AAAS's Project 2061 to Build Public Support for Science Literacy in Four-Year
Outreach Campaign
October 1, 2001
Washington, D.C. -- Recognizing that parents and community leaders can make
or break reform of science and mathematics education, Project 2061, a long-term
initiative of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
to improve K-12 science, mathematics, and technology education, announced
a new effort to create and test an effective public outreach campaign. A recently
awarded grant of $5.9 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will
support both the public outreach campaign and a concurrent effort by Project
2061 to develop new tools for teachers, curriculum developers, and textbook
authors and publishers.
"So far, educators and scientists have largely talked to each other about needed
reforms," said Dr. George D. Nelson, Director of Project 2061. "To have a
lasting impact on our schools, we need to convince parents, community leaders,
and state and local policymakers of the importance of science literacy, and
to enlist their help in taking the essential, and difficult, steps to achieve
it. We will focus particular attention on addressing the needs of African
American and Latino students and parents."
The outreach campaign will deploy targeted messages to reach the public through
a variety of media, from print, radio, and television public service announcements
to "parent advocacy kits" that will include videos and training booklets.
The materials will be field-tested in Texas, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania,
states that have diverse populations and existing networks of parents and
community leaders. Project 2061 will partner with organizations such as PTA's,
Girls and Boys Clubs, science museums, and the National Science Teachers Association.
The strategic campaign will begin with market research to determine what the
public knows about science literacy and reform. Focus groups will take place
in Philadelphia in October, followed by a national telephone survey. Focus
groups in San Antonio will add additional insights.
"This is a real opportunity to help the public better understand what constitutes
excellent instructional materials and enlist public support for their use,"
stated Dr. Janice Earle, the NSF program director for the grant.
A cornerstone of the campaign will be a custom website, providing public access
to an array of science-literacy resources. Users will be able to read current
research and commentary on national and state standards, along with guidance
on how to assess and get involved in their local school's science and mathematics
programs. The interactive site will put users in touch with educational leaders
in their own state as well as other interested parents and community members
around the country.
"Public support can be the motivation behind effective reform of science and
mathematics education," said Nelson. "On the other hand, if we don't do a
good job of informing and engaging the public, reform efforts will be stopped
by those who don't understand their value."
The National Science Foundation grant will also fund Project 2061's critical
work supporting educators in their efforts to help students master standards-based
learning goals. Project 2061 has broken new ground with its evaluations of
science and mathematics textbooks and workshops on improving the quality of
textbooks. Under the NSF grant, Project 2061 will further this work by creating
tools that authors, curriculum developers, and publishers can use to create
the next generation of science and mathematics textbooks, including on-line
databases of instructional components, such as summaries of the latest cognitive
research and recommended tasks for students.
Project 2061 will also build on the conceptual strand maps that it published
earlier this year in Atlas for Science Literacy. Illustrating
how students' understanding and skills build from grade to grade, the maps
have been praised as an innovative tool that enables educators to see the
"big picture" of student learning in K-12. For more information about Project
2061's products, services, and reform efforts, please see www.project2061.org. For information on the
National Science Foundation, see www.nsf.gov.
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AAAS began Project 2061 in 1985 to help improve K-12 science, mathematics,
and technology education so that all high school graduates are science literate
-- prepared to live interesting, responsible, and productive lives in a world
increasingly shaped by science and technology. The project's array of print
and electronic tools and professional development services are helping to
strengthen teaching and learning, and its evaluations of science and mathematics
textbooks are having an impact on adoption of texts and development of new
textbooks.
Contact
Information:
Mary Koppal
(202) 326-6643
