Vital Signs: Lessons from Building a Statewide Science Learning Environment

Session Title: Vital Signs: Lessons from Building a Statewide Science Learning Environment

Presenter: Sarah Kirn, Manager, Vital Signs Program, Gulf of Maine Research Institute

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Time & Date: 3:30 P.M. - 4:15 P.M., Thursday, August 13, 2009

Location: Rm. C100

Session Description: The Gulf of Maine Research Institute is developing a community-based science education environment that connects middle school students, citizen scientists, and scientists in the collection and analysis of environmental data related to invasive species. Vital Signs leverages open source technology to enable students to practice scientific inquiry, collect rigorous and consistent data, share the data and knowledge they have collected, and to serve as a distributed data collection partnership for the scientific community. We have learned many lessons in the course of developing this project.

Lesson one: Teachers perceive huge value in connecting their students to the scientific community. It is a commonly-expressed opinion that when the products of students? learning are shared beyond the walls of the classroom the learning is more meaningful and therefore effective. A program that offers authentic participation in a community of practice has great appeal for teachers. Open technology strategies can be pivotal in creating meaningful communities of practice, but are not sufficient to grow them without a corresponding human strategy.

Lesson two: While teachers are eager for opportunities to collaborate with one another, the present-day K-12 teaching culture does not place any value on teachers sharing what they do in their classrooms. Nor are teachers blessed with sufficient free time to create engaging, innovative curriculum from scratch. Creating a vibrant, self-perpetuating online community of teachers remains a challenge for Vital Signs. We are concentrating on fostering personal connections between teachers in during intensive summer institutes, but we know that this has limited potential for scaling. Our hypothesis is that if we cultivate personal connections between teachers (as well as citizen scientists and other program participants), provide a simple online venue for them to continue their in-person collaboration, and reward them for their online contributions to the community, we will begin to change practice.

Lesson three: Even in the state of Maine, which has the nation?s first statewide 1:1 laptop program implemented in grades 7 and 8, not all students have the same access to software and the internet. Much of the inconsistency and limitations in place are applied locally (e.g., school districts commonly block web access to YouTube, e-mail, and wikis). All of the restrictions are intended to protect students from inappropriate online materials. Any local restrictions make it exceedingly complex to create an open education environment.

Lesson four: Resolving the licensing issues for creative materials produced by minors in the course of schoolwork has been greatly simplified by the CC-0 license, however, adequately explaining these licenses to participants, especially student participants and their parents, remains important.

Lesson five: Creating a state-wide, next-generation science learning environment that contributes knowledge to the scientific community is a charismatic goal. Success hinges, however, on leveraging the existing research base, responding to learning standards, and collaborating with relevant stage agencies.

We propose to share our experiences with and responses to these lessons.