Ad Astra Academy: Using Space Exploration to Promote Student Learning and Motivation in the City of God, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Practice Best Wladimir Lyra Ana Pantelic Paul Hayne New Mexico State University University of Belgrade University of Colorado Boulder [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Melissa Rice Karolina Garcia Jeffrey Marlow Western Washington University University of Florida Boston University [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Dhyan Adler-Belendez Leonardo Sattler Cassara Harvard Graduate School of Education (alumnus) Federal University of Rio de Janeiro [email protected] [email protected] Keywords Neil Jacobson Carolyn Crow Astronomy education; Student motivation; Mars University of Southern California University of Colorado Boulder exploration; Astrobiology; Outreach for [email protected] [email protected] Development Motivation is a primary determinant of a student’s academic success, but in many under-resourced educational contexts around the world, opportunities to develop motivation are lacking. In the City of God neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, we, a group of scientists and science educators, enacted the Ad Astra Academy, a brief, interactive intervention targeting teenage students at risk of dropping out of school. Students participated in an immersive five-day programme, followed by a six-month lecture series, before completing the second, immersive three-day programme. Participants learned how to use the scientific method in real-world settings to generate new knowledge. In order to consolidate these knowledge gains and bolster the inspirational power of the programme, capstone projects empowered participants to speak with NASA mission managers and, in some cases, acquire never-before-seen images of Mars. While longitudinal study and a more robust sample size are required to bolster conclusions about the efficacy of our approach, initial results suggest that Ad Astra programmes significantly enhance self-efficacy and science-oriented career ambitions. Introduction yses the degree to which focused inter- Some factors that contribute to student ventions can have behavioural, academic motivation are relatively well-established. Among the factors that are positively corre- and career-based effects on participants. Past work has demonstrated the impor- lated with academic success, motivation is Astronomy, astrobiology and space explo- tance of competence, autonomy, and relat- paramount: with an intrinsic desire to learn, ration represent compelling subject mat- edness through the framework of self-de- students are better positioned to overcome ter for these efforts because of the sense termination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), obstacles and make the most of available of wonder, awe, inspiration and other pos- revealing the benefits of metacognition to opportunities (Linnenbrink-Garcia, 2016). itive emotions that they can instil, espe- keep track of progress (Zepeda, 2015) and Anecdotal evidence among practising cially among youth, and also due to the highlighting the value of a growth mindset scientists suggests that specific, punctu- wide-reaching, universal questions they in building resilience and sustained aca- ated events during childhood can spark engage (Valdesolo, 2016). By present- demic interest (Dweck, 2016). Similarly, academic interest and sustain motiva- ing scientific content in the framework of the expectancy-value theory (Wigfield & tion (Heddy & Sinatra, 2013). The Ad Astra exploration and discovery, Ad Astra pro- Eccles, 2000) has shown that students’ Academy aims to develop such experi- grammes incorporate principles of active achievement on a task depends on the ences for students in under-resourced learning and team-based projects, plac- subjective value that students assign to it, educational contexts in order to inspire ing the student at the center of the learn- and whether they expect to succeed. them to pursue further education, even ing process and encouraging autonomous in the face of structural obstacles. As an learning, thereby providing the opportu- Most of these and other studies on moti- organisation led by scientists, it also meas- nity to display resilience, competence and vation focus on structural or attitudinal fac- ures the results of its activities and anal- cooperation (Fernandez-Rio, 2017). tors; here, we seek to analyse how factors CAPjournal, No. 27, March 2020 5 Ad Astra Academy: Using Space Exploration to Promote Student Learning and Motivation in the City of God, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil such as brevity and intensity of an inter- Motivation and Setting higher than the rate for high-income coun- vention can lead to long-lasting motiva- tries that are part of the Organisation for tional changes. Simply put: Can a brief, The Ad Astra Academy set out to improve Economic Co-operation and Development dramatic experience substantially change the academic experiences of disad- (OECD)) (WHO, 2018). For boys, the timing the nature of a student’s motivation, and vantaged youth through an alternative of school dropouts coincides with recruit- thereby positively influence their career tra- approach to learning through exploration. ment into drug-related gangs, which tar- jectory? Several authors point to a class In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the “favelas” are get teenagers. According to 2015 Brazilian of brief interventions that have a long-last- neighborhoods with high concentrations government statistics, of all arrests made ing effect months and even years after they of people living in poverty, with high lev- nationwide in Brazil, 18% were of boys end (Yeager & Walton, 2011; Walton, 2014). els of criminal activity and limited profes- under the age of 18, and 41% of these Most of these studies emphasise that long- sional opportunities for young people. It arrests were due to drug-trafficking activ- term effects were detected, but we aim to has been shown that, in Brazil, every addi- ities (Brasília: Presidência da República, explore the factors that make this possible. tional year of education results in a nearly 2015). In particular, we are interested in empirically 15% increase in wages, making educa- investigating the role that astronomy, astro- tion one of the most powerful drivers of In short, there are enormous obstacles to biology and space exploration can play in economic success (Psacharopoulos & professional success for children growing building and sustaining motivation—and Patrinos, 2004). However, the unbalanced up in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, and we in ultimately influencing socio-economic education system in Brazil means that the hypothesize that a strong sense of intrin- development outcomes. poor have few prospects for social mobility, sic motivation instilled through a brief but and children growing up in favelas are at a exciting intervention could provide posi- Here, we present qualitative and explora- significant disadvantage. Admission rates tive momentum to help students overcome tory quantitative results from two Ad Astra to the best universities are extremely low, the circumstances they were born into. The Academy programmes that spanned four and enrolment is determined by a selection Ad Astra Academy sought to engage stu- years (2015 and 2018) in the City of God exam that privileges well-resourced stu- dents right before the critical age of ado- neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Our dents. According to the Brazilian Institute of lescence when Brazilian teenagers in the after-school programme integrated class- Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in 2014 City of God are most likely to abandon room-based lectures, interactive exer- the government calculated that 40% of the their education. We partnered with the cises, full-day field trips outside the city, students in the top-ranked federal public Instituto Presbiteriano Álvaro Reis (INPAR), and immersive Capstone Projects involv- universities were from the richest quintile a 100-year-old institution that facilitates ing active NASA missions. The Ad Astra of the population, while the poorest quintile extra-curricular activities for the youth of Academy team included an “interna- represented around 7% of enrolment (IBGE, the favela1. The Ad Astra Academy team tional team” (consisting of American and 2015). While the situation has improved sig- also coordinated activities for student par- Brazilian scientists and educators who nificantly (from 60% and 2%, respectively, ticipants with the Museum of Astronomy, work at US institutions) in conjunction with in 2004), the conclusion is unavoidable: the City Planetarium, the Museum of Life, a “local team” (consisting of Brazilian sci- Students from under-resourced communi- and the Valongo Observatory at the Federal entists and educators who work in Rio de ties face major barriers in their pursuit of University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Janeiro). The international team brought higher education and social mobility. a breadth of astronomy and astrobiology expertise and direct connections to active In Rio de Janeiro alone, two million favela Programme Description NASA exploration missions and the local residents (which accounts for nearly one- team fostered effective communication third of the city population) are virtually In collaboration with coordinators at INPAR, and featured more relatable role models excluded from university-level education. we selected cohorts of 20 students between for participating students. While the inter- Data from IBGE show that educational