Scientists in Action: Connecting Students to Scientists
DMNS creates experiences that inspire wonder,cultivate curiosity,and encourage individuals to partake in critical thinking with others. Our educational programs capitalize on a child’s innate sense of wonder in order to expose them to science through the use of Museum collections, educationally sound activities, and the expertise of our educators and scientists. Technology affords us opportunities to accomplish these goals further by offering “learning without walls”. Scientists in Action breaks down barriers for students and gives children direct access to scientists so that they see scientists as real people full of passion who inspire others to pursue their own interests. SIA aims to empower students to envision themselves as scientists and find science relevant to their lives.
About You
About You
First Name
Robert
Last Name
Payo
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Organization Website
Organization Phone
303.370.6014
Organization Address
2001 Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO 80220
Organization Country
United States
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
More than 5 years
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Innovation
Entry Form title
Scientists in Action: Connecting Students to Scientists
What change do you want to bring to the world?
DMNS creates experiences that inspire wonder,cultivate curiosity,and encourage individuals to partake in critical thinking with others. Our educational programs capitalize on a child’s innate sense of wonder in order to expose them to science through the use of Museum collections, educationally sound activities, and the expertise of our educators and scientists. Technology affords us opportunities to accomplish these goals further by offering “learning without walls”. Scientists in Action breaks down barriers for students and gives children direct access to scientists so that they see scientists as real people full of passion who inspire others to pursue their own interests. SIA aims to empower students to envision themselves as scientists and find science relevant to their lives.
What are the primary activities of your project?
View video for overview: http://www.dmns.org/sia-promo
Scientists in Action (SIA) is designed to:
• Familiarize and inspire students with ongoing, authentic scientific research
• Connect students directly with scientists in a two-way interactive format.
• Deliver broadcasts originating from a unique location (e.g. spacecraft assembly labs, forensic crime labs, archeology dig sites, observatories, collection vaults, etc.) that students would not otherwise be able to access due to their remote nature or unavailability to the general public.
• Provide multiple experiences for students learning about scientists and his or her research through a pre-visit video, guidelines for students to develop questions, and the live broadcast. Offered together, these experiences are intended to scaffold student learning to support retention of content. The 20-minute pre-visit video profiles the scientist and their research to personalize the content.
• Allow, students to interact face-to-face with scientists in an engaging, inquiry-driven session
• Expose students to Museum collections rarely seen by the public.
• Provide an opportunity for students to practice critical thinking, communication and technology skills.
Participants located in the Museum auditorium or in their school classrooms are connected via narrow-band satellite with the scientist in the field or lab using video conference equipment. This technology supports 21st century learning and allows DMNS to connect its scientists nearly anywhere in the world, broadening access for rural and at-risk audiences throughout Colorado and across the nation.
What is innovative about your initiative? How is it a new contribution to the field?
An innovative aspect of SIA for 21st century classrooms is that it highlights the work of DMNS scientists and their colleagues–allowing for a broad range of content, access to unique locations and exposure to a diversity of scientists in terms of gender and ethnic background. Scientists are chosen for their skill to enthusiastically communicate their science to a lay audience. While other distance learning programs can teach science concepts, these programs are rooted in putting a personal face to science and STEM careers. Students readily see the passion these scientists have about their work while viewing the pre-visit videos. This energy, combined with the students’ introductory ‘meeting’ with them via media and/or TV-based channels, elevates the scientists to quasi-celebrity status in the eyes of participating students. The live broadcasts create an atmosphere of anticipation and excitement. We have seen great moments where students even rush up the to scientists to get an autograph!
Through the effective use of cutting-edge technology, both teachers and students are exposed to the possibilities of using mediums such as video conferencing, Skype, or HD broadcasting as a way to open their classrooms to the world. The use of these technologies in the classroom, particularly with younger audiences, is in its infancy and the Museum is taking a leadership role in utilizing them.Scientists in Action demonstrates how such technologies can provide students experiences with scientists that are personal, immediate, and directed by student interest and curiosity.
What stage is your project in?
Operating for more than 5 years
Tell us about the community that you engage? eg. economic conditions, political structures, norms and values, demographic trends, history, and experience with engagement efforts.
SIA is open to all interested participants, but the primary target audience is 4th-8th grade students, with a focus on schools that have higher percentages of at-risk students. In the past two years, onsite audiences have consisted primarily of students from the seven-county Denver Metro area. Approximately 50% of SIA broadcast participants reside outside the state of Colorado, including Montana, where 3-6 schools attend SIA sessions each month. Each year SIA does a portion of its programming for home school audiences.
