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Multimedia Science Kits: A Museum Project on Women Scientists and Their Research

JUDY DIAMOND, GARY HOCHMAN, SUZANNE M. GARDNER, BETH SCHENKER, A N D MARIAN LANCAN

A B s T R A c T The University of Nebraska State Museum (UNSM) is creating multimedia outreach kits on the research of women scientists. The collaborative effort has included Nebraska Educational Telecommunications, curricula developers, biographers, graphic designers, and evaluators. The goal of the project is to increase the number of girls interested in pursuing careers in science, and to this end, women scientists are presented as role models. Wondenvise kits target students in grades four through six through student-centered, inquiry- based activities, specimens and tools, videos of the scientists working in the field, resource-based CD-ROMs, and short biographies of the scientists. This project presents a model of how museums can collaborate with schools to improve science education on a statewide basis.

INTRODUCTION

Science and natural history museums are no longer just places to visit. They are also research facilities that are increasingly reaching out to communities, providing materials and expertise to schools, libraries, camps, and programs throughout the United States. One of the most familiar and widely-used types of museum outreach is the loan kit.

Half of all natural history museums offer science outreach kits to schools, and some institutions have been providing this service for over a hundred years (Patton, 1991). There is surprisingly little discussion, however, about developments in outreach kits or evaluation from users on their usefulness in teaching classroom science.

In 1992, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) funded the University of Nebraska State Museum (UNSM) to develop a series of outreach kits. This project, called Wonderwise, is designed to motivate girls to pursue scientific activities and careers. It has involved establishing partnerships with educational institutions throughout Nebraska, evaluating teachers’ use of museum-based science kits in the classroom, and creating multimedia kit materials.

These kits and the initiative that funded them respond to a national concern that relatively few women choose to pursue scientific careers. As adults, women make up

Judy Diamond is associate professor and assistant director for pttblic programs; Suzanne Gard- ner and Beth Schenker are Wonderwise coordinators; Marian Langan is education coordinator, University of Nebraska State Museum, 307 Morrill Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0.332. Gary Hochman is senior producer for science, outreach, and specials, Nebraska Educational Telecom- munications, 1800 North 33 Street, Lincoln, NE 68588-0747.

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less than 16 percent of engineers, scientists, and mathematicians (Hill et al., 1990). Abundant research helps to explain why so few women choose science careers. Over- all, girls have far fewer science-related experiences than boys, both inside and out- side the classroom (Baker, 1992; American Association of University Women [AAUW], 1992). The differences between the sexes in attitudes, interests, and behavior increase greatly through school; and, in many cases, as soon as girls are able to choose what courses to take, they start dropping out of math and science courses (Frederick and Nicholson, 1991). Even when girls excel in science and enjoy it, they do not necessarily choose science careers. High-school girls choose math and science careers in disproportionately low numbers (AAUW, 1992).

Researchers believe that contact with prominent female achievers can help girls overcome their lack of interest in science careers (Baker, 1987). Most girls lack role models who can help to keep them from being deterred by the perceived and real social costs of aspiring to science careers. According to the AAUW (1992), any contact with scientists and their activities can help girls reduce negative stereotypes about the field and begin the process of changing their attitudes about science.

Wonderwise presents the lives of scientists who can be important role models. This project has developed a dual approach to encouraging girls to pursue science. First, the kits introduce science activities that are fully participatory and inquiry- based to encourage an interest in science. Second, the materials interweave the role of women scientists throughout, emphasizing them as accessible and realistic role models. Science is presented as a field that involves exciting and challenging women and men of many ethnic backgrounds. In addition, the biographies provide students with a personal as well as a professional look at the activities of the women scientists. The five women are portrayed as a diverse group, united principally by their commitment to scientific careers.

Front-end and formative evaluation shaped the Wonderwise project both in plan- ning and implementation. At this writing (July, 1996), four kits are complete; 150 copies of each are being distributed for the academic year 1996-1997; the fifth is still being classroom-tested and revised.

