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About this paper symposium
| Panel information |
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| Panel 32. Solicited Content: Expanded Learning & Out-of-School Time |
| Paper #1 | |
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| #HacemosCiencias! Promoting informal STEM learning among Spanish-speaking families with young children | |
| Author information | Role |
| Dr. Joy Lorenzo Kennedy, Ph.D., EDC, United States | Presenting author |
| Jessica Mercer Young, EDC, US | Non-presenting author |
| Emely Medina-Rodriguez, EDC, US | Non-presenting author |
| Brandt Richardson, EDC, US | Non-presenting author |
| Abstract | |
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Spanish-speaking families often lack access to culturally-sensitive and concrete information about how to support children’s informal science (IS) learning at home (Gerde et al., 2021; Silander et al., 2018). Yet, studies show that adults who reflect families’ ethnicities and languages can be powerful role models (Egalite & Kisida, 2018) to spark science interest (Bell et al., 2009). This project used a culturally-relevant medium, the telenovela (similar to a soap opera), to model Spanish-speaking caregiver-child engagement in IS activities and participation in science careers. Social-impact telenovelas have successfully supported improved access to educational resources and social services and contributed to shifts in social norms (Singhal, 2007; Singhal et al., 1994) but, to our knowledge, have never been used to support IS engagement. Partnering with Univision, the network with the most Spanish-speaking viewers in the U.S., we developed and tested a culturally-sustaining, asset-based telenovela to foster caregivers’ support of their children’s IS learning and their confidence to engage in IS learning opportunities. Hypothesis. A culturally-relevant social-impact telenovela will improve Spanish-speaking caregivers’ informal science self-efficacy, career awareness, and IS practices. Participants. Participants (N = 218) were Spanish-speaking caregivers of children ages 3-8; the majority (80.7%) were mothers and had family incomes below $50,000 (92.0%). Participants’ cultural heritages varied widely, including México (43.8%), Honduras (8.3%), and Guatemala (7.3%). Participants’ residences included Texas (22.4%), New York (19.3%), California (13.5%), and Illinois (13.5%). Methods. Informed by front-end formative research on the experiences of Spanish-speaking families from underserved communities, we used an iterative, mixed-methods research approach to design and develop the telenovela. To test the impact of the telenovela, we conducted an RCT using five viewing parties before the national broadcast; two parties were held in-person (Houston, NYC) and the remainder were virtual. All participants completed a digital pre-survey during orientation and were then randomized to either intervention (n = 110) or control (n = 108). Both groups watch a telenovela across consecutive days, with the intervention group watching the IS telenovela, and the control group watching a telenovela focused on literacy; we administered a post-intervention survey at the final session. Surveys measured caregivers’ self-efficacy for IS teaching, sense of self as their child’s teacher, view of science as a primary learning goal, and awareness of science careers. Results. Regression analyses showed small, positive impacts on caregiver views of science on several key domains. The intervention group scored significantly higher on: 1) the belief that is important to encourage children’s wonder in the natural world (a rating from 0-100); 2) the role of science in their child’s life (a scale score including items such as, Science activities are very important for children’s learning); and 3) the role of science in their child’s future (a scale score, including items such as, It is important to have good scientific knowledge and skills in order to get a good job in today’s world). Results demonstrate the positive impact of a light-touch intervention – a social impact telenovela – on Spanish-speaking caregivers’ attitudes and beliefs about informal science. |
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| Paper #2 | |
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| Step it out, Wombats! PBS KIDS resources support sequencing skills | |
| Author information | Role |
| Dr. Claire Christensen, Ph.D., SRI, United States | Presenting author |
| Emily Relkin, EDC, US | Non-presenting author |
| Elica Sharifnia, SRI, US | Non-presenting author |
| Megan Silander, EDC, US | Non-presenting author |
| Sarah Gerard, SRI, US | Non-presenting author |
| Janna Kook, EDC, US | Non-presenting author |
| Shari Gardner, SRI, US | Non-presenting author |
| Regan Vidiksis, EDC, US | Non-presenting author |
| Erika Gaylor, SRI, US | Non-presenting author |
| Lucy Nelson, EDC, US | Non-presenting author |
| Elizabeth Hunt, EDC, US | Non-presenting author |
| Naomi Hupert, EDC, US | Non-presenting author |
| Shelley Pasnik, EDC, US | Non-presenting author |
| Abstract | |