Our most current demographic survey data of student participants:
• African American: 16%
• Asian / Pacific Islander: 3%
• Caucasian: 56%
• Hispanic-Latino: 23%
• Native American: 2%
• Children (4-11 Years): 58%
• Adolescents (12-18 Years): 25%
• Young Adults (19-25 Years): 2%
• Adults (25-64 Years): 15%
SIA has recently grown to serve an even broader and more diverse audience. (This will be reflected in future demographic data.) In 2010 64% of SIA participants were low-income students, with the majority of them within 80-89% on the Free and Federal Reduced Lunch Program.
Student and teacher surveys indicate that the program makes a real difference:
“I want to be a scientist and now I know another kind of scientist I could be.”
“I learned that being a scientist is fun!”
“I enjoyed it because we actually got to understand a scientist's point of view, and I learned about why astrobiology is important, and what steps are taken when new life is discovered.”
Share the story of the founder and what inspired the founder to start this project
Founded in 1900, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science traces its origins back to pioneer and naturalist Edwin Carter. Carter assembled one of the most complete collections of Colorado fauna and eventually these specimens were displayed at The Colorado Museum of Natural History (now Denver Museum of Nature & Science), incorporated on December 6, 1900.
Today the Museum continues to evolve, expanding in both size and breadth of activities. Scientists in Action’s origins are based on a grant from Janus Foundation, a pilot program called R@DIUS (Research at DMNS: Investigating and Understanding Science) in 2003. The pilot was a partnership between DMNS and Rocky Mountain PBS to connect DMNS Chief Curator, Dr. Kirk Johnson directly with students. Subsequent broadcasts were conducted over several years on an iterative basis until the newly named Scientists in Action program was offered as a regular part of school programming in 2007.
Since its inception, Distance Learning Coordinator Gianna Sullivan has headed up the program with additional support from the Museum’s Digital Media department. With a spectrum of students uninspired by their science textbooks and passionate scientists behind office doors it seemed natural to bring these groups together. Thus SIA was born. The previous R@DIUS model was not sustainable, adaptable nor as interactive as Gianna envisioned. The program has served over 14,000 students from over 15 states over the last 4 years. Distance Learning has also expanded into virtual classes as this market continues to rapidly grow.
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
Please describe how your project has been successful and how that success is measured
To measure these distance learning outcomes, participating students and teachers are asked to complete a survey at the end of a Scientist in Action program. Teachers are asked to comment on the program, the educator and the quality of technology. Since the inception of the program, Distance Learning has received over 3,000 evaluations from teachers and students regarding the program. During 2010, the Museum projected that 70% of participating teachers would report finding the program to be a valuable tool and to support state and national education standards. 98% of participating teachers reported that this program met the state standards. Evaluation surveys indicate:
*Approximately 90% of student participants report that they enjoy the program
* Approximately 90% of student participants reported that the broadcast gave them a better understanding of what a scientist does from day to day.
*100% of teachers report that they would like to have their students attend another broadcast within a year
How many people have been impacted by your project?
More than 10,000
How many people could be impacted by your project in the next three years?
More than 10,000
How will your project evolve over the next three years?
We have developed a five year plan for SIA. Some highlights:
1.Market expansion:In 2010, DMNS Distance Learning programs opened up to national audiences so more students would have access to this unique program. Further expansion in local & national markets is expected.
2.Shift towards videoconferencing software: Identifying funding sources to purchase videoconferencing software solutions will significantly reduce schools’ need for expensive hardware to receive broadcasts-making it less expensive, and more accessible for schools to participate.
3.Social media:Polls, chat discussions, and other means of audience response will be utilized for greater interaction with audiences at a broadcast.Online chats with scientists in between broadcasts will also allow for more interaction.
Sustainability
What barriers might hinder the success of your project and how do you plan to overcome them?
Primary barriers:
1.Reaching children in low-income and/or underperforming schools: Many of these schools have little time or resources for field trips or special projects
2.Availability of bandwidth needed to access the broadcast.
Challenges will be resolved in several ways:
1.The Museum’s programs, including SIA, address state content educational standards. Teachers can access information on which standards programs address, enabling them to integrate the students' Museum experience with learning outcomes
2.With assistance from DMNS’ scholarship pool, low-income participants’ program fees ($6/student) are reduced or waived for schools coming to DMNS to experience it. Grants have allowed us to keep this program free for students participating remotely.
3.The Museum has built strong relationships with low-income and underperforming schools and at-risk youth groups. Staff will continue to build rapport with schools and groups nationally.