PARTNERING WITH THE S C H O O L S

For museum-based materials to be successfully integrated into the schools of an entire state, the involvement from the start of teachers and their supporting institutions is an essential requirement. So the first step in developing the Wonderwise project was establishing partnerships between the UNSM and the schools of Nebraska. Two local school districts (one in Lincoln and one in the western part of the state) have been partners with the museum for many years. Their staffs have served as advisors to the museum’s educational programs, including the development of 30 different loan kits. In 1993, the museum’s kits reached 21,216 students in 41 counties in Nebraska.

In 1991, in preparation for the Wondenvise project, the museum staff contacted educators throughout the state to see if additional partnerships could be formed. Nebraska has more small school districts than any other state, and they are organized

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under an umbrella called Educational Service Units (ESUs). Nearly every school district is served by one of the 19 ESUs, which effectively carves the state into 19 geo- graphic regions. All 19 ESUs agreed to become our partners in the Wonderwise project.

The ESUs serve as distribution centers for the kits and sites for teacher professional development. During June of 1996, each of the 19 ESUs sent a representative to a week-long Wondenvise workshop. Each participant agreed to serve as a mentor to other teachers in his or her region, conducting workshops and assisting with ongoing teacher development. Their activities ensure distribution and effective use of the kits statewide.

A second significant Wondenvise partnership was made with the Nebraska State Department of Education, which agreed to take on a significant portion of the ongoing statewide dissemination of the Wonderwise kits. The department’s Expanding Your Horizons in Math and Science Conferences for Young Women program has taken responsibility for training 46 additional Wonderwise mentor teachers throughout Nebraska. The department has allocated federal Eisenhower funds toward teacher support, workshops, and follow-up. This second partnership has enabled the project to triple the number of teacher mentors.

CANVASSING T H E T E A C H E R S

The next step-learning the need and constraints of Nebraska educators-required extensive surveys. During the first two years of the project, staff learned what kinds of kits Nebraska teachers wanted and how the Wondenvise project should organize its activities to meet teachers’ needs,

Selecting Kit Topics-First, staff surveyed teachers to learn what kit topics would be of most use to them. This survey sampled 183 K-8 teachers from rural and urban parts of Nebraska during November of 1992. The sample included teachers who had used the museum’s previous kits and those who were unfamiliar with them. We obtained the names of the teachers from the 19 ESUs, the Lincoln Public Schools Science Liaison, the Nebraska Statewide Systemic Initiative, and the Nebraska Asso- ciation of Teachers of Science.

Survey respondents were introduced to the project and were asked if they “Would Use Often,” “Might Use,” or “Would Not Use” a list of 33 kit topics and were asked if they would suggest additional topics. The teachers surveyed showed the strongest interest in insects, geography, dinosaurs, rocks and minerals, Indian arti- facts, and Nebraska fossil mammals. These topics correlated closely with major science-curriculum subject areas for Nebraska schools and with the major subject- area strengths of the UNSM.

Learning How Kits Are Used-Next came three surveys of how teachers use kits in their classrooms. Their samples were: (1) 40 teachers at one of the most innovative school districts in the state (April 15, 1993); (2) 61 teachers who are UNSM-kit users (April-May, 1993); and (3) 40 teachers systematically selected from all the 4th-grade teachers in the state (May, 1994). The surveys’ results helped to shape the format of the Wonderwise project.

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Survey Results

Over two-thirds of the survey respondents spend 30 to 60 minutes per day on science. Twenty-one percent spend less than 30 minutes per day.

Over 80 percent of teachers with previous museum-kit experience use them to supplement, but not to replace, the existing curriculum. The kits are used most often for science classes, but over half of the teachers also use them for social studies, writing, and art.

Most teachers who have used museum kits utilize them in teacher-directed activities. Less than half use them in student-directed activities. The Nebras- ka State Department of Education, however, supports multigrade classrooms and encourages student-directed activities, recognizing the variety of developmental levels of students.

Teachers preferred small-sized kits that can be distributed by mail or their ESU and easily stored in classrooms.

Between $20 and $100 was an accept- able cost for purchasing a kit (within that range, the amount varied regional- ly). Most teachers said they would purchase kits if they cost $50 or less. About a third of the 4th-grade teachers have between $10 and $50 in annual discre- tionary funds to buy science materials for their classrooms, and about one- quarter have between $50 and $100.