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Introduction Computational thinking (CT) is the process of framing and solving problems in ways that can be executed by humans or machines. CT skills include sequencing, algorithmic thinking, problem decomposition, debugging, and using the design process. Early CT skills support acquisition of general problem solving, executive function, and social-emotional learning; school readiness broadly; and future computer science and academic and career pathways (Bers et al., 2022; Burchinal et al., 2022; Madill et al., 2007). However, little is known about how to promote early CT skills. Work It Out Wombats! (Wombats) is a PBS KIDS series focused on CT, developed and produced under the 2020-2025 Ready To Learn program, funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Researchers conducted an 8-week randomized controlled trial of the impact of access to Wombats videos and games on CT and related skills. This is the first study, to our knowledge, to examine the impact of digital media on early CT. Research Questions Does providing 8 weeks of access to Wombats resources improve the following skills among 4- and 5-year-olds in low-income households: • computational thinking, • problem-solving, • social-emotional learning, • ability to use the design process to solve problems, and/or • sequencing? Study Population The sample included 458 children ages 4-5 years from low-income households in seven U.S. cities (Exhibit 1). Methods Researchers randomized participants to treatment vs. control and gave them a condition-specific data-enabled tablet. Control tablets blocked access to Wombats resources; treatment tablets were preloaded with Wombats resources (including 56 videos and 4 games) via a study app. Wombats resources were grouped by weekly CT-related themes (e.g., algorithms). We told the control group to engage with educational videos and games of their choosing, and the treatment group to interact with Wombats resources. Pre-assessments included STEM+C, a measure of CT skills; MEFS, a measure of executive function; and PROMIS EC, a parent-report SEL survey (Blackwell et al., 2022; Dominguez et al., 2022; Carlson & Zelazo, 2017). Post-assessments, at the end of the 8-week study, included STEM+C, PROMIS EC, a picture problem solving task (Fusaro & Smith, 2018), and researcher-developed tasks of sequencing and use of the design process. Results We found statistically significant, positive effects of Wombats access on children’s sequencing skills (p = .03, g = .22), but not CT skills more broadly (STEM+C: p = .34, g = .01), nor on problem-solving skills (picture problem-solving fluency score: p = .44, g = .06; design process assessment: p = .61, g = .01) or SEL skills (PROMIS EC persistence, p = .84, g = .15; frustration tolerance: p = .55, g = -.09; flexibility: p = .76, g =.18). Compared with sequencing, these other skills may be later-developing; may be less concrete to teach and assess; or may require more time, practice, and scaffolding to develop. Wombats access had a greater benefit for sequencing skills in younger children as compared to older children in the sample (β = -.22, p = .047) see Exhibit 2. The effect size for sequencing is especially promising for a short-term, light-touch intervention. |
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| Paper #3 | |
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| Science, play, and community partnerships at a science center: A powerful boost for multilingual learners | |
| Author information | Role |
| Megan Ramer, Connecticut Science Center, United States | Presenting author |
| Janna Kook, EDC, US | Non-presenting author |
| Cindy Hoisington, EDC, US | Non-presenting author |
| Jessica Mercer Young, EDC, US | Non-presenting author |
| Abstract | |
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Children of all ethnicities, cultures and family backgrounds naturally engage with STEM concepts and practices. Children’s informal science (IS) experiences at home and in their communities are at least as important in sparking interest in science as school – and families are especially effective mediators of their children’s early STEM identities (Dabney et al., 2016). Yet, families whose home language is not English may lack access to culturally sensitive, concrete, and specific information about children’s science learning and how they might support it in and out of school (Gerde et al., 2021). Informal science learning environments (ISLEs), such as science centers, can play an important role in fostering early positive experiences with science (Turkle, 2008). Intentional inclusion of multilingual families in trips to ISLEs can increase access to science museums and enhance multilingual children’s learning in the museum environment (Kim & Grace, 2020). Through a research-practice-partnership, the Connecticut Science Center (CSC) and the Education Development Center (EDC), are responding to the critical need to address the unequal distribution of and access to quality IS learning experiences for multilingual learners. Supporting Science Inquiry, Interest, and STEM Thinking for Young Dual Language Learners (SISTEM) investigated how a partnership model among CSC, preschools, and Spanish-speaking families of MLs promote families’ and children’s STEM interests, self-identity, and feelings of belonging in the science community. The partnership aimed to: 1. Forge strong relationships among families, teachers, preschool programs, and informal science educators. 2. Strengthen preschool teachers’ science pedagogy and culturally-sustaining family engagement practices. 