Collaborative Research: Advancing language research and outreach in a language museum

该奖项由美国国家科学基金会推进非正式STEM教育项目资助。这个项目在语言研究人员和Planet Word之间建立了伙伴关系，Planet Word是一个位于华盛顿特区的专门研究语言的新博物馆，旨在吸引博物馆参观者参与科学研究和推广。所有年龄和背景感兴趣的博物馆参观者都被邀请参加一系列与语言相关主题的行为研究。这个互动研究的“活语言实验室”包括伴随的教育演示。这些活动将导致基础设施和最佳实践的发展，使未来的语言研究人员能够在Planet Word和其他类似的网站上与公众接触。作为参观博物馆的一部分，该项目通过让游客参与一些活动，让他们了解有关语言的活跃科学，从而提高对科学的理解。例如，该研究考察的主题包括理解是什么让某些美国手语更容易学习，为什么我们更容易理解我们认识的人而不是陌生人，以及我们在阅读短信时与阅读正式写作时是否会有不同的想法。在这样做的过程中，该项目提高了语言学在公众中的形象，并促进了对语言的科学态度。该计划亦提供重要机会，向公众传播有关的研究成果，并提高博物馆参观者、学员及博物馆职员对STEM课题的兴趣。该项目为学生创造了教育和研究的机会，他们将在实践课程中接受培训，并将在博物馆环境中获得第一手的研究和推广经验。通过马里兰大学、霍华德大学和加劳德特大学的研究人员的合作伙伴关系，该项目扩大了未被充分代表的少数民族学生在语言科学领域的参与，寻求使继续从事语言科学和相关STEM领域职业的学者渠道多样化。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。

This award is funded with support from NSF's program for Advancing Informal STEM Education.This project develops a partnership between language researchers and Planet Word, a new museum devoted to language in Washington D.C., to engage museum visitors in scientific research and outreach. Interested museum visitors from all ages and backgrounds are invited to participate in behavioral research studies on a range of language-related topics. This "living language laboratory" of interactive studies includes accompanying educational demonstrations. These activities will lead to the development of infrastructure and best practices that will allow future language researchers to engage with the public at Planet Word and other similar sites. The project enhances scientific understanding by engaging visitors in activities that expose them to active science about language as a part of their visit to the museum. For example, the research examines topics from understanding what makes certain American Sign Language signs more learnable, to why it is easier to understand people we know rather than strangers, to whether we think differently when we are reading a text message compared to reading more formal writing. In doing so, the project raises the profile of linguistics among the general public and promotes scientifically informed attitudes about language. The project also provides key opportunities to disseminate research findings of interest to the public and to promote greater interest in STEM topics among museum visitors, as well as student trainees and museum staff. The project creates educational and research opportunities for students, who will be trained in a hands-on course, and will gain first-hand experience with research and outreach in a museum setting. Through the collaborative partnership of researchers from University of Maryland, Howard University, and Gallaudet University, the project broadens participation of underrepresented minority students in the language sciences, seeking to diversify the pipeline of scholars continuing in careers in the language sciences and related STEM fields.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.