Classrooms in Nebraska vary enor- mously in their available technology, but all teachers have access to a VCR. Teachers welcomed video as long as it was used with, rather than replacing, participatory activities.

Three-quarters of the 4th-grade teachers surveyed were interested in incor- porating the museum's science kits into their district-wide curricula. In Nebras- ka, each school district is responsible for deciding its own curricula.

Wonderwise Format

Each Wonderwise kit contains five activities organized into 50-minute blocks, with the maximum amount of flexibility in the sequence of use.

Wonderwise activities are designed to be used in science, math, social studies, and art classes. Biographies are included for their use in reading classes.

Wonderwise activities are student- centered, using the teacher as resource and guide.

Wonderwise its fit in a cardboard box (10 x 13" x 4 ) that is easily sent through the mail or stored in the classroom.

The Wonderwise kits are loaned to teachers at no cost from their local ESU. On loan from the museum, the kits are available for $10 per week to cover ship- ping and replacement costs. They will also be available for purchase when they are distributed by a publisher.

The videotapes and the CD-ROMs in the Wonderwise project were designed with maximal flexibility, so that kit use is not dependent on the availability of the appropriate technology.

The museum works with individual school districts, the ESUs, and the Nebraska Department of Education to help schools incorporate Wonderwise into ongoing curricula.

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Further Evaluation of Teacher Needs-A video teleconference on June 10,1993, further assessed the needs of rural vs urban elementary teachers. This conference included 16 elementary teachers at five sites throughout Nebraska: Omaha, Lincoln, Norfolk, Chadron, and Alliance, along with the Wondenvise staff. The five sites ranged from the most urban locations in the state to the most rural. The video conference enabled urban teachers from large school districts in Omaha and rural teachers from remote parts of western Nebraska to discuss their opportunities and limitations for teaching science.

The participants emphasized that the distinction between urban and rural teachers was less important than access to centers that provide training and dis- seminate innovative materials. Contrary to expectations, not all rural teachers are “resource poor.” For example, some rural teachers in western Nebraska are sophis- ticated in their use and knowledge of innovative science materials because they are served by local science and math learning centers. Others have poor access to any science materials and have to drive up to two hours to obtain a single microscope.

Overall, teachers in the urban parts of the state were eager to have access to materials about women scientists. Teachers in the more rural areas were primarily concerned with access to curricula and support materials, and only secondarily interested in the fact that the kits would be concerned with women scientists.

DEVELOPING T H E K I T S

The kit elements that emerged from the front-end research served as a taking-off point for assembling a team and creating the kits.

Overview of the Kits-The five classroom kits target upper elementary grades four through six. Each kit focuses on the research of a different woman scientist and contains the following:

A 10- to 15-minute video profile of the scientist and her work. Five 50- or 60-minute classroom activities. Hard-to-get materials and specimens needed to support the activities are included in the kits. An illustrated biography-the life of the scientist and an account of her research. Three of the kits contain an interactive CD-ROM. This element is Macintosh- and IBM-compatible.

Assembling the Development Team-The development of the kits involved a col- laboration between the UNSM and video producers at Nebraska Educational Telecommunications (NET), NET’S interactive-media group, a professional science writer, a children’s science activity writer, a production researcher, and elementary teachers, including those who left teaching to work for UNSM for the project’s dura- tion. Each aspect of the kit was developed by experienced individuals who were willing to coordinate their efforts with those of others working on different kit elements. Nearly all of the decisions about the kit format, content, and subjects were made jointly by the educators and media producers. This ensured meeting teachers’ needs and achieving professional media standards.

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The Sea Otter Biologist kit includes an activity book, biography, video, CD-ROM, and materials to support the activities.