3. Power up families as their children’s primary STEM support through parent-teacher workshops, at-home science experiences, and family events at CSC. 4. Engage local STEM professionals, particularly those who reflect children’s cultural and linguistic identities. We recruited 22 classrooms; 11 participated in SISTEM and 11 in the comparison condition. SISTEM teachers recruited 2-4 Spanish-speaking “Focus Families” to engage in family engagement efforts. We also recruited a small sample of monolingual families from comparison classrooms. At the end of the year, 14 Focus and 7 comparison families provided survey data, and we conducted interviews with a subsample of Focus Families. We asked Focus Families and comparison families to report on how often they went to CSC during the years before and during the program, and how often they expected to go in the following year. While Focus and comparison families did not differ in their average number of visits in the previous year, Focus Families reported significantly more visits during SISTEM and more expected visits in the next year (Table1). Families rated items about their feelings of belonging and self-efficacy at CSC. The groups felt equally welcome at CSC, but Focus Families rated significantly higher than comparison families that they knew how to better support their child’s visit (Table2). This work contributes to our understanding of key strategies for supporting families and ML preschoolers to access ISLEs. We will discuss families’ feedback on the factors that contributed to their feeling welcomed at CSC, empowered to support their children’s learning, and supported shifts in their beliefs about STEM. |
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| Paper #4 | |
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| Impact Evaluation of the Technolochicas Program | |
| Author information | Role |
| Astrid Georgina Viveros Lopez, Televisa Foundation Inc, Mexico | Presenting author |
| Irisaida Mendez Iriarte, Televisa Foundation Inc, US | Non-presenting author |
| Abstract | |
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Technolochicas is a mentorship and upskilling program designed to introduce STEM to middle and high school girls, particularly focusing on Latinas and other underrepresented groups in this field. The program goals aimed to inspire and empower students by providing them with the skills and confidence needed to pursue careers in technology. The program features mentorship by college women pursuing STEM careers, providing relatable role models for participants. This study evaluates the impact of the Technolochicas in Mexico. Utilizing an experimental design, 56 schools were randomly assigned to three treatment groups and one control group, encompassing a sample of 1,986 participants with follow-up data from 1,008 participants. The primary objective was to assess the program’s influence on participants’ perceptions of their knowledge, technological skills, interest in STEM subjects, and self-efficacy. The evaluation hypothesized that exposure to Technolochicas, particularly through multiple modules, would enhance participants’ knowledge in programming, web design, app creation, robotics, and general technological skills. It also examined the program’s potential to increase interest in STEM careers, boost confidence in abilities, and raise awareness of successful women in STEM fields. Surveys were administered at baseline and follow-up intervals, with regression analysis applied to estimate the Average Treatment Effect (ATE). Key variables included participants’ knowledge in specific areas, self-efficacy, and STEM career awareness, alongside control variables such as socioeconomic background and access to technology to refine the estimates. The results demonstrated significant positive impacts on participants’ perceptions of their technological knowledge and skills, with improvements ranging from 13 to 31 percentage points. The strongest gains were observed in knowledge of programming, web design, and app creation. Participants completing the full series of program modules exhibited the greatest improvements in perceived technological skills compared to their peers. Additionally, the program heightened interest in STEM subjects, particularly mathematics and biology, and enhanced awareness of STEM career options and role models. The program has also been implemented in the U.S., reaching 1,500 participants across 5 cities, further extending its influence and impact. This evaluation contributes to understanding how targeted STEM interventions can shape educational aspirations and confidence among young women. As the program expands to the U.S., further research will explore its impact across diverse cultural contexts to refine and optimize program delivery for even greater outcomes. Key findings include: 1. Impact on Perception: An increase in the perception of technological knowledge by 10% to 31%, higher confidence in technological skills compared to peers by 15% to 25%, and heightened awareness of STEM careers and enrollment in additional programming courses by 10% to 20%. 2. Academic Interest and Achievement: An increase in interest in mathematics, biology, and other STEM subjects by 10% to 20%, and improved knowledge in electronics and artificial intelligence by 5% to 15%. 3. Self-Efficacy and Awareness: Enhanced self-efficacy in facing challenging tasks by 5% to 10% and improved awareness of successful women in STEM by 5% to 10%. Overall, Technolochicas was successful in fostering among its participants a greater interest and confidence in pursuing STEM fields. |
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Broadening access to science for diverse learners through public facing media and partnership programs
Submission Type
Paper Symposium
Description
| Session Title | Broadening access to science for diverse learners through public facing media and partnership programs |