In 2006, the U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG) decided to conduct an institution-wide study of their visitors—why they come to the Botanic Garden, how they utilize the space, their level of satisfaction with the experience, and overall effectiveness of the USBG’s exhibitions and interpretation—in order to provide input to a strategic planning process that will align its living collections with its educational mission. To date, the only existing data characterizing USBG visitors was gathered in the early 1990s. Since then, the USBG has undergone a major transformation, including complete renovation of
This article presents an example of how a public science party was evaluated. The main goals of the science party, to increase the positive image of science and present an attractive science event, were evaluated in two ways. First, web surveys were used to determine the image of science before and after the event among paying visitors, invited guests, and a control group (N = 149). Second, during the event, visitors were interviewed about their experiences at the event (N = 124). The survey study showed that the image of science was very positive among all three groups of respondents. As no
The overseas internship programme offered at Tokyo Institute of Technology as part of the science communication curriculum is highly significant, as it prompts graduate students to acquire new skills and awareness levels, including an enhanced meta-level understanding of the importance and complexity of human communications. The capacity to correlate and respond on-site in human interaction can be gradually cultivated during the internship as students experience diverse communication environments. Moreover, the exposure to different organisational, cultural and social environments helps
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Kayoko NoharaMike NortonMiki SaijoOsamu Kusakabe
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This document contains the proceedings from the Natural Science Gallery Symposium held by the Oakland Museum of California on September 15 & 16, 2008. Attendees discussed plans and ideas for an updated design of the Natural Science Gallery.
Design-Based Research (DBR) has been a tool of the learning sciences since the early 1990s, used as a way to improve and study learning environments. Using an iterative process of design with the goal of refining theories of learning, researchers and educators now use DBR seek to identify how to make a learning environment work. They then draw theories from the research findings that can be shared with a larger community. In this way, knowledge of design principles accumulates within a community for the improvement of learning outcomes. With few exceptions, including some after-school clubs
The concept of engagement across the learning sciences and in museums draws from research on visitor interests, motivations, and behaviors. Such involvement by museum visitors reveals institutional and field expectations about museum efficacy and demonstrated impact. However, engagement is a concept with different uses and interpretations across institutions and fields. If we are going to talk about visitor engagement in museums specifically, it is incumbent on museum educators to understand and address the values that are associated with this idea. What does engagement look like and sound
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Indiana UniversityChildren's Museum of IndianapolisElizabeth WoodBarbara Wolf
This paper discusses the results of a long-term memory study in which fifty visitors to Expo 67 (25 participants from British Columbia and 25 from Quebec) shared their recollections of their personal experience forty years after the event. The impetus for this study stems from a desire to understand the long-term impact of visitors' experience in informal, leisure-time contexts, and, particularly in large-scale exhibitions. This paper presents and discusses outcomes that elucidate the nature of personal memories of Expo 67 and in relation to the collective memory of cultural events/productions
While many museums aim to reach underserved or non-traditional audiences, often including immigrant communities, little attention is given to understanding what is actually meant by "immigrant" and how the experience of many immigrant groups may have unique implications for museums and other informal learning institutions. This article raises key questions about the relationship between museums and immigrant communities in the U.S., the diverse and multivalent nature of immigrant groups, and important issues that museums should consider when thinking about engaging immigrant audiences--such as
In 2008, CSAS conducted a market study in partnership with the Center for Research, Evaluation, and Assessment (REA) at the Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS), University of California, Berkeley, with funding from the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation. The purpose of the market study was to help answer some highly practical questions for CSAS, including: Which after-school programs are "doing" science? What exactly are they doing? What are their needs? By collecting data that answered these questions, CSAS proposed to gain a greater understanding of existing science programs in after-school settings
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Bernadette ChiJason FreemanShirley Lee
Argumentation has become an increasingly recognized focus for science instruction---as a learning process, as an outcome associated with the appropriation of scientific discourse, and as a window onto the epistemic work of science. Only a small set of theoretical conceptualizations of argumentation have been deployed and investigated in science education, however, while a plethora of conceptualizations have been developed in the interdisciplinary fields associated with science studies and the learning sciences. This paper attempts to review a range of such theoretical conceptualizations of
In evaluating the success of teacher development programs, valid and scalable measures of teaching practice are needed. We have developed and validated the Science Lesson Plan Analysis Instrument (SLPAI) for quantitative evaluation of teacher-generated multiday lesson plans. This paper presents the SLPAI as a complement to surveys and classroom observation, and demonstrates its use in 2 pilot studies. The SLPAI was used formatively to measure the teaching practices of incoming program cohorts and tailor program instruction. It was also used to track changes in teaching practice and pedagogical
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Christina JacobsSonya MartinTracey Otieno
The purpose of this study was to describe and understand the range of outcomes of class visits to natural history museums. The theoretical framework is based on the multifaceted process of learning in free choice learning environments, and emphasizes the unique and individual learning experience in museum settings. The study’s significance is in highlighting several possible cognitive as well as non-cognitive learning effects in museums class visits, by providing the student’s point of view. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews with 50 students in grades 6–8 on the day following