1. Integrated, Multidisciplinary & Technology-Enhanced Science Education: The Next Frontier Ivo D. Dinov www.NSER.org Ivo D. Dinov www.NSER.org It’s Online, Therefore It Exists!

2. Challenges of K- College Science Ed General Geographic Social Economic Technological challenges Specific The continuing expansion of the Intergenerational Information Technology (IIT) divide; Social demand for broad, comprehensive and balanced multidisciplinary education. General Geographic Social Economic Technological challenges Specific The continuing expansion of the Intergenerational Information Technology (IIT) divide; Social demand for broad, comprehensive and balanced multidisciplinary education. IIT Divide Between providers & consumers of educational materials Instructors are more conservative, less willing to explore, validate and/or adopt new IT instruments Different from the normative gap of knowledge Byproduct of the fast-paced evolution of IT dev Broad/Balanced Training Short-term view favors solid training in one narrow scientific discipline Faster Cheaper Measurable outcomes Long-term results may be opposite of expectations – graduate & professional schools seek individuals with widespread interests, training & capabilities

3. Challenges & Actions Continuing Instructional Technology Training Engagement of Instructors in Science & Technology Research Projects Institutional Commitment in IT and Blended Instruction Funding Agency Engagement in IT and Blended Education Integration of Available Digital Resources in the Classroom Involve science educators in continuing technology education training. discipline-specific or general societal / organizational umbrellas. Most instructors participate in some annual continuing education events within their discipline. Few are deeply involved in regular technology- based refresher courses (e.g., < 25% of UCLA Stats faculty) Dinov (2008) Integrated Multidisciplinary and Technology-Enhanced Science Education: The Next Frontier, JOLT, 4(1), 2008, 84-93.Integrated Multidisciplinary and Technology-Enhanced Science Education: The Next FrontierJOLT4(1) http://jolt.merlot.org/vol4no1/dinov0308.htm IIT Divide

4. Challenges & Actions Continuing Instructional Technology Training Engagement of Instructors in Science & Technology Research Projects Institutional Commitment in IT and Blended Instruction Funding Agency Engagement in IT and Blended Education Integration of Available Digital Resources in the Classroom State/Federal Science Fairs Learn and contribute to new or ongoing research projects conducted by higher education institutions, professional organizations, private and federally funded initiatives Integrate research-derived data into curricula http://jolt.merlot.org/vol4no1/dinov0308.htm IIT Divide

5. Challenges & Actions Continuing Instructional Technology Training Engagement of Instructors in Science & Technology Research Projects Institutional Commitment in IT and Blended Instruction Funding Agency Engagement in IT and Blended Education Integration of Available Digital Resources in the Classroom Provide infrastructure and resources is essential for the engagement of teachers in multidisciplinary S&T education. Provide computational resources, audio-visual and Internet-digital infrastructure, seed grants, human resources etc. Institutional commitment could be a significant barrier or a considerable asset in developing an IT blended curriculum. http://jolt.merlot.org/vol4no1/dinov0308.htm IIT Divide

6. Challenges & Actions Continuing Instructional Technology Training Engagement of Instructors in Science & Technology Research Projects Institutional Commitment in IT and Blended Instruction Funding Agency Engagement in IT and Blended Education Integration of Available Digital Resources in the Classroom In 2006-2007, the NSF received 44,000 grants, 11,000 of which were funded Extramural funding does enable instructors to buy out time for attending continuing education events, develop blended curricula, establish new collaborations, collect data and design research projects www.ED.gov www.GrantsAlert.com www.NSF.gov www.spencer.org www.kidsinneed.net http://jolt.merlot.org/vol4no1/dinov0308.htm IIT Divide

7. Challenges & Actions Continuing Instructional Technology Training Engagement of Instructors in Science & Technology Research Projects Institutional Commitment in IT and Blended Instruction Funding Agency Engagement in IT and Blended Education Integration of Available Digital Resources in the Classroom Digital resource libraries catalogue, curate, evaluate & integrate many valuable IT resources See list of resource libraries at SOCR.ucla.edu/htmls/SOCR_Recognitions.html These resources provide Datasets methodological & conceptual learning materials, tools for data analysis and exploration hands-on activities, demonstrations, tutorials and refreshers for all disciplines, topics and levels. http://jolt.merlot.org/vol4no1/dinov0308.htm IIT Divide

