Crystal Atlantique

Outreach to Students

Principal investigator: Leo MacDonald

Research focus:

Our research focus is to examine the effects of outreach on student involvement/participation and enjoyment of science. We are also examining the connections made between theoretical and applied science from the perspectives of students, both at the K-12 level and the university level.

Theoretical Framework:

University outreach programs are becoming more frequent and subsequently ways to evaluate their effectiveness is being examined (Krasny, 2005; Stamp, 2005). Some of the current research examines the effect that these outreach programs have on the understanding of science that is developed in the school-aged participants (Van’t Hooft, 2005). Other work looks at how outreach activities conducted in workshops and camps for children can be re-created into professional development activities for teachers to bolster their understanding of the teaching of science (Acerra, 2004; Harasty, 2004). This research will look primarily at the effect on the student’s understanding of the science being examined at this chemistry camp but we are hoping to extend this research to make recommendations for teachers about how the children best examine and work with the information being provided to them here.

The second part of this focus relates to Service Learning. Service Learning is a growing pedagogical focus at many universities and StFX is the leading Canadian university offering service learning activities. Service learning, (as a form of experiential education where learning occurs through a cycle of action and reflection as students work with others through a process of applying what they are learning to community problems and, at the same time, reflecting upon their experience as they seek to achieve real objectives for the community and deeper understanding and skills for themselves (Eyler & Giles, 1999)) would seem to fit well within the context of science inquiry-based learning. However, across universities, there has been a low enrollment of science students in service learning opportunities (Eyler & Giles, 1999). It is a goal of the StFX Service Learning Program to increase the number and types of opportunities available to science students.

Rationale and Relevance:

One set of activities that need to be evaluated are those activities offered through the Chemistry summer camps offered through the Department of chemistry, led by Dr.Truis Smith Palmer. These camps have been offered for the last few years and all sessions are coordinated by one of our scientist partners, Dr. Smith Palmer, and offered by professors and trained students in the Department of Chemistry. Dr. Smith Palmer ensures that all standards for safety are met during these camps.

For the past two summers outreach activities through a Chemistry Summer Camp were presented in a 'fun' environment to stimulate interest in chemistry and increase the receptivity of students to the academic curriculum science taught at school. The outreach activities were designed to be ‘showy’ but expose students to the language of science. Thus when they enter the science classroom at school, the words used (diffusion, gas, solution, reaction rate, enzyme, catalyst, mole, etc.) might be more familiar to them and, if the camp meets its’ objectives, chemistry will be associated with 'fun'. The outreach activities were carried out in four week-long summer camps. Different age groups attended each camp, starting with elementary students in the first camp and ending with junior high students in the final camps. The effectiveness of the outreach activities are being compared and integrated with later science education research taking place in the schools.

With regards to the service learning, recommendations will be made to StFX science faculty about ways their courses and students could experience the benefits of service learning. In addition, connections may become clearer for community organizations about ways that service learning activities could be incorporated into their programs.

As such, a number of activities have been a part of this research. We have completed a literature review on the level of participation from science departments in service learning activities. We have begun interviewing StFX university students who have participated in science related service learning activities. We have also interviewed StFX university professors who have participated in science related service learning activities.

We are beginning to visit community partners who have either participated in, or have suggested currently unsuccessful science related service learning activities and collect data through informal conversations. This year we have worked with a CRYSTAL funded service learning science intern to examine what has been happening in science related service learning activities. We are just beginning to examine what other universities offer by way of science related service learning activities. From this research we will be able to make suggestions and recommendations about ways we can enhance the opportunities for StFX students to participate in science related service learning activities.

Activities and Accomplishments:

In this project we have had three successful years of the summer chemistry camps and their pre-camp school visits. The numbers of camps have increased from one in the first summer to four in the second summer increasing participation from approximately 25 students to over one hundred. We have successfully interviewed participants and presented the information at two conferences. We have developed large resource binders of appropriate activities for each of the four age groups involved in the camp.

