WHO MAKES IT HAPPEN
Janet Stocks, Ph.D., Principal Investigator
for explanatoids™, is the Assistant Vice Provost for Education at
Carnegie Mellon University where she directs the Undergraduate Research
Initiative and the Fellowship Resource Advising Center. Stocks is a sociologist
whose research experience includes educational research on mathematics and
technology curriculum and initiatives in K-12 in the Pittsburgh region and
research on gender. She has recently co-edited a book about the integration
of research and education at the college and university level. Stocks is
a faculty member in the Pittsburgh Teachers Institute, a collaborative effort
between Carnegie Mellon, Chatham College, and the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
She is responsible for working with Pittsburgh Public Schools teachers to
develop appropriate curriculum for the Explanatoids project and will continue
to facilitate Carnegie Mellon University student and faculty participation
in the project.
Carnegie Mellon
University Assistant Vice Provost for Education
Kevin Crowley is Associate Professor
of Education and Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh's Learning Research
& Development Center. He is also Director of the newly founded University
of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out of School Environments (UPCLOSE).
UPCLOSE is a group of researchers and educators building and applying a
practical theory of informal learning in partnership with a number of informal
learning institutions in Pittsburgh and beyond. His two books and many journal
articles focus on ways that families and children learn about science and
technology in out-of- school settings. He currently serves as Associate
Editor of the American Education Research Journal and was founding Chair
of the Out-of-School Learning Environments Division of the American Educational
Research Association. Before coming to the University of Pittsburgh, Crowley
received a Ph.D. in Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University and was a
Postdoctoral Fellow in Developmental Psychology at the University of California,
Santa Cruz.
University
of Pittsburgh Learning Research & Development Center
Kristin Hughes is Assistant Professor in Carnegie Mellon University's School of Design, where she teaches two- and three-dimensional design, advanced typography, and senior studio. Her current research focus is the creation of design-based programming for at-risk urban youth that develops critical thinking and problem-solving skills. In addition to this work that uses design as a tool for creating social change, she is also collaborating with an interdisciplinary team on an NSF funded exploration of gender-sensitive science-based communications, "explanatoids." explanatoids cultivates interest in science in pre-teen girls through environmental signage and programming. Ms. Hughes has a master's degree in visual communication from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Carnegie
Mellon University School of Design
Betsy James DiSalvo is the project
manager for the explanatoids™ Click! project. DiSalvo has gained experience
in managing similar projects in state government, non-profit foundations,
and in the private sector. In addition she is a founding member of the arts
collective 0501, whose event-based installations engage political and consumer
issues.
Click! The Urban
Adventure
Barbara K. Mistick is nationally
recognized as an innovator in entrepreneurship education and as an advocate
for women's issues. In her current position at Carnegie Mellon University,
she is responsible for the Girls, Math & Science Initiative, a public-private
collaboration between Fred Rogers' Family Communications, Inc., the University
of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. The Initiative is focused
on expanding informal learning opportunities for girls to explore entrepreneurship,
math and science. Prior to joining Carnegie Mellon, Barbara was Director
of Seton Hill University's National Education Center for Women in Business
where she facilitated the first statewide research in Pennsylvania documenting
women's current and potential economic contributions. Barbara is currently
the Chair of the Board of Directors of the International ATHENA Foundation,
an international leadership organization dedicated to advancing opportunities
for woman throughout the world with programs in over 350 cities in the United
States, Canada, Europe and Asia.
Girls,
Math & Science Partnership