8. Challenges & Actions Develop New & Diverse Multidisciplinary Educational Curricula Institutional Commitment to Multidisciplinary Education Introduce Efficient Multidisciplinary Resource Interfaces Expectations of Students Enrolled in Multidisciplinary Programs Assessment of Interdisciplinary Instructional Effectiveness Lack of available multidisciplinary educational materials due to scarcity of expertise to develop such instruments Collaborations and interactions between different areas caused by terminology, specifications of data and methodological protocols, a priori assumptions, etc. See National Internet-based Science Educational Resource: www.NSER.orgwww.NSER.org Dinov (2008) Integrated Multidisciplinary and Technology-Enhanced Science Education: The Next Frontier, JOLT, 4(1), 2008, 84-93.Integrated Multidisciplinary and Technology-Enhanced Science Education: The Next FrontierJOLT4(1) http://jolt.merlot.org/vol4no1/dinov0308.htm Broad vs. Narrow Training

9. Challenges & Actions Develop New & Diverse Multidisciplinary Educational Curricula Institutional Commitment to Multidisciplinary Education Introduce Efficient Multidisciplinary Resource Interfaces Expectations of Students Enrolled in Multidisciplinary Programs Assessment of Interdisciplinary Instructional Effectiveness Need Firm institutional commitment and support 2004 National Academy of Sciences report (Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research) identified barriers to interdisciplinary efforts: limited resources, academic reward system, differences in disciplinary cultures, the pursuit of national rankings (based on traditional disciplinary categorizations), differences in policies and procedures across departments, and decentralized budgets favor departments over interdisciplinary programs. http://jolt.merlot.org/vol4no1/dinov0308.htm Broad vs. Narrow Training

10. Challenges & Actions Develop New & Diverse Multidisciplinary Educational Curricula Institutional Commitment to Multidisciplinary Education Introduce Efficient Multidisciplinary Resource Interfaces Expectations of Students Enrolled in Multidisciplinary Programs Assessment of Interdisciplinary Instructional Effectiveness Broad vs. Narrow Training www.NSER.org

11. Challenges & Actions Develop New & Diverse Multidisciplinary Educational Curricula Institutional Commitment to Multidisciplinary Education Introduce Efficient Multidisciplinary Resource Interfaces Expectations of Students Enrolled in Multidisciplinary Programs Assessment of Interdisciplinary Instructional Effectiveness Multidisciplinary research projects attract students’ attention rapidly and sustainably Learners exposed to well-designed and interactive hands-on multidisciplinary training acquire unique perspectives in understanding and dealing with complex problems Balancing the availability of sufficient area-specific high-level knowledge with abilities to look across many areas, draw resources and make inference about general multi-disciplinary challenges. http://jolt.merlot.org/vol4no1/dinov0308.htm Broad vs. Narrow Training

12. Challenges & Actions Develop New & Diverse Multidisciplinary Educational Curricula Institutional Commitment to Multidisciplinary Education Introduce Efficient Multidisciplinary Resource Interfaces Expectations of Students Enrolled in Multidisciplinary Programs Assessment of Interdisciplinary Instructional Effectiveness http://jolt.merlot.org/vol4no1/dinov0308.htm Broad vs. Narrow Training Assessment of Interdisciplinary Educational Efforts MeasuresTypeAnalysis MethodsSummary Volume of Multidisciplinar y Resources quantitative Time-series analysis, parametric inference Overall measure of interest and motivation behind interdisciplinary educational endeavors User Demographics Mixed quantitative & qualitative Qualitative data analysis Geographic, socioeconomic, age and level of the consumers of multidisciplinary training Translational / Transitional Scientific Discoveries qualitativeDomain analysis Types of problems solved using techniques, data and tools developed by broad multidisciplinary teams Multidisciplinary Publications Mixed quantitative / qualitative Quasi-Statistics & Domain analysis Scientific perception of multidisciplinary activities by peers and the general public Training Curricula Overhauls quantitative Regression, correlation & parametric inference Grass root changes in formal and informal multidisciplinary training Economic demand for interdisciplinary workers quantitative Time-series analysis, parametric inference Economic impact & trend to increase the quantity & quality of workers with integrated and broad knowledge

13. The National Internet-based Science Educational Resource (NISER)

14. NISER Demo Goal is to demonstrate http://wiki.stat.ucla.edu/niser/index.php/NISER_FishMercuryActivity A real research pipeline Data collection, visualization, analysis & interpretation Portable web- based resources Hands-on example of interdisciplinary training Interactions between different science areas

15. Chlorophyll 3D Alkalinity N (μ=10.54,σ 2 = 45.64)

16. Acknowledgments Funding NSF DUE 0442992 & 0716055 NIH U54 RR021813 Collaborators N Christou, J Sanchez, R Gould J Cui, A Che, A Toga www.NSER.org

17. NISER National Internet- based Science Educational Resource Disciplines Statistics Physics Biology Engineering Chemistry Mathematics http://www.NSER.org Philosophy Tools must be freely available on the Web Materials must be useful, extensible, correct, validated Tools must platform- independent and open- source; Must utilize interactive resources