4.Colorado was awarded a $100 million grant to address bandwidth needs of the state’s 178 school districts. This greatly improves the capabilities of rural and at-risk schools across the state.
5.DMNS partners with Denver Public Schools, connecting classrooms to SIA broadcasts for free. DMNS partners with Colorado EAGLENET and Montana’s VisionNet to make programming available in rural areas.
6.Funding support for new developments in software will make it easier for schools to access SIA broadcasts without the need for expensive videoconferencing hardware equipment. This new development will allow exponential growth in the number of schools that can participate.
Tell us about your partnerships
Technical Network Partners: Vision Net, EAGLEnet
One of the greatest challenges in providing live broadcasting programming is having the technological infrastructure to support it. EAGLEnet has helped us in rural areas that may not have the resources to support distance learning, requiring a technical network partner to connect and assist them. Through federal funding, EAGLEnet is also setting up the infrastructure for larger bandwidth across the state, significantly increasing the feasibility for live programming for schools to connect. Similarly, Vision Net is helping us connect to their networks in Montana schools.
Association and Distribution Partners: Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC), eNet Colorado, Colorado Distance Learning Assocation (CDLA):
Through distribution channels provided by CILC and Colorado eNet, SIA has had exposure locally and nationally to promote our unique kind of programming to a larger audience. CDLA is a new organization for state contacts, connecting content providers (such as DMNS) with school districts, tech communication providers, and universities.
Colorado School Partners: Denver Public Schools, Aurora Public Schools:
Through local school contacts, we have provided multiple, ongoing and/or yearly programming for a select number of schools that recognize the value of repeatedly connecting students to scientists.
Internal Partners: Working closely with our teacher professional development and curatorial staffers, we have collaborated internally on grant funded efforts supporting both teachers and students.
Current annual budget of project, in US dollars
$50,001‐100,000
Explain your selections
SIA is a program that is heavily supported by Museum operations. The Museum has an excellent business, strategic, and fundraising plan that will help ensure the long-term sustainability of its programs. The Museum relies on a mix of revenue sources to offset its annual operating expenses, including admissions; gifts and grants from foundation and corporations and federal government agencies; memberships; the City and County of Denver; net retail from the gift shop and food service; program fees; and yield from the DMNS Foundation. This mix of funding sources is vital to sustaining a healthy organization that avoids reliance on too few sources of revenue.
Specifically for SIA, we recently secured funding from the Morgridge Family Foundation to upgrade our equipment. This upgrade includes camera and wireless equipment that was needed to improve our ability to broadcast from the field. The mission of the Morgridge Family Foundation is to become a leader in venture philanthropy so that the neediest of the needy will have greater opportunities to receive quality education. DMNS is a recipient of the Morgridge Family Foundation’s Innovation Grant. The Innovation Grant has been created to “support innovative educational entrepreneurs”. The Morgridge Family Foundation wants to “provide incentive to those individuals who are going to spark ideas, expose us to the exceptional, and force us to imagine the unimaginable.”
In addition, our growth in fee-based virtual classes, first offered this year with great success, will help to offset costs incurred through SIA.
How do you plan to strengthen your project in the next three years?
Increased funding: Identifying sources of funding to support our technical needs to expand and enhance our reach as well as scholarship support to attract low-income and/or high-risk youth groups for our broadcasts.
Building relationships: Cultivating existing and new relationships at local and national levels, especially:
-School districts: Deepening relationships with existing district partners by tailoring broadcasts to their specific needs, including teacher-oriented broadcast sessions with scientists to build teachers’ content knowledge; establishing new relationships, especially with districts locally and nationally expanding their distance learning options
-Technical network partners: Working in tandem with these partners to provide better service to schools and their needs
-Local, state, and national stakeholders: Participating in discussions with key stakeholders and interested parties including those within universities, STEM education initiatives, etc.
Programming improvements: Making programs more personally meaningful to students through social media: chat discussions, polls and other ways of engaging audiences using technology tools; Revising programming using the Museum’s science education framework—a research-based, museum-centric process to develop programs more effectively; more in-depth experiences for students to connect to researchers through multiple-week programming
Technology: Building out our infrastructure to support software-based videoconferencing for broader access and enhancing our broadcasting capabilities
Partnerships and Accountability
Please tell us more about how your partnership was formed and how it functions. What specific role does each partner play? What unique resources does each partner bring to the initiative?
