| NSF Org: |
DRL Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 26, 2015 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | May 15, 2019 |
| Award Number: | 1515507 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Valentine Kass
DRL Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2015 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2019 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $2,790,201.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $2,846,606.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2017 = $636,367.00 FY 2019 = $56,405.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
172 4TH ST E SAINT PAUL MN US 55101-1492 (651)229-1347 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
MN US 55101-1492 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): |
RES ON GENDER IN SCI & ENGINE, AISL |
| Primary Program Source: |
04001718DB NSF Education & Human Resource 04001920DB NSF Education & Human Resource |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds innovative resources for use in a variety of settings. In this project, Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) will produce Latina SciGirls, a fourth season of the Emmy Award-winning television and transmedia project SciGirls. Latina SciGirls includes six half-hour television episodes of SciGirls filmed in Spanish, showing groups of Hispanic girls and their Latina STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) mentors investigating culturally relevant science and engineering problems of interest to Hispanic communities across the U.S. Television mentors and girls will be filmed in Hispanic communities in the southwest and southeastern U.S. and represent various cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. TPT will also create a series of family and girl-friendly online role model video profiles in Spanish and English of Latina STEM professionals. In addition to the media components, the project will provide opportunities to connect girls and their families with in-person Latina role models and STEM programming via community outreach in diverse Hispanic communities across the country. The goal of the project is to promote positive STEM identity development in middle school-age Hispanic girls. Hispanic women are the largest group of minority females, constituting 8% of the U.S. population, however, the participation of Hispanic women in science and engineering is significantly low: in 2010, just 2% of all of the scientists and engineers in the U.S. workforce were Hispanic women. The approach to Latina SciGirls is rooted both in research-based strategies proven to engage girls in STEM, and the need to address specific barriers that prevent many Hispanic girls from participating fully in STEM activities. These barriers include lack of STEM identity (girls' perception of themselves as scientists or engineers), limited exposure to STEM role models, and low parental engagement and English proficiency. Research shows that Hispanic girls have high interest and confidence in STEM, and a strong work ethic, but lack support and exposure to STEM professionals.
TPT will uniquely leverage the power of national media and outreach to enable Latina STEM professionals to interact with girls and their families both onscreen and in person. Latina SciGirls episodes will be broadcast nationally by PBS and the nation's largest Hispanic network, Univisión, and streamed online at PBSKids.org. Resources will be made available to additional Spanish-speaking communities nationwide through the NSF-funded outreach program, SciGirls CONNECT, and through partnership with the National Girls Collaborative Project. TPT will commission an external research study with the University of Colorado-Boulder, which will test the hypothesis: The SciGirls model, when augmented to address specific barriers to STEM engagement of Hispanic girls ages 8 to 13 and their parents, will promote the development of positive STEM-related identities in Hispanic girls. In this capacity, the study will investigate Hispanic girls' personal experiences engaging with the project deliverables and how those experiences contribute to their STEM-related identity development against cultural and gender-based stereotypes. An external evaluation by Knight-Williams, Inc. will include front-end, formative and summative phases. The front-end evaluation will involve stakeholders in the development of a Spanish language program that features culturally appropriate storylines and showcases Latina STEM professionals. Formative evaluation will include focus groups of girls and families offering their reactions to the appeal and perceived value of the program. Summative evaluation will capture the reach of the broadcast, online components and community events. TPT will disseminate the research and evaluation findings through presentations at national conferences, including the American Education Research Association, National Science Teachers Association, and at www.InformalScience.org. The project's evaluation and research about the complexities of the cognitive and experiential factors that influence Hispanic girls' STEM identity development will contribute to the field's understanding of this subject and the larger efforts of broadening minority women's participation in STEM.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Twin Cities PBS (TPT)?s Latina SciGirls goals were to increase the number of Latinx girls pursuing STEM career paths by showing Latinx girls and women successfully participating in STEM; and to advance the understanding of: a) how culturally responsive and media-enriched STEM experiences contribute to Latinx girls engagement in STEM, and b) how SciGirls outreach programs that include the use of role models, affect the development of STEM identity of Latinx girls.
Media: The fourth season of SciGirls premiered on PBS in February of 2017. The season received a Day Time Emmy Nomination for Best Educational Series. The episodes feature different groups of Latinas and STEM mentors.
