Copy of presentation delivered at Quebec STEM symposium. (note: some videos will not appear in slideshare): https://sites.google.com/site/quebecstem2012/

1. S.T.E.M. Symposium 2012
Québec Secondary Science-Technology and Math Educators Conference
Innovation: New perspectives in Mathematics, Science and Technology
Education
June 27th - June 28th 2012
Montreal, Canada
Darlene Cavalier
Darlene[at]scistarter[dot]com
www.scistarter.com
www.sciencecheerleader.com
Please contact author for permission to repurpose content/images.

2. More can be done.

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4. Goals
• Raise interest in/understanding of science.
• Grow the ranks of citizen scientists.
• Encourage citizen involvement in research
projects and policy discussions.

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“Public is dumb.” Scientists are weary.

6. International comparison:
American adults rank 2nd
in civic science literacy.
Professor Jon Miller (U of MI).

7. CIVIC SCIENTIFIC LITERACY IN THE
US, 1988 – 2005
[MILLER, J.D., 2007]
100
90  In 2005 U.S. Ranked Second only to
80
Sweden in Civic Scientific Literacy
70
 Civic Scientific Literacy in the U.S. ,
60
while still low, has tripled between
50
1988 and 2005.
Percent CSL
40
30
20
10
0
87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
More can be done.
Year

8. Brain Makeover:
Become Science Literate.
The Science Cheerleader, Dr. James Trefil and
the 76ers Cheerleaders are here to help!

9. Brain Makeover.
Trefil’s 18 Science Concepts.
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Brought to you by the 76ers Cheerleaders!

10. Who knew?
• Trefil campaign caught media’s eye and
uncovered new marketing/messaging
vehicle: The Science Cheerleaders.
• There are more than 200 current and
former NFL and NBA cheerleaders
pursuing STEM careers.

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12. Sparked Science of NFL Football Series
Projectile Motions, Vectors, Velocity and Acceleration, Geometric
Shapes, Newton’s Laws of Motion, Torque and Center of Mass…

13. We found our audience.
• Estimated 3 million CHEERLEADERS
in U.S.
– Strong athletes, leaders in their schools
and communities, trendsetters.
• Untapped source of future, female
STEM leaders.

14. Science Cheerleaders set Guinness World Record
with Pop Warner Cheerleaders.

15. 2, 4, 6, 8….

16. Equals 20!!!!

17. COMMUNICATION AS
ENGAGEMENT
 Little evidence exposure to information per se leads to
either deeper understanding or an ability to
incorporate scientific knowledge into better decision
making.
 Important to think about communication as a process
of mutual interaction and a seeking of understanding,
rather than simply as a means to transmit knowledge
accurately to the public.
 When science is not emotionally satisfying, it will fail
to address deeper questions of identity and personal
experience and will be rejected in favor of less reliable
sources of information and advice.
-- Judith Ramaley, Science Literacy for the 21st Century
More can be done.

18. 270million
people visit
science centers
each year, worldwide
50 million
involved in citizen science

19. To find projects, citizen scientists
have to search and search
About 137,000 results

20. Darlene Cavalier
www.scistarter.com

21. We are a website
that connects
regular people
to
real science
they can do.

22. Millions of people
enjoy
science & nature.
Thousands of
scientists need
volunteers.
But they can’t find
each other.

23. We
We
connect
Scientist image
connect
them and cit scientist
images tk to
them illustrate “we
connect them”

24. Someone you know is a
CITIZEN SCIENTIST
eBird Water testing SETI@ home
1.5 million 500,000 5 million
reports monitors volunteers

25. We’re NOT talking home chemistry kits

26. Recording Analyzing wild Building
colors of algae species affordable
backyard snail for their satellites for
shells to help potential to missions in
determine if produce atmospheric
they’re biofuels. physics to
changed with microgravity
our warming experiments.
climate.

27. Citizen science yields
SERIOUS SCIENCE
Co authored Showed that Discovered
dozens of birds migrate cocaine &
peer-reviewed closer to hormones in
papers poles due to Puget Sound
global warming drinking water

28. Searchable database of projects.
To make it easier for people to learn about and get involved in projects.

29. National media partnerships:

30. University of Waterloo’s Snow Tweets
goal Help researchers calibrate accuracy of snow measurement tools
task Measure snow where you are, tweet or upload your geotagged data

31. Big Cheer for Science!
Monitor earthquakes for
United States Geological Survey

32. Citizen Science in Space!
ArduSat, Nanosatisfi
Put YOUR citizen science experiment in space.

33. What motivates participants to act?

34. To advance fields of research.

35. To connect/protect nature.

36. Personal enrichment, satisfy curiosity.

37. To shape emerging fields.

38. Money.

39. Community/civic concerns.

40. Community/civic concerns.

41. “Citizen science has helped democratize science
and helped people to understand they can have
an influence on science by being a part of it.”
Rick Bonney, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
More can be done!

42. Citizen Scientists

43. PUBLIC OPINION ABOUT
SCIENTIFIC ISSUES
 Science literacy only accounts for a small fraction
of variance in how lay public form opinion about
controversial issues of science.
 Accurate communication and understanding of
science cannot separate policy decisions from
values, political contexts and necessary trade-offs
between costs, benefits and risks.
[ Nisbet and Scheufele, 2009]

44. Report emphasizes the need
to incorporate citizen-
participation methods to
complement expert analysis.
Decentralized expertise
(tapping the knowledge of
scientists across the nation)
and citizen engagement
Redefines technology
assessment model
New model provides
opportunities to generate
input from diverse public
audience, while promoting
societal discussions and
public education.

45. ECAST = EXPERT & CITIZEN
ASSESSMENT OF
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY NETWORK
Science Cheerleader
Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars
Arizona State University
Boston Museum of Science
Loka Institute.

46. AN INSTITUTIONAL NETWORK
MODEL
Policy relevance
Interface with policy-makers
Broad dissemination
Nonpartisan Policy
Research Organizations
Science Museums Universities
Direct public interface Innovation in TA concepts/methods
Trusted public educators Research, analysis and evaluation
Innovation in citizen-friendly Training of researchers/practitioners
pedagogy

47. Launched pilot project, June 5, 2012
Koshland Science Center, Washington, D.C.
World Wide Views on Biodiversity.

48. “Policy formation without citizen
participation is like faith and love without
hope and charity.”
Senator Edward Kennedy

49. Goals
• Raise interest in/understanding of science.
• Grow the ranks of citizen scientists.
• Encourage citizen involvement in research
projects and policy discussions.

50. By helping people rediscover, do, and
shape STEM, we can mobilize one of the
our greatest resources.
It’s never too late.