In the last year we have increased the number of camps to seven in the summer of 2007 with over 160 participants. We have hired four university student camp leaders/researchers who not only lead the camp activities but also coordinated the collection of data. This past summer, we also introduced new data collection techniques, using iPods to collect student conversation on a daily basis. We also interviewed the camp leaders and are currently interviewing parents of participants.

The service learning component of this project began this year with the hiring of a Service Learning Science Intern who has assisted us in establishing service learning projects in science courses at StFX. We have also been awarded a Service Learning MacConnell Foundation grant of $5000 to assist in this project. We have established relationships with eight science professors at StFX who are offering service learning activities in their courses, four of them for the first time. We have done preliminary interviews with two professors and their students, as well as surveyed over 120 student participants. We have presented one paper on this portion of the project and won a ‘best paper’ award for this work at the Clute Institute in Orlando, Jan. 2008 Conference.

Outcomes of the research:

To increase awareness and enjoyment of science
To increase involvement in science activities
To improve research skills of university students
To increase science literacy of young people
To help university students make connections between theoretical and practical aspects of science
To expose students to extra-curricular science activities during the summer and determine the effect of this intervention on

their interest in science over both the short and long term.
their aptitude in science over both the short and long term.

The increase in the number of participants in both the chemistry camps and the service learning demonstrate that we are meeting our outcomes. Our summer students have developed a number of skills in the areas of interviewing, survey construction, transcribing.

Impact of the work:

The research has impact the design of the summer camps being offered by scientists at StFX. The School Board is openly supporting attendance at the summer camps and has welcomed the chemistry presentations into many elementary schools in the local area. The service learning projects include activities in local schools and have been promoted by the School Board. All the service learning projects include community partners and this has had a positive influence on the relationships between the university and the community, and in particular, has promoted science related activities within the community.

Connections between CRYSTALs:

As an outcome of the last National CRYSTAL meeting in Edmonton in the fall of 2007, StFX established a Blackboard discussion site for all those involved in Outreach activities and we led the discussion at that meeting in the area of Outreach. The use of this site is an on-going form of sharing amongst the participants from the five CRYSTAL projects.

Future vision of the work:

Both elements of this project, the Chemistry camps and the Service Learning, are well established and are growing as they progress. Participation in both is increasing and we have developed new and innovative forms of data collection in each part of this project. We will continue to collect data in both parts of the project, working with students, professors, teachers, and community members. We plan to present on the service learning project at CSSE 2008 and have an article on the Chemistry Camp ready to submit. Elementary science teachers will be invited to participate in the Chemistry camps in the summer of 2008 and in Service Learning, we are continuing to invite more professors to participate and with the goal of enhancing awareness about ways to increase participation in science related service learning, we are planning to report at an International Service Learning conference for the fall of 2008.

List of publications:

Referred Articles

Sherman, A. & MacDonald, L.A. (2008). Mentoring in an after school Science Program for High School Students, Canadian Journal of Science, Math and Technology, in press

MacDonald, A.L. & Sherman, A. (2006). Children's perspectives on building science models, Education 3 to 13, 34(1)Pitman Publishing: London, UK, 89-98.

Conference Proceedings

Sherman, A. & MacDonald, A.L. (2008). Service Learning Experiences in University Science Courses, a paper presented at the Clute Institute, Orlando, FL, Jan. 2008 (won a ‘best paper’ award).

List of refereed conference presentations:

Jan 2008
“Service Learning Experiences in University Science Courses”, a paper presented at the Clute Institute, Orlando, FL, received Best Paper award.

June 2007
“Entering the World of the Child Through Interviews”, a paper presented at the 19th Annual conference of the Ethnographic and Qualitative Research Conference, Cedarville, Ohio.

May 2007
“Chemistry Camp Experiences for Six and Seven Year Olds”, a paper presented at the Canadian Society for the Study of Education, Saskatoon

April 2007
“Summer Chemistry Camps for Young Children” with Leo MacDonald (co-presented) a paper presented at the National