Technical Network Partners:
EAGLE-Net (http://www.co-eaglenet.net): As we were looking into reaching schools outside of the Denver area, we consistently came across problems in trying to support schools and their technical needs to receive the live broadcasts. EAGLE-Net provided the technical bridge and the regional support to work with rural schools. Since schools’ ability to receive live broadcasts varies from district to district and even school to school, this partnership has been essential for us to reach a rural audience in Colorado. In addition, EAGLE-Net was awarded a large-scale grant from the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) to establish a public-private partnership to bring broadband serve to school districts, libraries, and other community anchor institutions across Colorado. Colorado is lagging behind in terms of a technical network infrastructure and this grant will help to build out a network that will need quality content such as SIA once the network expands and is up and running.
Vision Net (http://www.vision.net/): We have been fortunate enough to reach out to schools in Montana through our partnership with Vision Net. Vision Net established a network within Montana in 1995 and has been a vital reason why remote learning is possible in across Montana and the region. Through Vision Net, we have had several schools and also university contacts with repeated programming that students would not be able to receive without the network.
Association and Distribution Partners:
Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC): (http://www.cilc.org/) CILC serves at one level as a clearinghouse for educational programs via videoconferencing. We are able to list and promote our programs to CILC members as a contributing member of content providers under CILC. This has allowed us to expand our reach in over 15 states. CILC also serves as a hub for schools that are interested in connecting to other schools for remote, shared experiences. These types of experiences could result in future options for joint programming through partnerships with schools or other organizations
eNet Colorado (http://enetcolorado.org/ ) and the Colorado Distance Learning Association (http://www.colodla.org/) are organizations we keep in contact with to keep a pulse on what is happening in the state in terms of providing information for teachers and the initiatives towards distance learning in Colorado.
School Partners:
One example of our school partners is North Middle School in Aurora, Colorado. We have an ongoing relationship with the school, broadcasting every month to their students. The school has a health science focus and is interested in ways of getting their students excited about careers in science.
How are you building in accountability for students' successful STEM learning outcomes? Please provide a summary and examples.
Due to the in-depth nature and multi-experience of the Scientists in Action program, students demonstrate ownership by reviewing the pre-video, pre-visit activities, and formulating questions for scientists that they can personally ask.
In 2010, through the SIA program, DMNS anticipated that 70% of participating students would report gains in awareness of scientific research and the process of science. 90% of participating students reported gains in awareness of scientific research and the process of science, and 67% said that participating in the broadcast helped them better understand what scientists do from day to day.
In the future, we plan to develop additional support materials for teachers to integrate their SIA experience into their curriculum, especially when it comes to understanding the scientific process, inspiring students to think scientifically, a better understanding of how science research is conducted, and other points that are inherent in state and national level standards in science and cultivating those moments that spark an individual child’s curiosity.
Research shows that not only do free-choice science learning experiences jump start a child’s long term interest in science topics, they also can significantly improve science understanding among populations typically underrepresented in science (Falk & Dierking 2010). Experts also suggest that early engagement in science, even through informal pathways, eventually can lead to careers in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics more surely that top grades in school (Sparks 2011).
Needs
Investment, Human Resources/Talent, Marketing/Media, Research/Information, Innovation/Ideas.
Please use this space to elaborate on your selection above and/or to add needs that may not be listed.
In order for us to expand our reach and to make it more feasible for more schools to participate in our program, funding is essential. This funding is primarily for equipment and software that enables us to reach schools without requiring them to have expensive hardware, a common barrier for most schools. Since we are utilizing a model that is relatively unique in connecting students directly to scientists, we are eager to learn from others and share ideas. When it comes to collaboration, having other partners and their resources (e.g., universities, local centers, out-of-state school districts) that can help us connect to new audiences or new formats of programming has great potential in creating greater impact through SIA.
Offers
Human Resources/Talent, Marketing/Media, Research/Information, Collaboration/Networking, Innovation/Ideas.
Please use this space to elaborate on your selection above and/or to add offers that may not be listed.
We can certainly share with others what we have learned. Since we have created our capacity to run these programs through our own processes of trial and error, we can offer our suggestions and advice for other community leaders and organizations. Cross-promotion or joint programming is also possible. Recently, we did a joint distance learning project with the Milwaukee Public Museum where we had an extended 6-week experience connecting researchers with Milwaukee and Denver-area students learning about mammoths.
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| 94 weeks ago Robert Payo updated this Competition Entry. |
| 94 weeks ago Robert Payo updated this Competition Entry. |
| 94 weeks ago Robert Payo updated this Competition Entry. |
| 96 weeks ago Robert Payo updated this Competition Entry. |
| 96 weeks ago Robert Payo submitted this idea. |
