The Conference on Public Participation in Scientific Research 2012 was held on 4 and 5 August in association with the Ecological Society of America’s 97th Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon. The conference took important steps toward formalizing the field of public participation in scientific research (PPSR); facilitated communication, collaboration, and innovation, and identified points of strength and concern for the field. Additional information about and results from the conference can be found at citizenscience.org.
Citizen science programs are increasingly popular for a variety of reasons, from public education to new opportunities for data collection. The literature published in scientific journals resulting from these projects represents a particular perspective on the process. These articles often conclude with recommendations for increasing “success”. This study compared these recommendations to those elicited during interviews with program coordinators for programs within the United States. From this comparison, success cannot be unilaterally defined and therefore recommendations vary by perspective
Garibay Group worked with CLO staff to conduct front‐end research with targeted Latino communities. The goal of this research was to gain an in‐depth understanding of partner communities, including both Latino families living in these communities and of organizational partners. Specifically, research focused on understanding Latino families’ cultural values and norms regarding leisure choices, attitudes toward science, use of technology, and responses to and interested in citizen science.
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Cecilia GarabayCornell Lab of Ornithology
With support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Mathematics in Zoos and Aquariums project worked with zoo and aquarium staff members to integrate mathematical concepts into the interpretation of living collections. Over two years, the project developed three activities related to logic, measurement, and data analysis and conducted workshops with over 400 staff from 124 institutions. In refining the workshop model and conducting evaluation, we found that most staff increased their comfort with and use of math-based activities and that the goals of the participants and the
This article presents excerpts from reports written by visitor research professionals in Canada, Finland, Italy and Norway. These brief summaries describe visitor studies projects at various institutions in these countries.
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Visitor Studies AssociationGeorge Hein
In this article, Nathalie Caplet, from Cap Sciences in Bordeaux, France, outlines how French and European museums in general cater to young audiences in exhibitions while otherwise targeting the general public. Caplet provides examples of how institutions engage children using old or more innovative techniques.
Science museums play a role in creating visitor experiences that relate to contemporary issues in science, and in linking audiences to the scientific enterprise and the community of scientists. In the Portal to the Public approach, science researchers are trained by museum educators with experience in inquiry-based learning, and are then given opportunities to translate their current research for museum audiences. Portal to the Public offers one solution to museums seeking to sustain a commitment to delivering experiences that reflect the dynamic pace of research, and the need to connect local
The First Synthesis Meeting was held in January 2008, at the front end of the Portal to the Public grant period. For this meeting, forty-three experts, stakeholders and members of the project team came together at Pacific Science Center for two days of dialog and reflection. Participants brought diverse knowledge and experience, and represented public, research scientist and informal science education perspectives. The First Synthesis Meeting's goal was to facilitate in-depth conversation to identify current initiatives, best practices, and future directions regarding activities in the field
Describes an outdoor educational program at the University of California Botanical Garden in which children are encouraged to handle the plants and are provided with a taped commentary. By the use of an inquiry method, children learn how the Californian Indians used many of the native plants.
This article outlines the attention-value applied to museum visitors. The model describes value as a three-level continuum (capture, focus, and engage) and assumes that the primary motivation for paying attention is perceived value. Bitgood discusses each stage of the visitor attention continuum with respect to the response indicators or behaviors that are associated with the stage, a description of variables that influence attention at that stage, the explanatory processes or mechanisms that appear to be in play during the stage, and possible design implications for the practitioner.
Professional learning communities (PLCs)-teams of educators who meet regularly to exchange ideas, monitor student progress, and identify professional learning needs-reflect a growing interest in promoting professional development that engages teachers and administrators. Increasingly, teachers are able to participate in online and hybrid PLCs in addition to PLCs that meet face-to-face. This report examines: characteristics of PLCs, as reported in the literature; advantages and challenges of online and hybrid PLCs, compared to face-to-face PLCs; and considerations for the design and setup of
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Institute of Sciences, U.S. Department of EducationCynthia L. Blitz
This handbook provides a generic package for the formative evaluation of exhibits. The book covers three major concerns in evaluation: flexibility, efficiency, and validity. The authors note that this evaluation package has been developed on the assumption that the "front- end" evaluation relating to exhibit development has already occurred, and that the "summative" evaluation phase is beyond the scope of the project.
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Curtin University of TechnologyLeonie RennieTerry McClafferty