Danielle Harlow, associate professor at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, is the co-Principal Investigator on a multi-year grant awarded to MOXI, the Wolf Museum of Exploration and Innovation in Santa Barbara. The $170,000 grant, awarded by the National Science Foundation, will facilitate the development of nine Engineering Exploration modular programs in partnership with UC Santa Barbara.
Harlow will be working closely with Ron Skinner, the Director of Education at MOXI. MOXI and UCSB have received this funding as the new Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are being rolled out in K-12 schools throughout the country including those in Santa Barbara County and throughout California. The focal point of each Engineering Exploration modular programs is a field trip program held at the museum. Each Exploration will also include accompanying classroom extension activities, curriculum guides for teachers, and a modified version of the program, which could be taken to area schools.
Danielle Harlow is an Associate Professor in the Department of Education. Her work focuses on science and engineering education for K-12 teachers and for elementary school students. Harlow is currently part of two grants funded by the National Science Foundation. One grant focuses on developing Computer Science curriculum for upper elementary school students and studying how children learn computational thinking. The other grant focuses on how to develop undergraduate large-enrollment inquiry-based physics curricula that are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
In addition to research and teaching, Harlow is a content advisor to the Children’s Museum of Santa Barbara, a new museum that will focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM), with a particular emphasis on physical science and engineering.