Exec Summary-Lessons Learned 03-08-11

8/4/2019 Exec Summary-Lessons Learned 03-08-11

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Lessons Learned rom10 Years o Changing the Face o Science

PROJECT EXPLORATIONChanging the Face of Science


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Lessons Learned rom 10 Years o Changing the Face o ScienceNew Study Validates Project Explorations Youth-Science Education Model

2011 Project Exploration, all rights reserved2

Lessons Learned rom 10 Yearso Changing the Face o ScienceNew Study Validates Project Explorations Youth-Science Education Model

A 10-year study o the impact o Project Explorations programs on 1,000

young peoples lives tells us that our personalized, out-o-school time(OST) model or urban teenagers plays a central role in their educationand career decisions. Graduates o Project Exploration programs get and stay involved with science, graduate in impressive numbers romhigh school and college, and pursue proessions in science, engineeringand math. For us, however, the most important lesson rom this researchis that OST science programs, which put youth at the center o high-caliber science experiences alongside scientists, can undamentally changeaccess to wider academic and economic opportunities or entire communities o students who are usually writteno by traditional science education strategies.

BACKGROUNDSince 1999, we have seen how Project Explorations personalized out-o-school time programs in science canhave a signicant, long-lasting impact on our students. For years our alumni have provided us with powerul andhumbling testimonials about lie-changing experiences theyve had while working alongside scientists here inChicago and on expeditions in the Western United States. We ocus on students traditionally overlooked by scienceeducation: 85% o students participating in PE come rom low-income amilies, primarily Arican-American andLatino, and 74% are girls. We particularly target students who may not be academically successul, and we havereceived recognition locally and nationally or our work to level the playing eld in science: in 2009 we received thePresidential Award or Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, and in 2010 we were nameda national model by the Presidents Council o Advisors on Science and Technology.

But we wanted to go beyond anecdotesto better understand the long term, cumulative impact o our youth-sciencemodel over the past decade, and also learn what we could about the importance o OST science programs on youngpeoples lives.

KEY FINDINGS FROM THE RESEARCH STUDYWith support rom the Noyce Foundation, we commissioned a 10-year retrospective study o our alumni rom theCenter or Research, Evaluation and Assessment (REA) at the Lawrence Hall o Science, University o Caliornia,Berkeley. Following the REA study, we sought responses rom the Urban Education Institute at the University o

Chicago and rom Harvards Program in Education, Aterschool andResilience to better understand the local and national implicationso the research. The ndings in Project Exploration: 10-YearRetrospective Program Evaluation: Summative Report, by BernadetteChi and her colleagues at REA are gratiying and thought-provoking.Based on surveys and interviews with 30% o Project Explorationalumni, the report validates our model and our underlyingassumptions that it is possible to demonstrably boost student interestin science in out o school settings and inspire young people to reachor new levels o academic and career achievement.

Data from the report underlines the link between meaningfulexperiences in science, technology, engineering and math known asSTEM learning and the pursuit of science careers. The value of

Project Exploration programs extends beyond simply exposing students to new ways of understanding science asimportant as that is. In fact, the Project Exploration youth-science model keeps students involved with sciencelong after they nish programs. The study notes that among students and alumni:

95% have graduated high school or are on track to graduate, nearly double the overall rate o ChicagoPublic Schools;

60% o students enrolled in a our-year college are pursuing degrees in STEM-related elds; 60% o students who graduated college graduated with a degree in a STEM-related eld.

Project Exploration is thereason Im in Montana, in

college, and majoring in

geology. Before, I didnt have

an interest or passion.

With PE, they stress the fact

that they want you to graduate

high schooland that they

want you to go to college and

graduateits just the people

there, they push you to go

further and far beyond anythingand they dont want you to stop.


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Equally important, researchers ound that Project Explorationsdistinctive youth-science approach plays a central rolein students development as young adults, increasing sel-condence, and verbal, writing and leadership skills.

Yet, the most signicant nding is this: out-o-school timescience programs, which provide students with a youth-centered learning environment, connect students with

practicing scientists and support long-term relationshipswith adults, have a measurable impact. The model hasdemonstrably created access to wider opportunities or entirecommunities o students who are usually written o bytraditional science education approaches.

LESSONS LEARNEDThe Center or Research, Evaluation and Assessment (REA) study investigated two questions:

What was Project Explorations infuence on past participants? What are the organizational practices that support science learning or traditionally under-represented

students in science?Science in School and Work

Through an extensive survey o alumni 18 years and older and ollow up interviews, researchers ound ProjectExplorations programs rom exploring engineering to digging or ossils to training as lab interns boosted studentinterest in science and opened new academic and economic horizons.

Researchers ound in Project Explorations youth-science program design three major dimensions increased sciencecapacity,positive youth development, and engagement in a community of practice that have rendered a powerul eectupon participating students.

88% said Project Exploration introduced them to STEM career options they had not previouslyconsidered;

32% o those surveyed held science-related employment.

For Project Exploration, the results suggest that we are achieving our goals ogettingstudents interested in science,keepingthem interested, and equippingthem with what they need to pursue science.

