1814 Views (as of 05/2023)
  1. Leah Clapman
  2. https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahclapman
  3. Managing Editor, Education
  4. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  5. PBS NewsHour, Student Reporting Labs, PBS
  1. Jena Barchas-Lichtenstein
  2. https://knology.org/person/jena-barchas-lichtenstein/
  3. Research Lead in Media; Meaningful Math Co-PI
  4. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  5. Knology
  1. Emily Hope Dobkin
  2. https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyhopedobkin/
  3. StoryMaker Community Manager
  4. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  5. PBS NewsHour, Student Reporting Labs
  1. John Voiklis
  2. https://knology.org/person/john-voiklis/
  3. Research Lead: Behaviors, Norms, & Processes
  4. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  5. Knology

PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs StoryMaker: STEM-Integrated Student Journ...

NSF Awards: 1908515

2022 (see original presentation & discussion)

Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Informal

The StoryMaker learning platform was developed by PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs to build the next generation of media creators and information-savvy young adults. This video outlines how programmatic supports and educator professional development were reimagined to scale a successful STEM media-making program. StoryMaker's lesson plans and activities provide a strong foundation of storytelling, journalism, research and inquiry skills to help students gain confidence, find their voice, explore STEM stories in their communities and discover their place in the world.

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Discussion from the 2022 STEM For All Video Showcase (19 posts)
  • Icon for: Leah Clapman

    Leah Clapman

    Lead Presenter
    Managing Editor, Education
    May 10, 2022 | 08:04 a.m.

    Welcome! We'd love to hear your thoughts on the StoryMaker platform, educator communities and science storytelling in general. Things we're thinking about:

    • Study-buddies and other connections to strengthen StoryMaker's educator community
    • Instruction resources for students to interview scientists and explore careers and career pathways
    • Storytelling projects for traditional STEM classes - as capstones, reports, presentations
    • Partnerships - both obvious and unexpected!
  • Icon for: Daniel Serrano

    Daniel Serrano

    K-12 Administrator
    May 10, 2022 | 03:08 p.m.

    This seems like such a nice tool for educators. I can't wait to try it.

    I was wondering about the STEM-specific aspects of your platform. Would love to hear more details about that.

  • Icon for: Leah Clapman

    Leah Clapman

    Lead Presenter
    Managing Editor, Education
    May 10, 2022 | 03:39 p.m.

    Hey Daniel - here are STEM story prompts https://www.story-maker.org/library/?filter_top...

    Other aspects include STEM-specific lessons including science literacy: https://www.story-maker.org/library/how-to-debu...

    https://www.story-maker.org/library/build-stem-...

     

  • Icon for: Daniel Serrano

    Daniel Serrano

    K-12 Administrator
    May 12, 2022 | 07:18 a.m.

    Thanks, Leah!

  • Icon for: Channa Comer

    Channa Comer

    Facilitator
    STEM Educator
    May 10, 2022 | 05:13 p.m.

    Hello and thank you for sharing your work. Giving students the opportunity to explore STEM-related issues in their own communities using today's technology is exactly what is needed to truly engage today's students and is the essence of place-based learning. It is wonderful that students can submit their work for broadcasting or publishing, making their work that much more meaningful. From the teacher's perspective, being able to select teaching and learning goals is a great benefit.

    I am curious if you offer case studies of teachers or schools that have used the platform so that someone who is thinking about using Storymaker can get a comprehensive idea of what might be involved? I also wonder if you offer any suggestions for sources of funding to purchase equipment for schools with limited funds and/or Title 1 schools?

     

     

  • Icon for: Leah Clapman

    Leah Clapman

    Lead Presenter
    Managing Editor, Education
    May 10, 2022 | 05:56 p.m.

    Love these ideas - we have helped teachers create GoFundMe campaigns for equipment, but we also have a fundraising kit for local stations that includes research findings and framing. Happy to connect around those resources!

     

  • Icon for: John Voiklis

    John Voiklis

    Co-Presenter
    Research Lead: Behaviors, Norms, & Processes
    May 11, 2022 | 04:01 p.m.

    Also, the research products for this project will include a set of (cognitive) profiles of teaching practices collected from experienced video journalism teachers, as well as newcomers (including science teachers whose interest is in STEM storytelling rather than journalism, per se) 

  • Icon for: Cathryn Tuttle

    Cathryn Tuttle

    Graduate Student
    May 10, 2022 | 05:19 p.m.

    This looks like a really great tool for the classroom! To what extent can teachers "assign" topics not listened on the STEM story maker library? Or is there a way to request upcoming project ideas? I really appreciate the idea of publishing student work and using storytelling as a way to show student learning and understanding of STEM concepts. My only concerns are with the limitations of the lessons provided in the resource library. I think the prospect of being shared on national news is very exciting for students and would be a great motivator in the classroom!

  • Icon for: Leah Clapman

    Leah Clapman

    Lead Presenter
    Managing Editor, Education
    May 10, 2022 | 05:59 p.m.

    Thanks @cathryn! There are lessons such as "Find Your Story" that can be used for any topic... https://www.story-maker.org/library/find-your-s...

    we're definitely going to add more options in Year4 - tell me about the kinds of stories you have in mind...

  • Icon for: Nickolay Hristov

    Nickolay Hristov

    Facilitator
    Senior Scientist, Associate Professor, Director
    May 10, 2022 | 06:46 p.m.

     Hi Leah and Team! Very neat project. As Channa and Cathryn point out, the real-world aspect of the creative work is key to an authentic experience for the students. This is not just “practice” or “homework”. The broader public will view and critique the work. I too am eager to give the platform a try.  

    With the continued proliferation of story-based platforms, The Moth, The Story Collider, in some ways TED(x), it is good to see story take prominence in teaching and learning as well. What aspect of storytelling do you find most difficult to teach and do you find a difference between developing stories for oral, written and visual modalities? 

  • Icon for: Leah Clapman

    Leah Clapman

    Lead Presenter
    Managing Editor, Education
    May 10, 2022 | 06:59 p.m.

    Wow, Nickolay, the perfect question. I've been doing this for 12 years... and leading the Student Academy for 8.... so I have found the hardest parts are scripting - how do you find your beginning, middle and end? and Voice Over - what is the role of the narrator and how can you coach students (anyone) to be that guide for a story?

    There are many differences between oral, written and visual modalities - we help students find their strengths and build from there (or their weaknesses and help them overcome their fear). Reverse-engineering the content that they are drawn to helps students figure out how to produce a successful story.

  • Icon for: Nicole Freidenfelds

    Nicole Freidenfelds

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 11, 2022 | 09:25 a.m.

    Thank you for sharing - this seems like a fantastic resource for an ITEST project that my colleagues are leading. I look forward to diving deeper into it!

    I saw Channa's earlier comment and am also curious if you provide case studies of teachers/schools that have used the StoryMaker platform. 

     

  • Icon for: Emily Hope Dobkin

    Emily Hope Dobkin

    Co-Presenter
    StoryMaker Community Manager
    May 11, 2022 | 11:19 a.m.

    Awesome, Nicole! We currently don't have case studies of teachers/schools using StoryMaker but that is an excellent idea and something I'd love to start working on developing. Curious if you've seen similar kinds of case study projects that were effective? 

  • Icon for: Sue Allen

    Sue Allen

    Facilitator
    Senior Research Scientist
    May 12, 2022 | 04:55 p.m.

    Thanks for sharing this work. I love that the project takes seriously the idea that educators need mentoring too!  I agree with others that this is a wonderful way to engage youth in authentic STEM journalism, and the possibility of getting picked up by PBS seems even more motivating. And I took a look at a couple of the youth videos and was totally gripped by them.

    Can you give a rough ballpark on how long it takes the teachers to go through the learning curve to use the resources effectively? Given that so many teachers are experiencing exhaustion (and screen fatigue), I'm wondering if this is something a teacher could pick up in a day, or more like a week... I guess I have the same question about the students, actually - is this a significant up-front investment of time? 

    Are teachers who are already using this integrating it into their language arts teaching as well? It seems like a terrific opportunity for that.

    Something else I wonder is how this approach worked with the pandemic going on... e.g. Does that make it harder for students to collaborate so they tend to feel isolated and lose momentum? Does it make it easier to reach scientists and other experts at their desks, and zoom-record interviews? etc. Thanks!

  • Icon for: Sue Allen

    Sue Allen

    Facilitator
    Senior Research Scientist
    May 12, 2022 | 09:32 p.m.

    I have one more question - I'd love to know how you've assessed project outcomes - thanks.

  • Icon for: Leah Clapman

    Leah Clapman

    Lead Presenter
    Managing Editor, Education
    May 17, 2022 | 08:04 a.m.

    We're looking at teacher behavior, assessments of their students' ability to tell stories that involve critical thinking, information literacy and science topics.

  • Icon for: Laurie Miller Mcneill

    Laurie Miller Mcneill

    Higher Ed Administrator
    May 13, 2022 | 11:17 a.m.

    What a great project for STEM education for students and faculty alike!

    And what a fantastic opportunity for citizen research for STEM students!

    Is the primary focus K-12, or does the engagement platform also go up to 2 and 4 year colleges?

    Thanks for your great work here!

  • Icon for: Leah Clapman

    Leah Clapman

    Lead Presenter
    Managing Editor, Education
    May 17, 2022 | 08:06 a.m.

    Hi Laurie - we are working with Arizona state on our first college Reporting Lab and have others in the works. Anyone can use StoryMaker and we love to see all the work that is published!

  • Icon for: Oludare Owolabi

    Oludare Owolabi

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 17, 2022 | 06:46 p.m.

    Great story telling.

  • Further posting is closed as the event has ended.