Stem squared 4 9 13_academy

Out of School Time Professional Development: Science Action Clubs

Courtney [email protected] Action Club Project Manager

April 9, 2013

California Academy of Sciences

The Academy’s approach to professional development in out-of-school time

• New knowledge, attitudes, skills and career goals for leaders

• Build bridges between in and out-of-school• Foster multiple alliances and connections via CoPs• Blended & virtual learning


OST Programs at the Academy

6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th Undergraduate Grade Level

TASC ForceN=60

Science Action ClubsN=400

Careers in Science (CiS) N=35

Student Science Fellows

N=10 CiS Program

AssistantsN=4

Digital Learning ProgramsN=30

Learning Labs with SF Public Library, CAS, KQED, BAVCN=100s-1000s

Inte

nsi

ty


Science Action Club ProgramPromoting leadership in OST

• Offer OST professional development for frontline staff

• Youth in grades 6-8th in afterschool programs

• STEM curriculum linked to national citizen science projects

• Promote professional networks

Sparking interest in science!


Professional Development Design Principles


Areas of Impact

YouthActivityLeaders

Alliance Teams

• Engaging, hands-on STEM experiences

• Increasing confidence & competence in leading STEM activities

• Bridging in- and out-of-school program advocates

Partnerships

• Building a leadership network


Support for Activity LeadersProviding resources and emphasizing co-learning

• Blended professional development Training in citizen

science

• STEM curriculum module

• iPads as teaching tools

• SAC Alliance and Network


• Team ApproachAccredited science teacherAfterschool Site

CoordinatorAfterschool Activity Leader

• Building bridges between the school day and informal learning environments

• In prototyping stage; evaluation is ongoing

Alliance TeamsSchool site teams supporting SAC implementation


• Hands-on STEM learning

• Citizen science research experiences

• Club identity

• Ladder of leadership

• Digital technology

SAC Experience for YouthIgniting the spark for science

Youth being scientists

What is citizen science?

In citizen science, people everywhere can use basic, scientific protocols to report observations of natural events.

Buds…

Birds…

Frogs and other amphibians…

Butterflies and other insects…

All help us put the puzzle together…


• Getting outside for observation in habitat

• Authentic way to engage in STEM learning

• Motivating—their data make a real contribution

• Jumping off point for investigations that mirror professional science

What does Citizen Science provide for youth?


A sampling of Citizen Science projects

The Great Sunflower Project

http://www.greatsunflower.org/


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/88/Galaxy_zoo_logo.jpg


Celebrate Urban Birds Citizen Science Project


Celebrate Urban BirdsEngage in authentic science experiences in OST






Citizen Science in Afterschool


Science Action Club - Impact on PartnershipsThree-fold increase in hours of OST STEM per six week session

Before SAC After SAC0

10

20

30

40

50

60

15

51

Num

ber

of h

ours

Questions?

Courtney [email protected] Action Club Project Manager

Education

Stem squared 4 9 13_academy