Community and Possibility

Researchers noted that what is most distinctive about Project Exploration is our ability to build a community opractice and a sense o amily. By putting students interests at the center o our programs and nurturing highlypersonal relationships, Project Exploration equips students with an array o lie skills writing, speaking, leadershipand teamwork that are essential throughout their high school careers and ar beyond.

83% o alumni said they elt part o a special community; 95% said they agreed or strongly agreed that adults showed an interest in my academic success, enabling

students to discuss and explore new educational and career opportunities; 91% agreed or strongly agreed that Project Exploration had increased their sel-condence and 89% elt

better about their utures because o their experiences.

FINDINGS IN CONTEXTAs we raise our heads rom the day-to-day work o building youth-science programs here in Chicago, we seenationally that two-thirds o the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income youth can be explained byunequal access to summer learning opportunities. Science in schoolis necessary, but not sucient or engaging andsupporting students involvement in science. Wide gaps between the scores o white and minority students, poorand more afuent students, and boys and girls in science and math tests in grades our, eight and twelve remainentrenched. This shouldnt be the case.

As part o our report, Gil G. Noam, director o the Program in Education, Aterschool and Resilience at Harvard,reviewed the REA study. Calling Project Exploration pioneers in OST science programs, Noam singled out our ocuson personal connections between students, mentors and scientists. The overwhelming number o students state therelationships really mattered, he observed. They understand that Project Exploration is not just about science andSTEM careers, or about activities in OST. They appreciate the quality o the relationships between sta and students.

I am currently majoring in General

Science, and I am planning to attend

graduate school for a Masters degree

in Environmental Engineering. I have

already completed internships in the

science feld, and I am sure I will have a

career in science in the future.


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We commissioned a second response to the REA report rom SaraRay Stoelinga, senior director o the University o Chicagos UrbanEducation Institute. Stoelinga observed Project Exploration has thepotential to ll a great need in increasing engagement in science andscientic knowledge among Chicago Public School students. Morebroadly, her response notes that Project Exploration is buildingsocial capital or a community o relationships that is criticalto the success o disadvantaged children ocused on learning andengagement in science.

FACING THE FUTUREAt Project Exploration, over the next ew years we will double,to 500, the number o students that are engaged each year in ourintensive youth-science programs, and we will continue to supportour alumni. We will establish an institute with the goal o makingour approach available to others who want to share in this work.And, we will build a Youth Science Center that will oer a nationaldemonstration and learning site or exploring what getting andkeeping students engaged in science along-side scientists canlook like.

We ounded our work by asking big questions:

What does it take to recruit and retain students least likely to get involved with science?

How can science positively change the lives o underserved minority populations, especially girls?

What impact can out-o-school-time science programs have on the educational and career aspirations ounder-represented Chicago middle and high-school students?

What happens when students are brought together withpracticing scientists to work on real, hands-on projects?

At a time when the U.S. is alling behind global competitors inscience and math, can accessible, highly-personalized out-o-school-time programs oer part o the solution to closing the gap?

Now, with the results o the research report in hand, we mustask a new question: How can Project Explorations proven modelbe shared locally and nationally?We believe education in the 21stcentury must provide access to experts, high-caliber, compellingcontent and individualized learning guided by caring adults. ProjectExplorations youth-science model demonstrates what 21st centurylearning can look like in science or those students at highest risko being let behind. This 10-year study tells us science really is oreveryone. Stirring young peoples sense o wonder and curiosity byequipping them over the long haul to pursue their questions andnd community can help change the course o their lives and,ultimately, change the ace o science.

Gabrielle LyonCoounder and Executive Director

I would say they differ from other

outreach, inner-city and minority

(programs) that I have been a part

of in the sense that they really

have this sense of continuity with

their students. They do a good

job at trying to contact people if

theyre losing touch with them.

Theyll make phone calls and send

e-mails so they can give them more

of a sense, like, you know, Its

more than just one thing you did

that summer, its something you

continue to do.

I always loved science but

everyone there really made it fun

and interesting for me to learn.

They have all been so welcomingand just are such a great group

of people that I would always

want around. They are a GIANT

extended family. I LOOOOOOOVE

my Project Exploration family.

Every issue I have ever put in front

of PE has been solved and I feel

at home.


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Read the full report or download publications cited in this summary at

www.projectexploration.org/10years

ProjectExploration10-YearRetrospectiveProgramEvaluationSummativeReport.Bernadette Chi,Ph.D., Juna Z. Snow, Ph.D. with David Goldstein, Shirley Lee, Joo Chung. Lawrence Hall o Science.December 2010.

ContextualizingProjectExploration:10-YearRetrospectiveProgramEvaluationReportReectionMemo.Sara Ray Stoelinga. Urban Education Institute. December 2010.

YouthDevelopment,ScienceLearningandOutofSchoolTime:TheTripleAlliance.Gil G. Noam.Program in Education, Aterschool and Resilience (PEAR). December 2010.

Exec Summary-Lessons Learned 03-08-11

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