For over 25 years, Science Friday has been producing award-winning multimedia for web, radio, YouTube, and social media. By reaching millions of people and working with a growing network of scientists and innovators—including Nobel laureates, MacArthur geniuses, Pulitzer Prize winners, and world-famous explorers—we aim to promote a greater understanding of science and technology in the general public.
And we want your help.
Educators like you are our allies in communicating the value of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to the general public. We think that by working together, we can combine powerful media and innovative education practices to inspire students to pursue careers that lead to discovery and innovation.
Join the Science Friday Educator Collaborative!
The Science Friday Initiative is conducting a search for creative, highly motivated, and dedicated STEM educators to participate in the collaborative development of new multimedia-driven education resources. You’ll work directly with Science Friday staff to produce and share compelling approaches to STEM education inspired by interviews and stories from real scientists, mathematicians, and engineers. Science Friday will support your work with stunning visuals and multimedia, and will then share your content with a larger audience.
Past SciFri Educator Collaborators have crafted educational activities that invite learners to explore the hexagonal shape of honeycomb cells, conduct environmental health surveys of coral reefs, embark on a 360-degree expedition of the Columns of Giants in California, and more! Educator Collaborators have even talked about their work on our weekly radio show. Check out the creations from past cohorts:
- Cohort Six: This cohort examined jelly capture robots, pop-up book engineering, and a whole lot more.
- Cohort Five: This cohort examined the pollution burdens on communities of color, thermodynamics as learned from Cherokee firepots, and much more.
- Cohort Four: This cohort examined ancient diets, modeled digital and analog signals, danced representations for ecological niches, explored sauropod poop, and much more.
- Cohort Three: This cohort created cephalopod skin, measured x-rays, and a whole bunch more for classrooms.
- Cohort Two: The cohort redesigned boots, fossilized chicken bones, and more for the classroom.
- Cohort One: Introducing the Science Friday Educator Collaborative! Our first cohort looked at hydrophobicity in plants, used art to tell a story behind climate data, examine mud for past climate history, and more.
Why should I participate?
Participants in the collaborative will receive:
- An opportunity to demonstrate your education expertise and insight to a large audience.
- Creative and editorial guidance from Science Friday to develop educational resources.
- Materials for implementing your activities with your students.
- Bragging rights! The Science Friday Educator Collaborative is a nationally competitive program with only a select number of participants.
- Connections to educator peers who are creating and sharing compelling approaches to STEM education across the nation.
- Science Friday Swag (T-shirt!).
- A byline. The multimedia-supported educational resource you develop will be featured on www.sciencefriday.com.
Oh, and did we mention that you’ll also receive an honorarium of $500.00 for your work?
Who can participate?
Any educator working full-time in the United States with K-12 students in a classroom or in an after-school program, zoo, museum, or any other informal educational institution or program. Educators must have a proven track record of designing and implementing original educational experiences for students. Educators must have at least three years experience working with K-12 students and must submit the contact information for an administrator or supervisor who can attest to their professional excellence as an instructor and facilitator.
This sounds like me! How do I apply?
- Application cycles occur annually. Sign-up for our education newsletter to be notified of this and other Science Friday opportunities for educators. We look forward to working with you!
When will I know I am selected?
Educators selected for interviews will be notified in late February 2022.
What are the program requirements in a nutshell?
- Participate in a series of web-based trainings;
- Create, revise, refine, and work with Science Friday staff on an original educational resource (lesson plan, activity, strategy, game, experiment, or other learning experience based on one or more Science Friday multimedia artifacts);
- Provide constructive feedback on two peer-generated resources;
- Create a digital artifact showing the use of your educational resource by students;
- Create and execute an impact plan developed with Science Friday staff to work with other educators around your resource and approach to STEM in the following year;
- Complete pre- and post-program evaluation surveys;
- Complete post-program focus group.
If you’re excited to improve your professional practice, get your work published, and join an amazing community of STEM educators, we hope you apply. You can also sign-up for our educator newsletter to be notified of this and other Science Friday opportunities for educators. We look forward to working with you!
Sincerely,
The Science Friday Education Team
www.sciencefriday.com/educate