THE WONDERWISE TEAM CONSISTED O F Curriculum Developers: Suzanne Gardner

Project Director: Judy Diamond, UNSM. Supervising Video Producer: Gary Hochman, senior producer, science, outreach, and specials, Nebraska Educational Telecommunications. Sea Otter Biologist, Pollen Detective, and Plant Explorer were produced by Gary Hochman. Rainforest Ecologist was produced by Bruce Thiel, and Parasite Sleuth was produced by Joe Turco; both were supervised by Gary Hochman. CD-ROM Producer: Kara Sheil, Interactive Media Group of Nebraska Educational Telecommunications. Designer: Martin Almanza. Acquisitions and Permissions: Beth Schenker.

developed the activity books for Sea Otter Biologist, Pollen Detective, and Parasite Sleuth. Linda Allison developed the activity books for Rainforest Ecologist and Plant €xp/orer, Suzanne Gardner provided all trial testing and revisions to all five activity books. Biographer: Mary Knudson. Graphic Designer: Rayna Collins. Evaluators: Amy Spiegel, Nebraska Math and Science Initiative; Mark St. John, Inver- ness Research Associates; and Roger Brun- ing, Center for Language, Cognition & Instruction at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

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One of the five kits, Rainforest Ecologist, was developed as a joint prqject of the UNSM and the Oklahoma Museum of Natural History (OMNH). Oklahoma’s BZO- TRACKS project, also funded by the HHMI, includes a traveling exhibit and secondary-school curriculum guide about Janalee Caldwell’s research. This project, called Life in a Nutshell, served as a reference for the kit activities. OMNH provided drafts of their materials, background information, and photographs. (UNSM also displayed the Life in a Nutshell exhibit during our statewide mentor-teacher workshop in June 1996.)

Selecting the Scientists-The five women scientists were key to the creation and development of the kits. Their work underlies all of the kits’ contents.

On a practical basis, selecting the scientists turned out to be one of the most difficult aspects of the project. Scientists were sought who had earned their doctorates and were well recognized by their peers in their areas of expertise. We looked for individuals with diverse ethnic backgrounds who were willing to commit time to the project, whose research lent itself to being portrayed on video, and who were conducting their research during the time frame we had available for taping. Finally, their research had to have some relevance for 4th- through 6th-grade science classes and their curricula.

A broad net was cast. Project staff contacted national organizations that serve or make awards to women and minority scientists; they reviewed articles and other publications that feature women in science, and they used existing networks to get referrals of people. Some organizations, such as the National Biological Service, contacted their center directors, who provided lists of their women scientists and their research activities. The overwhelming majority of the people contacted were enthusiastic about the project and the possibility of participation.

Brenda Ballachey is a research physiologist and project leader, Sea Otter Oil Spill Studies project at the Alaska Science Center of the National Biological Service. She studies the impact of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on sea otter populations.

Margaret (Peg) Bolick is an associate professor and curator of Botany, UNSM. Bolick studies the pollen from habitats ranging from paleontology digs to Antarctic marine and glacial sediments. She specializes in airborne allergenic pollen, working with local physicians and forensic scientists.

Pollen Detective scientist Peg Bolick looking at a light microscope image

of pollen.

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Janalee Paige Caldwell is an assistant professor, Department of Zoology and assistant curator of herpetology and amphibians, OMNH, and is a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. She studies the life cycle of poison frogs from Ama- zonian Brazil.

Fatimah L. C. Jackson is a professor of biological anthropology at the Uni- versity of Maryland. She studies common African crops, such as cassava and sorghum, from which she develops insecticides to reduce the numbers of malaria- causing mosquitoes. Jackson also studies genetic variation among African Ameri- cans (Wheeler, 1995).

Judy Sakanari is course director of medical parasitology at the University of California, San Francisco. She studies the genetics of the nematode that causes the human disease anisakiasis.

People and Plants features the work of Fatimah L. C. Jackson. (Photo by Susan Muniak.)

Parasite Sleuth scientist Judy Sakanari helps teachers dissect an Ascaris worm. (Photo by Tom Slocum.)

Video Production-Videos of the Wonderwise research were designed to provide students with a realistic profile of the field and laboratory work of prominent women scientists. The videos serve as “taped field trips” for students, especially those in rural areas, who rarely have access to a scientist in a school setting. Each video presents the unique style and character of the scientist and provides insights into the events that motivated her to pursue her research interests. For example, in the Pollen Detective kit, students learn that palynologist Peg Bolick provides daily pollen counts to physicians and that she is allergic to almost everything she studies. To give students the most accurate portrayal of the scientist at work, volunteer crews docu- mented a wide variety of research activities in diverse locations ranging from Nebraska prairie fossil excavations (Plant Detective) to African cassava fields (Plants and People). In each case, the cameras allow the students to witness actual research activities as they happen.


