IBEX Special Needs – Formal

Overview
Program Element / Activity Title:
IBEX Special Needs – Formal
E/PO Project Name:
IBEX
Contact Information Shown to the Public:
Program Element / Activity Website:
Short Description for Projects Page:

The IBEX Education and Public Outreach program funded the development of seven strategy guides for middle school teachers. The first six guides utilize student text from Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS) Space Science Sequence for Grades 6-8: Teaching How Scientists Use Models with What Makes Up Most of the Solar System?, Teaching Roundtable Discussions with Seasons on Mars, Teaching Text Structure with Understanding the Scale of the Universe, Teaching Vocabulary Awareness with Observing Stars, Teaching Science Vocabulary with The Shape of the Moon’s Orbit, and Teaching Scientific Comparison Writing with Pluto and Charon.

An additional strategy guide detailing accommodations for middle school students with dyslexia that was designed to accompany the GEMS Space Science Sequence for Grades 6-8 is available. The development of the GEMS Space Science Sequence for Grades 6-8 was partially funded by the IBEX Education and Public Outreach program and led by the Lawrence Hall of Science. The GEMS Space Science Sequence is designed to address age-appropriate core concepts in space science and common misconceptions that students have about them, and it is divided into four units: How Does the Sun Affect the Earth?, Why Are There Seasons?, The Solar System, and Beyond the Solar System. Within each of the units, students explore different areas of space science, building on what they have learned, having their misconceptions challenged, and making connections to other areas of science they have studied.

Program Element / Activity Status
Please list products / materials that will result / have resulted from this program element / activity:
Name: Teaching Vocabulary Awareness with "Observing Stars"
URL: http://www.ibex.swri.edu/educators/Observing_Stars.pdf
Status: Completed
Name: Teaching Roundtable Discussions with "Seasons on Mars"
URL: http://www.ibex.swri.edu/educators/Seasons_on_Mars.pdf
Status: Completed
Name: Teaching How Scientists Use Models with "What Makes Up Most of the Solar System?"
URL: http://www.ibex.swri.edu/educators/What_Makes_Up_Solar_System.pdf
Status: Completed
Name: Teaching Science Vocabulary with "The Shape of a Moon’s Orbit"
URL: http://www.ibex.swri.edu/educators/Shape_of_Moons_Orbit.pdf
Status: Completed
Name: Teaching Text Structure with "Understanding the Scale of the Universe"
URL: http://www.ibex.swri.edu/educators/Understanding_Scale_of_Universe.pdf
Status: Completed
Name: Teaching Scientific Comparison Writing with "Pluto and Charon"
URL: http://www.ibex.swri.edu/educators/Pluto_and_Charon.pdf
Status: Completed
Name: Accommodating Middle School Students With Dyslexia in Science
URL: http://www.ibex.swri.edu/educators/508_Compliant_GEMS_Strategy_Guide.pdf
Status: Completed
Audience Metrics
Who is the primary audience of your program element / activity?:
Who is the secondary audience of your program element / activity?:
Evaluation
National Priorities and Coordination Approaches as Articulated in CoSTEM:
  • Improve STEM Instruction
  • Increase and Sustain Youth and Public Engagement in STEM
  • Better Serve Groups Historically Under-represented in STEM Fields
  • Contribute to the conversation about building new models for leveraging SMD assets and expertise and achieving the most significant impact of STEM education investments.
  • Build and use evidence-based approaches
What are the goals and objectives of your program element / activity?:
The primary goal of the IBEX E/PO program is to communicate the scientific goals and results of the IBEX mission to the public in various locations and formats in ways that make the science, technology, engineering and math relevant to the learner:

IBEX E/PO Goal 2: Address the needs of people with learning disabilities. (See attached summative evaluation report on pages 11 and 12)
What is the design of the evaluation process for your program element / activity?:
The six reading strategy guides were tested in a classroom environment with middle school educators. (See attached summative evaluation report on pages 11 and 12)
What are the main impacts of your effort to date and how do they correlate to the project’s goals and objectives:
(See attached summative evaluation report on pages 11 and 12)
Have your evaluation findings / impacts been published? If so, where?:
A paper detailing the evaluation results from this project will be published in the 2013 ASP EPO conference proceedings.