Aquarium STEM and Families Literacies Project Receives ORSP Multidisciplinary Research Grant

Drs. Betina Hsieh and Cathrine Maiorca, along with College of Liberal Arts faculty Dr. Kim Kelly have received an ORSP Multidisciplinary Research Grant for 2019-2020. Building upon a pilot project on emergent science literacy, family interactions and how these are mitigated by the use of technology done by Dr. Kim Kelly, in the CLA Human Development Program, the ORSP funded multidisciplinary project focuses on research activities to support an ongoing multi-year program of inquiry, in partnership with Long Beach’s Aquarium of the Pacific and Long Beach Unified School District. The project is designed to deepen the understanding of family smartphone practices while engaged in informal science learning and consider implications of family practices as they may connect with classroom learning; to explore the connections that can be made between literacies in school, at home, and in informal learning spaces; and to increase access to informal STEM learning spaces for diverse groups.