For the Sea Otter Biologist kit, the production crew taped Brenda Ballachey and her associates in Alaska observing sea otters, radio tracking them from an airplane, and diving to obtain samples of prey items.

For the Rainforest Ecologist kit, Janalee Caldwell was taped collecting amphibians in her backyard pond and then searching for frogs in the rainforest in San- tarem, Brazil.

For the Parasite Sleuth kit, the production crew taped Judy Sakanari teaching a medical-school class, fishing from her boat in Bodega Bay, assisting staff in identi- fying parasites in fresh fish at a San Francisco fish market, collecting parasite samples with collaborators at the Marine Mammal Recovery Center, discussing ancient parasites in amber with a colleague, and catching ticks alongside a stream. Since she became interested in parasites as a result of finding them in her mother’s raw fish, Judy is also portrayed with her husband and parents, eating her mother’s sushi.

Activity Books: Curriculum Development-Each activity book includes five 50-60 minute classroom activities related to the topic of a particular scientist’s research. The activities are designed to be easy for teachers to use, requiring only materials that are provided in the kits or that are readily available in the classroom.

Project staff were guided in the development of the classroom activities by several national efforts at science-curriculum reform. Of particular value were the works of the National Research Council (1990, 1996), the Project 2061 report on biological and health sciences (Clark, 1989), and the Kellogg Foundation’s report, How to Unravel Science Mysteries for Young Minds Without Unraveling (Kellogg Founda- tion, 1993). These provided several guideposts. For example, wherever possible, mathematics was integrated with the science lessons. The activities were designed to be participatory and inquiry-based, so students would view science as a constructive process requiring their creativity. They are student-centered to allow students of varying abilities to work at their own pace. The teacher is asked to play the role of support and guide, not leader, when needed.

During our project, the State of Nebraska initiated Mathematics and Science Frameworks (Nebraska State Board of Education, 1994), and the activities were integrated with them.

Trial testing (formative evaluation) of the activities followed procedures estab- lished long ago by Elementary Science Study (Educational Development Center, 1968) and Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (Lawrence Hall of Science, 1974). As activity ideas were developed, they were tested with small groups of students. If successful, they were then tested in elementary classrooms in two phases. First, the activities were introduced by the Wondenvise curriculum developer and observed by the classroom teacher. Using the classroom teacher’s comments, the activities were then revised. In the second phase, the classroom teacher presented the activities with the curriculum developer observing. Again, on the basis of the feedback, the activities were revised. Finally, the drafts went to an editor and then to the graphic designer for the final design and production. Activities in four of the kits are as (the fifth activity book is still under development) listed here:

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Sea Otter Biologist 1. Otters in Action. Observe a videotape of sea otter behavior in Alaska.

2. Kelp Critters. Make a kelp forest community in your classroom. 3. Fragile Waters. Learn about the Exxon Valdez oil spill and participate in five

4. Otter Smorgasbord. Investigate how much food a sea otter needs to eat dur-

5 . Tracking Otters. Learn to locate by sound as you discover how scientists track

Record and graph the social behavior of sea otters.

investigations on the properties of oil.

ing the first year of life.

sea otters.

Pollen Detective 1. Pollination. Identify flower parts and engage in pollination role play. 2. In Search of Pollen. Dissect a flower to find pollen. 3. Medical Mystery. Analyze a pollen sample to find what makes Tasha sick. 4. Flower Engineers. Design and build flowers to attract particular pollinators. 5 . Pollen Tracks. Find the plants of ancient environments by “digging” for pollen

in artificial rocks.

