成人快播

iSWOOP

Lead Staff:
Martha Merson

Related People

  • Nickolay Hristov, formerly of the Center for Design Innovation
  • Louise Allen, Winston-Salem State University

Summary

iSWOOP advanced STEM learning among national park visitors by bringing together educators, scientists, and National Park Service (NPS) interpreters to incorporate site-based science into programs for the public. Project staff sought to build expertise within the interpreter and ranger community. iSWOOP staff engaged with the researchers on site, and hosted sessions to help the rangers interpret complex data, and then asked informed questions of the researchers.

When rangers came to a deeper understanding of the research, their interactions with visitors were transformed. Rangers learned how to guide visitors to answer their own or each other鈥檚 questions in order to build scientific literacy. iSWOOP enhanced interpreter-visitor interactions in four ways, by providing interpreters with:

  • Direct contact with scientists doing research in the park in an interactive format.
  • Field-based experiences, increasing their awareness of scientific park-based research.
  • Compelling visual data and graphs which can function as a jumping off point for STEM learning.
  • Ongoing opportunities to reflect on and then improve their interactions with visitors, increasing their strategies for leveraging visitors鈥 questions for active inquiry.

Research Activity

iSWOOP encompassed several lines of research including the impact of professional development on participating interpreters and the success of the model at parks of different sizes, staffing patterns, and visitor use. These studies were led by external evaluator Cynthia Char. In order to facilitate closer ties and information sharing between interpreters and scientists, the project staff members investigated scientific researchers鈥 preferences for outreach and education collaborations with park staff and interviewed rangers to better understand the format of research briefs that would be most helpful in advancing their work. Researchers Scott Pattison (of 成人快播, formerly of Institute for Learning Innovation) and Monae Verbeke (of Institute for Learning Innovation) investigated visitors鈥 interests as expressed in conversations with park staff.

Impact

Professional development and research coordinated by iSWOOP project leaders increased engagement with park-based research at a number of national park units. When interpreters were up to speed on the cutting-edge science going on at their parks, they crafted opportunities for visitors to hear about such research. iSWOOP sparked new interests and fueled long-term interest among park visitors in scientists鈥 methods, careers in science, research with relevance for policy and managing protected lands, and increased the value of parks in the eyes of the public as national parks serve as vital outdoor laboratories for better understanding our natural world.

Videos

from on .

Publications

Forist BE, Merson M, Allen LC and Hristov NI (2021) A Moving Dune, A Stunning View: Visitors鈥 Recollections of a Ranger-Led Hike at Indiana Dunes National Park. Front. Educ. 6:675672. 05 July 2021.

Caise Article:

Related Work

Contact martha_merson@terc.edu for more information.

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