- Baile Digital/Digital Dance: SciGirls in Queens, NY, unite to create a high-tech dance show.
- Gallinas de Ciudad/City Chickens: SciGirls hatch a plan! Alexa and her friends design and build a chicken coop for an urban farm in Denver.
- Escuadr?n Espacial /Space Squad: Texas SciGirls team up with a NASA materials engineer and create their own water bottle insulators, bringing space science to life on Earth.
- Atletas Maravillosos /Awesome Athletes: SciGirls in San Diego \ team up with a sports medicine physician and create a fitness boot camp.
- Mejorando Procesos /Process Power: These SciGirls partner with an industrial engineer to design a streamlined service plan for a food bank to help high school students in need.
- Asombrosos Arboles/Terrific Trees: The majestic trees of Puerto Rico catch the attention of SciGirls in San Juan who explore the benefits that big trees bring to their ecosystems.
Outreach: SciGirls trained 32 educators from 16 educational organizations to run Latina SciGirls programs. The programs ran over two years (with different girls) involving 1,000 girls and family members. Programs included summer camps and afterschool programs that integrated Latina SciGirls resources including a family closing event. Episode-aligned STEM activities in English and Spanish are at http://www.scigirlsconnect.org/ and https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/scigirls/.
- Finding Your Balance (Awesome Athletes): Design an investigation to learn about balance.
- Home Sweet Home (City Chickens): Design and build a model of an animal habitat.
- Industrious Engineering (Process Power): Learn about industrial engineering in a race to make as many take out containers as possible.
- Insulator Innovator (Space Squad): Create a holder to protect your favorite water bottle.
- Locker Lights (Digital Dance): Create a circuit that lights up your life!
- Stop and Animate (Digital Dance): Animate your own creative story.
- Terrific Trees (Terrific Trees): Learn how your local trees measure up.
Role Model Videos: TPT created short-form films of Latina STEM professionals for educators. They were collected into a 30-minute Emmy Award-nominated special, Latinas at Work. These videos feature a woman in a STEM profession, her personal life, challenges and advice to girls. Ten are in Spanish and two are in English. Since their launch in 2017, they have garnered 749,423 views. They can be seen at http://pbskids.org/scigirls/ as well as on SciGirls CONNECT, TPT.org/scigirls, SciGirls YouTube channel, on PBS LearningMedia.
Online: SciGirls? fourth season included 77 new quests in Spanish for ?Rule the Roost,? a monthly game featuring IRL activities visited by 200,000+ youth annually.
Broader Impact: Episodes have been broadcast on public television stations nationwide and streamed on PBS Kids.org and the PBS Kids Video App. Media is available for educators on PBS LearningMedia and the SciGirls CONNECT. Episodes also stream on Amazon and on SciGirls? YouTube channel. Episodes garnered 13,456,383 million views online on PBS platforms and 788,000 viewer impressions on PBS. They also are airing on Vme, a Spanish-language cable channel available in 15.5 million households in the U.S.
Intellectual Merit: TPT commissioned a research study to investigate the experiences of young Latinas participating in informal STEM programs and an external evaluation of educators trained on implementing Latina SciGirls outreach.
Research: Dr. Brad McLain, CU-Boulder, conducted a mixed methods research study with girls. Findings suggest that sites employing a well-designed synthesis of the SciGirls Strategies generated positive indicators of STEM-related identity development over programs that did not. STEM identity impact included emotional connection to STEM and enjoyment of STEM. Both of these occurred through the establishment of personal relevance made possible by multiple modes of social engagement (peer-to-peer, role models, parents, leaders) and are critical elements of durable STEM-related identity development.
Evaluation: Knight Williams, Inc. conducted the external evaluation. Evaluation of training showed that 90% of educators stated that the training improved their ability to engage Latinx families in STEM; address STEM barriers that young Latinas may encounter, and integrate Latina STEM professionals into programs. Evaluation on the use of media showed that a majority of educators found the episodes very valuable. A majority of parents strongly agreed that the closing Family Fiestas provided greater awareness of STEM professions and that participating in the Family Fiestas increased their daughters' interest in STEM careers and high school STEM studies.
Last Modified: 12/02/2019
Modified by: Rita Karl
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