Parasite Sleuth 1. Classy Parasites. Work with a partner to create a classification system for a

2. What Is a Parasite? Observe, describe, and dissect an Ascans worm. 3. Pet Parasite Detective. Observe and draw a tick and a flea and then examine a

4. Parasite Sleuth. Solve four mystery diseases by finding the problem parasite. 5 . The Traveling Tapeworm. Locate and place the stages of the development of

variety of parasites.

pet for these ecto-parasites.

the beef tapeworm in a life-sized human gut.

Rainforest Ecologist 1. Nutty Investigations. Strength-test different nuts by building a nutcracker and

2. Frogs Up Close and Personal. Design a background to camouflage your poi-

3. Build a Tree. Design and build a rainforest tree that will stand alone. 4. Rainforest in Your Room. Create a diverse rainforest community. 5. Life in a Nutshell Game. This activity challenges players to develop from eggs

then fat-test the soft meaty inside.

son frog.

to larvae to adults in a Brazil-nut capsule.

Biographies-Each kit includes a short biography on the life and work of the scientist. We modeled ours on two existing projects that had created biographies on women scientists. The first, developed by the Teachers’ Laboratory,’ was aimed at middle-school students and included titles on three women-an astronaut, a veteri- narian, and a geologist. The second, developed by The Equity Institute,’ featured titles on 15 American women scientists and was intended for lower elementary grades. The Wonderwise biographies were written to appeal to an audience directly between the two series, upper elementary grades four through six.

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Parasite Sleuth. Working in groups, students build life-sized paper models of a human digestive tract, investigate the stages of the life cycle of the beef tapeworm, and place each stage on their models.

The biography of Pollen Detective scientist Peg Bolick allows teachers to use the kits for reading as well as science classes.

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CD-ROM Production-CD-ROMs were produced for three of the five Wonderwise kits: Sea Otter Biologist, Rainforest Ecologist, and Parasite Sleuth. The use of CD- ROMs in outreach kits is uncommon among museums, but they are popular with upper-elementary students. The Nebraska State Department of Education estimates that virtually all of the schools in the state have at least one computer with a CD- ROM player that is accessible. Usually, it is located in the school’s media center. Roughly 20 to 25 percent of teachers have the capability to bring the CD-ROM player into their classrooms for their own use. About three-quarters of all of the CD-ROM equipment used in the state is only Macintosh-compatible. At this time, relatively small numbers of teachers regularlv use CD-ROMs with their regular classroom curriculum, but a very large portion of the students use CD-ROMs for school work.

Cover screen for the Sea Otter Bio/og,st CD-ROM. A click on the buttons on the screen lets the user explore video on scientist Brenda Ballachey, oil spill geography, Alaska kelp- forest plants and animals, details about the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and resources relating to sea otters, oil spills, and women in science. All text IS available in English

,

1 and Spanish

C U R A T O R 3913 * S E P T E M B E R 1996 185

On the basis of the evidence we had, we designed the CD-ROMs to be as flexible as possible. They are dual formatted and run on either Macintosh- or IBM-compatible computers. They are primarily designed as interactive resource guides, from which to get additional information about the scientist and the topics of the kit. The information combines graphic, video, and textual elements, most of which are not available in the rest of the kit. The CD-ROMs are designed to be used by individual students, rather than by the teacher, and they try to accommodate students’ diversity. All of the text and narration are provided in both English and Spanish, and difficult words are high- lighted, so a single click on the cursor produces the definition of the word.

Users can interact with the Rainforest Ecologist CD-ROM in English or Spanish. Buttons on the screen allow users to see video about scientist Janalee Caldwell, learn tropical rainforests’ geography, meet the Brazil Nut Tree Community, view videos on rainforest destruction, and explore resources on rainforests and women in science, including those found on the World-Wide Web.

The Rainforest Ecologist CD-ROM lets users explore the animals studied by scientist Janalee Caldwell. Each is dependent on the Brazil Nut Trees. Agoutis, small South- American rodents, open the nut capsules to release the seeds. Poison frogs, toads, damselflies, and mosquitoes make their homes in the empty capsules.

Click on each of the three squares and learn where tropical rainforests are found and how their distribution has changed over time. Users can view video clips of the tropical rainforests from different parts of the world.


