HR: 1340h
AN: OS23A-1300    [Abstracts]
TI: Involving Scientists in Outreach: Incentives, Barriers, and Recommendations from Research Findings
AU: * Melton, G
EM: ginger.melton@colorado.edu
AF: Ethnography and Evaluation Research, CARTSS, University of Colorado, Boulder 580 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0580 United States
AU: Laursen, S
EM: sandra.laursen@colorado.edu
AF: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder 216 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0216 United States
AU: Andrews, E
EM: betsy.andrews@noaa.gov
AF: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder 216 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0216 United States
AU: Weaver, A
EM: alex@alexweaver.com
AF: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder 216 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0216 United States
AU: Hanley, D
EM: daniel.hanley@colorado.edu
AF: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder 216 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0216 United States
AU: Shamatha, J H
EM: jeffrey.shamatha@nau.edu
AF: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Department of Mathematics and Statistics Northern Arizona University P.O. Box 5717, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5717 United States
AB: Public agencies that fund scientific research are increasingly requiring that researchers invest some of their funding in education or outreach activities that have a "broader impact." Yet barriers exist that inhibit scientists' motivation to participate in K-12 outreach. We will share findings from a quantitative and qualitative study that examined the motivations, rewards, and obstacles for scientists who participate in outreach. We found that most researchers became interested in doing outreach out of a desire to contribute and an expectation of having fun and enjoying the experience. They typically gave outreach presentations away from work, acted as a resource for school teachers, or helped with teacher professional development. However, scientists viewed outreach as a form of volunteer work that was auxiliary to their other responsibilities. Thus, time constraints, a lack of information about outreach opportunities, and the lower value placed on outreach by departments constituted significant barriers to their participation. Scientists involved in outreach typically found their efforts to be rewarding, but occasionally factors left a negative impression, such as poor audience response, classroom management difficulties, organizational problems, or demonstrations not going as planned. Based upon our findings, we offer recommendations on how scientists' participation and experiences in K-12 outreach can be improved, including how to successfully recruit scientists, create a positive outreach experience, and increase institutional support for outreach work.
UR: http://cires.colorado.edu/~k12
DE: 0800 EDUCATION
DE: 0850 Geoscience education research
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting