Wonderwise 4-H: Following in the Footsteps of Women Scientists

Introduction

Wonderwise 4-H introduces youth to contemporary female scientists in the real world. Women biologists, geologists, veterinarians, and others are featured in their labs, out in the field, and with their families in a series of nine interactive multimedia kits. Working with these kits, youth learn about nine different scientists' occupations and participate in hands-on science activities similar to the actual work of each female scientist role model. Wonderwise 4-H, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and selected for the Nationally Juried 4-H Experiential Learning Youth Development Curriculum Collection of 2003, was designed to encourage youth, particularly girls, to pursue scientific careers.

Girls lag behind boys in science achievement as they progress from elementary grades into high school (O'Sullivan, Reese, & Mazzeo, 1997); even those who are academically inclined and talented are less likely than boys to pursue scientific careers (Matyas & Dix, 1992; National Science Board, 1993, 1998). Youth from rural areas, especially those with few role models for scientific careers, have little knowledge about career opportunities and limited aspirations for scientific vocations (Crockett, Shanahan, & Jackson-Newsome, 1996; Haller & Vickler, 1993; Sarigiani, Wilson, Petersen, & Vicary, 1990). The lack of accurate information about science careers, along with gender role stereotyping, limit girls' career choices and expectations for success (Baker & Leary, 1995; Eccles, 1986). Scientists are usually portrayed, whether in textbooks or on television, as male (Steinke & Long, 1996), and most girls lack personal acquaintance with scientists, particularly those who are women (Hill, Pettus, & Hedin, 1990). Baker (1987) suggests that exposing girls to outstanding female role models may encourage them to pursue science as a career.

To address the issues of rural isolation and lack of role models for young girls, NSF funded Wonderwise 4-H, a major collaborative project between the University of Nebraska State Museum and the 4-H Youth Development program, to enhance nonformal youth education. Museums and 4-H have common educational goals, with long histories of using experiential methods for teaching science. Museums reach out to youth, using hands-on experiences for educational activities, and museum kits have long been a resource for teachers and other educators. 4-H curricula apply scientific principles in youth programs that build life skills as youth prepare for future vocations. The experiential learning model and the inquiry-based science approach link directly to two national guidelines that ensure quality youth programs: the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996) and Cooperative Extension's Science Guidelines for Nonformal Education (Carlson & Maxa, 1997).

The NSF grant in 2000 was the catalyst for the museum and 4-H to form a consortium, with the museum leading the development of the Wonderwise 4-H kits. The 4-H state leaders from 10 states (Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming) agreed to participate in the project by engaging staff and volunteer leaders to (a) field test six classroom-based Wonderwise kits developed in the early 1990s in a nonformal educational setting and provide suggestions for altering the kits, (b) participate in workshops to learn how to use the Wonderwise 4-H kits, (c) disseminate kits in their states, and (d) participate in evaluating Wonderwise 4-H. In return, each state received grant dollars to purchase kits and kit supplies, as well as museum resources to learn more about the kits.

Wonderwise 4-H: Its Design, Development, and Dissemination

Six Wonderwise kits were developed for classroom use in the mid-1990's through funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Thorough field-testing and extensive evaluation during development documented their utility before kits were widely disseminated to elementary school teachers in Nebraska (Spiegel, Dethlefs, & Pytlik Zillig, 1997). In 2000, the University of Nebraska State Museum collaborated with 4-H Youth Development to redesign Wonderwise into Wonderwise 4-H for use in nonformal educational settings. Wonderwise 4-H was designed as an interdisciplinary, experiential learning activity to:

1. Motivate 8- to 12-year-old youth, particularly girls, to pursue an interest in science and an awareness of scientific activities and careers,

2. Create a positive image of women and minority scientists for 4-H youth,

3. Improve diversity and quality of 4-H's out-of-school science materials by offering materials that are inquiry-based and multicultural and tie science activities to the work of real scientists,

4. Help youth connect agricultural topics and their underlying scientific principles, and

5. Instill in youth a better appreciation of empirically based knowledge and enhance children's ability to use scientific reasoning.

Pedagogical Approach and Curriculum Design

There are many reasons for using hands-on activities in nonformal youth education programs (Carlson & Maxa, 1998). The National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996), reports from Project 2061 (a biological and health science project) funded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (Clark, 1989), and lessons learned from a 1993 W. K. Kellogg Foundation project on How to Unravel Science Mysteries for Young Minds all emphasize that curricula for science education should use participatory, inquiry-based activities. Such activities enable students to explore and then work independently or collaboratively to construct their own meaning and knowledge about scientific career opportunities. Consequently, the experiential learning model was selected as the pedagogical approach for Wonderwise 4-H.

The packaging of the six original Wonderwise kits was redesigned after 4-H youth and 4-H leaders suggested ways to make the kit contents more appropriate for their use. Their suggestions on format, topics, materials, and kit structure called for keeping content much the same but integrating more user-friendly technology into one slipcover that would fit on any bookshelf. In addition, the "Think it over" assessment tool was added, in part because of the 4-H emphasis on the experiential learning elements of processing (analyzing and reflecting), generalizing (linking to a real world example), and applying (using in a new situation) new learning (Carlson and Maxa, 1998). Three integrated components comprise each Wonderwise 4-H kit (Table 1): (a) a videotape, (b) five hands-on, inquiry-based scientific activities, and (c) a CD-ROM.

Nine Multimedia Wonderwise 4-H Kits

The six original Wonderwise kits were redesigned, and three new kits were developed for Wonderwise 4-H. As with the original kits, Nebraska Educational Television (NET) was instrumental in the production and development of the revised and new kits. The three new topics were Space Geologist, Vet Detective, and Genetic Counselor.

Each kit focuses on a different woman scientist's research. The women's scientific specializations range from wildlife biology to genetic researcher to planetary geologist; the wide-ranging topics are explored through diverse activities (Table 2). A Wonderwise 4-H Web site (wonderwise.unl.edu) includes a complete set of free, downloadable activities for every kit in both English and Spanish, brief previews of the videos, and additional resource information. Links of the activities to the particular National Science Education Standards to which they pertain are also available at the Web site.

Dissemination

The field testing of the classroom-based Wonderwise kits for nonformal educational purposes in the 10 consortium states initiated the dissemination by introducing the kits, albeit in unrevised form, directly to adult leaders. As the revised kits and newly developed kits became available, the formal dissemination plan was implemented. This consisted of a series of workshops for 4-H leaders and took advantage of existing 4-H networks to encourage participation. Kits were usually distributed directly to adult leaders in these workshops, which ranged from 1 hour to several days. Wonderwise was also disseminated through the Web site (wonderwise.unl.edu), where individual activities could be downloaded at no cost. In addition, the publisher, Great Plains National (GPN), was involved from the beginning to ensure that the kits would be widely available. Finally, Wonderwise 4-H underwent the rigorous National 4-H Experiential Learning Youth Development Curriculum Review to place it within the 4-H official curriculum.

During the dissemination phase, 499 adult leaders participated in Wonderwise 4-H workshops led by the Museum's Educator; another 582 participated in Wonderwise 4-H workshops led by 4-H staff in their state (Frerichs & Spiegel, 2003). Voluntary reports from adult leaders, workshop and conference enrollments, Web site visitors and downloads, and records on Wonderwise 4-H kit sales and broadcast rights sold indicated that over 2.5 million youth and 43,000 adults were potentially reached by Wonderwise 4-H in the 2002-2003 fiscal year (Spiegel, 2004). Kits are available from GPN through the Wonderwise 4-H Web site <wonderwise.unl.edu>.

Evaluation Plan

The evaluation plan for Wonderwise 4-H included multiple studies to examine project outcomes. It included (a) documenting the dissemination processes (Frerichs & Spiegel, 2003), (b) a case-study about the impact on youths' understanding of science and their identification with the scientist role model (Acklie, 2003), and (c) an adult leaders' Web survey to identify kit uses and perceptions of how Wonderwise 4-H affected youths' view of science, scientists, and scientific work. As an extension of the classroom based Wonderwise (Diamond, Hochman, Gardner, Schenker, & Langan, 1996), the Wonderwise 4-H evaluation focused specifically on nonformal learning experiences and how youth incorporated the information and ideas into their thinking. This article reports on the adult leader Web survey, which explores the implementation processes and how adult leaders felt the subject matter influenced youths' views of science, scientists, and scientific work.

Instrument

State 4-H representatives in the 10-state consortium and museum staff critiqued initial questions to clarify and help focus items to gather the most relevant data. The first draft included items used to evaluate the classroom-based Wonderwise kits. All items initially selected for the survey were pre-tested in a Web-based format. The final survey consisted of eight open-ended items on specific uses of the Wonderwise 4-H kits; perceptions of impacts on youth, including detailed examples of youth comments and behaviors; and opinions about the kits' usability. Adult leader demographics included occupational position and gender.

Purposeful Sample

The Web survey gathered data from Wonderwise 4-H kit users, defined as individuals who used at least one activity from one kit with youth in an appropriate educational setting. In Spring 2003, adult leaders and others who had requested a kit or had participated in a workshop or conference on Wonderwise 4-H were contacted via email or U.S. mail or both. The total number of these individuals for whom we had contact information was 671. However, not all of these individuals had actually used a Wonderwise 4-H kit with youth.

Users of the Wonderwise 4-H kits were instructed to access the survey electronically from the Wonderwise 4-H Web site, where a request to give feedback was displayed on the homepage. Follow-up e-mails and post card reminders were sent 2 weeks after the initial contact. Altogether, 217 adults, including a small number of individuals who had not been contacted directly by us, responded to the request in some way. However, only 150 adults fitting the criteria for the purposeful sample completed the survey.

Because not all 671 people contacted for the survey fit the sample criteria (used a kit with youth), an estimated response rate was calculated. Of those who replied to our request, 31% (67 of 217) had not used a kit. Because the request specifically asked for responses only from those who had used the kits, 31% may be a conservative estimate of those contacted who had not yet used the kits. Using 463 (69% of 671) as the estimate of those who fit the target response group, the estimated response rate was 32% (150 of 463).

Data Analysis

The Web-based survey was designed to drop data directly into an Access database as it was submitted. Responses were reviewed and emergent themes identified. Responses were then categorized by the emerging themes and coded accordingly. Codes and tallies were recorded on a spreadsheet. Because questions asked adult leaders to describe how Wonderwise 4-H affected "youths' thoughts and feelings about science," the results describe adult leader perceptions, not responses of the actual end user.

Findings Related to Wonderwise 4-H's Effectiveness

Adult Leaders and Ways They Used Wonderwise 4-H

Adult Leaders

Of the 150 adult leaders, 89% were female, and 92% were from the 10 consortium states. Their diverse occupational roles leaned more toward 4-H related responsibilities, with some having dual roles between 4-H and the elementary school system (Table 3).

Educational Settings

Wonderwise 4-H kits were used in formal classrooms and a variety of nonformal educational settings (Table 4).

Wonderwise 4-H Kits Used

Respondents used all nine Wonderwise 4-H kits. Genetic Counselor was only available a few months prior to the survey, but it was still used by 12%; each of the other eight kits was used by 20 to 40% of the adult leaders. Many used some of the individual kits multiple times; 27% used only one kit, while the rest used two or more kits in their youth programming.

End Users

Wonderwise 4-H kits were designed for 9- to 11-year-old youth. While 57% of the end users were estimated to be in the 9- to 11-year old category, adult leaders also used the kits for youth a couple of years younger or older (Table 5). Adult leaders reported using the kits with up to 740 youth; the average number of end users per adult leader was 100.

Perceptions of Wonderwise 4-H's Impact on Youth

Respondents were asked to describe the impact of each different kit component (activity, video, CD-ROM). However, because the components were frequently used together, there was often overlap across responses. With respect to the specific questions, 136 respondents wrote comments on the activities question, 118 wrote responses on the video question, and 79 wrote comments on the CD-ROM question. Generally, the themes that evolved were reflected in one-quarter to one-third of the respondents who had comments. Adult leader comments on how they felt Wonderwise 4-H affected youth with whom they worked clustered into two strong theme areas:

• It brought "real science" into the youths' lives by:
  • engaging them in actual scientific activities
  • increasing their understanding of what science is
  • broadening their view of who scientists are, what they do, and where they work.
• It introduced and encouraged youth to pursue science in their future by:
  • helping them become more confident and capable at scientific endeavors
  • increasing their understanding of the possibilities of a science career
  • connecting them in a personal way with scientist role models.

Bringing Real Science into Youths' Lives by Engaging Them in Actual Scientific Activities

Overall, the activities and videos were described as being effective in engaging youth's interest in real science through the scientific content. Adult leaders observed youth having fun with the activities, being interested in them, and getting engaged in the scientific topic (Table 6).

Bringing Real Science into Youths' Lives by Increasing Their Understanding of What Science Is

Many leaders noted how the videos showed real scientists in a variety of settings and that many of the youth had not had this opportunity to see a scientist at work before. With the activities, the leaders frequently described the realistic, relevant nature of the hands-on experiences (Table 7).

Bringing Real Science into Youths' Lives by Broadening Their View of Who Scientists Are, What They Do, and Where They Work

Wonderwise 4-H dispelled myths and created appropriate and accurate pictures about science for kids. The activities provided an opportunity to experience a different kind of scientific work, one that was more real and more meaningful than what they typically might do in science class. It opened up youths' eyes to a wide variety of science fields and to what scientists really do. The videos were an important component in expanding youth's view of science, scientists, and, even more broadly, their world (Table 8).

Youth Connecting with Science by Becoming More Confident of and Capable at Scientific Endeavors

Adult leaders highlighted how the activities helped youth learn to do science, use scientific methods, and become more confident of and competent at scientific endeavors. Some adult leaders mentioned specific skills or knowledge that youth acquired, while others talked more generally about how effective the activities were at involving youth in "real" scientific work that enabled them to learn by doing (Table 9).

Youth Connecting with Science via Increased Understanding of the Possibilities of a Career in Science

The format of the kits, with a real scientist at the core of each kit, affected the picture some youth had about their future interests. Many respondents specifically pointed out that the activities and videos affected the youths' perceptions of a career in science or that youth indicated an interest in or intention of becoming a scientist (Table 10).

Youth Connecting with Science by Connecting in a Personal Way with Scientist Role Models

Some adult leaders also commented on the youth connecting with the scientist or of the scientist serving as an important role model in the video. By seeing minority women who have families and who are also scientists, youth recognized that they, too, could become scientists one day. Some of these women scientists grew up on farms, live in the Midwest, and look like the youth themselves--that helped connect the youth with them (Table 11).

Kit Design

Adult leaders commented on the kit components. The science activities were the strongest, most used component, and the videos were also widely used and highly praised. The CD-ROMs were used the least, with only one-third of the adult leaders using them. For both the videos and the CD-ROMs, lack of equipment was given most frequently for non-use. However, those who used the CD-ROM found it to be a useful tool. Table 12 illustrates typical comments about the different components. Overall, adults who used the kits generally found them "easy to pick up and teach" (Extension Agent, Illinois).

Conclusions

The impact that Wonderwise 4-H had on youth was possible because of three, key, integrated components contributing to its success.

• First, the kits' video, hands-on activities, and CD-ROM were user friendly and adaptable to many different situations in nonformal education, including camp, club, and special use applications.

• Second, using role models in this multimedia curriculum proved to be an effective means of improving youths' attitudes about science through engaging activities and realistic videos that made science real and accessible. Leaders observed that Wonderwise 4-H allowed youth to engage in actual scientific activities, increase their understanding of what science is, broaden their view of scientists, become more confident of and capable at scientific endeavors, and increase their understanding of the possibilities of a science career.

• Third, dissemination of the project was extensive and was achieved primarily through the 4-H networks that already existed in the partner states. Wonderwise 4-H was selected for the Nationally Juried 4-H Experiential Learning Youth Development Curriculum Collection of 2003, creating even more opportunities for use throughout 4-H network.

Wonderwise 4-H serves as a model for how museums and 4-H can work together to improve nonformal science learning opportunities for youth. By collaborating on this project, 4-H youth and leaders were able to take advantage of a unique opportunity, and the museum was able to reach beyond its usual constituents. Together, 4-H and the museum were able to provide youth with science learning experiences that were unavailable without the collaboration. The need for more effective and integrated science experiences for youth is great, and the success of this project suggests that opportunities for science learning can be enhanced through innovative collaboration of nonformal science partners.

Acknowledgements

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant 9909496. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Wonderwise 4-H would not have been possible without the generous support of the National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. We also thank the following 4-H staff members who contributed countless hours to make this project a success: Gene Gade (Wyoming), Stephen Carlson (Minnesota), Billie Chambers (Oklahoma), Julie Chapin (Michigan), Betty McCoy (Montana), Bill Million (Illinois), Joe Courneya (North Dakota), Marilyn Rasmussen (South Dakota), Jay Staker and Steve Truby (Iowa), and Richard Ponzio (California). We also thank the following members of Nebraska 4-H Youth Development for their partnership and enormous help in this project: Gary Heusel, Beth Birnstihl, Janet Fox, Robert Meduna, Bernie Lorkovic, and Rosie Nold. Finally, this project could not have been possible without the outstanding work of Gary Hochman and many others at Nebraska Educational Telecommunications.

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