CONCLUSIONS

Museum kits can be useful to classroom teachers. However, whether museum kits help improve science teaching depends largely on several concerns. Museum kits need to be trial-tested in the classroom and revised on the basis of comments from classroom teachers. All too often, museums produce kits with little or no feedback from the classroom, and they consider themselves successful because many teachers will continue to use kits as long as they are easy to get and inexpensive. However, this does not guarantee that they are used well or that they are being used to encourage positive attitudes about science.

Museum kits can be vehicles to make students and teachers aware that science is a broad set of activities performed by women and men who are racially and culturally diverse. The Wondenvise project represents an important test of whether museum-based materials can play a role in educating students, not only about scientific topics, but also about who scientists are and what they do in their jobs. These approaches can help encourage students, who are themselves racially and culturally diverse, to pursue scientific careers.

Finally, just as classrooms have become places where learning takes place through various media, so too can kits provide learning experiences as diverse as the students who use them. The Wondenvise project provides a model for how this can be accomplished.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) for making this project possible. In addition, we would like to thank the HHMI staff, who were helpful in every respect. We would also like to acknowledge the tremendous contributions made by the five scientists featured in this project. They spent hours assisting the development staff, gathering and reviewing materials, and opening their personal and professional lives to the project.

We would also like to thank Mike Winkle from NET, Rosemary Thornton and Edith Meints from the Lincoln Public Schools and Deb Romanak from the Nebraska Department of Education. Finally, we would like to acknowledge Trixie Schmidt and Carol Engelmann for their work in the early stages and on the front-end evaluation, Amy DeMerell for surveying the 4th-grade teachers, Medea Hermann for CD-ROM research, and Sara Long for assembling kits.

REFERENCES

American Association of University Women. (1992). How Schools Shortchange Girls. Washing- ton, DC: American Association of University Women Educational Foundation.

Baker, D.R. (1987). “The Influence of Role-Specific Self Concept and Sex-Role Identity on Career Choices in Science.” Journal of Research in Science Teaching 2418~739-756.

. (1992). “I Am What You Tell Me to Be: Girls in Science and Mathematics.” A S K Newsletter 201415-46, 14.

Clark, M. (1989). Biological and Health Sciences: Report of the Project 2061 Phase I Biological and Health Sciences Panel. Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Diamond, J. (1994). “Sex Differences in Science Museums: A Review.” Curator 37/1: 17-24. Educational Development Center. (1968). Elementary Science Study. New York, NY McGraw-

Hill Book Co.

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Frederick, J.D., and Nicholson, H.J. (1991). The Explorerk Pass: A Report on Case Studies of

Fox, K. (1993). “Moving Science from Museum to School.” Science 262: 174. Hill, O.W.; Pettus, W.; and Hedin, B.A. (1990). “Three Studies of Factors Affecting the Attitudes

of Blacks and Females Toward the Pursuit of Science and Science-Related Careers.” Jour- nal of Research in Science Teaching 27/4:289-314.

Kellogg Foundation. (1993). How to Unvavel Science Mysteries for Young Minds Without Unrav- eling: A Summary o fkssons Learned. Battle Creek, MI: W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Lawrence Hall of Science. (1974). Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies. Berkeley, CA: Regents of the University of California.

National Research Council. (1990). Fulfilling the Promise: Biology Education in the Nation’s Schools. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

National Research Council. (1996). National Science Education Standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Nebraska State Board of Education. (1994). Mathematics and Science Frameworks for Nebras- ka Schools. Lincoln, NE: Nebraska Department of Education.

Patton, E. (1991). “Natural History Loan Materials for the Classroom.” In Paisley S. Cat0 and Clyde Jones (Eds.). Natural History Museums: Directions for Growth. Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech. University Press.

Wheeler, D. (1995). “Biological Anthropologist Pursues Her Taste for the Big Picture.” The Chronicle of Higher Education 41/46:10-11, 16.

Girls, Math, Science and Technology. Indianapolis, IN: Girls Incorporated.

NOTES

1. 2.

Teacher’s Laboratory, Inc., P.O. Box 6480, Brattleboro, VT 05301 The Equity Institute, P.O. Box 30245, Bethesda, MD 20814