Helping students find their voice: Radio production and

STEM learning

Ari W. Epstein

Terrascope Program Office of Experiential Learning

and Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Complementary programs:• Terrascope Radio

Class for freshmen in Terrascope Program

Semester-long, project-based, team-oriented

Students produce program on the year’s Terrascope topic

• Terrascope Youth RadioOutreach program to local urban youth

Teens create radio on environmental topics

MIT students serve as mentors

Why Radio?

• Unfamiliar, so students have few preconceptions

• Linear medium requires concision, constant attention to audience’s needs

• Low barrier to entry

• High threshold for success

• Powerful and evocative

Terrascope Radio

• Work to understand radio from the inside, as producers, not just consumers

• Learn to listen

• Learn to operate equipment and software (hands-on lab sessions)

• Learn how to tell stories using only sound (class listening sessions)

Outcomes for students

• Improved communication skills

• Ability to see broader implications of technical issues, understand multiple points of view

• Strengthened teamwork skills

• Increased competence in listening and interviewing

• Greater self-confidence

• New areas of enthusiasm

Terrascope Youth Radio

• Collaboration with Cambridge Youth Programs

• Diverse groups of teens aged 14-18

• Summer intensive session; school-year session

• Stipends for interns

• MIT students play key roles

• Goals:

– Engage interns, listeners in STEM topics– Engage other youth programs in STEM topics

Select Broadcast/Audio Accomplishments

• “Fresh Greens” hour-long special on teens and the environment (NHPR, others)

• Green audio tour of Boston Children’s Museum

• “Clearwater Moments” (Northeast Public Radio)

• Live broadcasts (Blunt Youth Radio)

• “Cambridge and the Environment” special (WMBR)

• Local outreach

Outcomes for Teen Interns• Subtler understanding of “environmental” stories

• Change in attitudes about science/scientists

• Increased maturity, ability to take on and complete tasks

• Increased ability to research, understand and communicate STEM stories

• Comfort in interview situations

• Increased teamwork skills

• Comfort in MIT setting

Outcomes for Undergraduate Mentors

• Mentoring relationship (pride in teens’ accomplishments, respect earned, etc.)

• Experience in teaching, curriculum design, organization

• Own listening and production skills sharpened

• Increased communication skills in various settings

• Experience guiding project-based learning

Acknowledgments• Prof. Rafael Bras• Profs. Sam Bowring, Kip Hodges• Debra Aczel and Ruth Weinrib• Prof. Henry Jenkins• Claire Holman and the Blunt Youth Radio interns• Public Radio Exchange• National Science Foundation• Henry Luce Foundation• Massiah Foundation• Offices of MIT Chancellor and Provost• Alex and Brit D’Arbeloff Fund for Excellence in

Education