will use a culturally responsive approach to broaden participation of Latinx families in informal science learning using La Fuerza de Creer, a popular Spanish-language telenovela that reaches 7 million U.S. viewers. The five-episode telenovela series will model positive informal science interactions between caregivers and their children and provide positive role models of Latinx scientists. The project team will then use the telenovela as the foundation for a five-session workshop series for caregivers to further explore how to engage in these informal science learning opportunities with their children. The La Fuerza-STEM project will build on families’ strengths and interests and tap their power—la fuerza—to engage children in exploring science. This research will examine the relationship between the telenovela/workshops and caregivers’ practices and attitudes towards science. La Fuerza-STEM seeks to expand informal science learning using a culturally grounded strategy to engage an under-served population that is historically under-represented in STEM.The project will use an iterative research and design process that is guided by the input of both parent and scientific advisory boards. Front-end formative research with approximately 30 Latinx caregivers from under-resourced communities will explore their informal science practices. These experiences will then inform script development for the telenovela. A pre-post comparison group study with 200 caregivers will investigate how caregivers’ attitudes toward science might change as a result of viewing the telenovela. The project will then build a 5-session workshop series around the telenovela and these research findings. Finally, 300 caregivers will participate in a randomized controlled trial to examine the efficacy of the La Fuerza-STEM workshops on changing caregivers’ informal science attitudes and practices. Throughout, the project will address the overarching research question, How can a culturally relevant telenovela be used to improve Latinx caregivers’ science self-efficacy, career awareness, and informal science practices? Project findings and products will be publicly disseminated through publications, conference presentations, and local partner organizations, with an eye toward open access and data sharing. The project will generate knowledge about the effectiveness of embedding informal science content in a culturally-grounded medium—the telenovela—in improving caregivers’ confidence and competence to engage in informal science learning experiences with their children. With an anticipated audience of 7 million, the potential impact of the telenovela on caregivers’ informal science attitudes and practices is enormous. By implementing workshops with local organizations, the project aims to be self-sustaining, building the capacity of community partners to provide families with services targeting informal science knowledge and skills long after the grant has ended.This Innovations in Development project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to (a) advance new approaches to and evidence-based understanding of the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments; (b) provide multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences; (c) advance innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments; and (d) engage the public of all ages in learning STEM in informal environments.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.