But many young people face signifcant economic, cultural, historical, and/or social obstacles that distance them from STEM as a meaningful or viable option— these range from under-resourced schools, race- and gender-based discrimination, to the dominant cultural norms of STEM professions or the historical uses of STEM to oppress or disadvantage socio-economically marginalized communities (Philip and Azevedo 2017). As a result, participation in STEM-organized hobby groups, academic programs, and professions remains low among many racial, ethnic, and gender groups (Dawson 2017). One solution to
With support from the National Science Foundation, the STEM Effect project was undertaken in partnership by staff from the Education Development Center, the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. Through a variety of methods, the project convened representatives from cultural institutions (museums, science centers, zoos, botanical gardens and aquaria) from across the country which provide STEM programming aimed at increasing the participation of girls and women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), along with researchers, and
This paper examines the differences and challenges encountered when trying to create informal blended (virtual and hands-on) engineering design STEM activities. It contrasts the creation of STEM activities for formal and informal learning environments, stressing that the differences extend far beyond the length of the activity or depth of any learning goals. The discussion begins with an examination of differences between the two learning environments that need to be taken into consideration. These differences include the physical environments, organizational structures, and the goals or
This paper discusses findings from the use of the Wise Guys and Gals (WGG) Observation of WGG Youth Protocol in a blended learning environment. The protocol was used to assess youth engagement when completing blended engineering design challenges at two Boys and Girls Clubs. WGG is a project funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation and which brings blended learning design challenges to middle school aged learners in informal STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) settings. This paper explores the feasibility of using the observation protocol to collect data
As an emerging field of theory, research, and practice, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) has received attention for its efforts to incorporate the arts into the rubric of STEM learning. In particular, many informal educators have embraced it as an inclusive and authentic approach to engaging young people with STEM. Yet, as with many nascent fields, the conceptualization and usage of STEAM is somewhat ambivalent and weakly theorized. On the one hand, STEAM offers significant promise through its focus on multiple ways of knowing and new pathways to equitable
With the world in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, families are seeking trusted and engaging sources of scientific information to help their children understand prevention, transmission, treatment, and many other topics related to COVID-19 in an effort to ease children’s fears. The goal of our NSF-funded RAPID research study is to understand how children’s science podcasts, as well as other educational products, can provide families with information to help ease children’s worries during a pandemic by increasing children’s understanding of pandemic-related science concepts, empowering
With the world in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, families are seeking trusted and engaging sources of scientific information to help their children understand prevention, transmission, treatment, and many other topics related to COVID-19 in an effort to ease children’s fears. The goal of our NSF-funded RAPID research study is to understand how children’s science podcasts, as well as other educational products, can provide families with information to help ease children’s worries during a pandemic by increasing children’s understanding of pandemic-related science concepts, empowering
Engaging with Tinkering is a highly stimulating and complex experience and invites rich reflections from museum practitioners and teachers. "Tinkering as an inclusive approach for building STEM identity and supporting students facing disadvantage or with low science capital” presents the reflective practice process and tools designed by the "Tinkering EU: Building Science Capital for All" project aiming to understand in more depth the potential impact of using a Tinkering approach with students facing disadvantage. Using tools specifically designed to help teachers observe their students
This front-end evaluation study is part of Designing Our Tomorrow: Mobilizing the Next Generation of Engineers, a five-year project (2018–2023) led by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) with the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF, DRL-1811617) and project partners: Adelante Mujeres, the Biomimicry Institute, and the Fleet Science Center. The Designing Our Tomorrow (DOT) project seeks to promote and strengthen family engagement and engineering learning via compelling exhibit-based design challenges, presented through the lens of sustainable design exemplified by
Under the Arctic: Digging into Permafrost, a 2,000 square foot museum exhibition, engaged visitors in real and simulated experiences related to the nature of permafrost, permafrost research, and the impact of climate change on permafrost. Development of the exhibition was part of a larger National Science Foundation Advancing Informal STEM Learning grant, Hot Times in Cold Places: The Hidden World of Permafrost, awarded to the University of Alaska Fairbanks in partnership with the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
Two related evaluation studies led us to our conclusions. First, we
Our goal in creating this guide is to provide practitioners, organizations, researchers, and others with a “one-stop shop” for measuring nature connections. The guide is for those interested in assessing and enhancing the connections their audiences have to nature; we use the term “audience” to refer broadly to your participants or to any group you are trying to assess. The guide can help you choose an appropriate tool (for example, a survey or activity) for your needs, whether you work with young children, teenagers, or adults (see the Decision Tree on p. 14). The guide also includes 11 tools
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Gabby SalazarKristen KunkleMartha Monroe
The Brains On! exploratory research study was guided by three overarching research questions:
Who is the audience for Brains On! and what are their motivations for listening to children’s science podcasts?
How are Brains On! listeners using the podcast and engaging with its content?
What kinds of impacts does Brains On! have on its audiences?
These questions were answered through a three-phase mixed-methods research design. Each phase informed the next, providing additional insights into answering the research questions. Phase 1 was a review of a sample of secondary data in the