This report summarizes front-end research with visitors on the topic of agriculture, conducted by the Research & Evaluation Department of the Saint Louis Science Center. This front-end study was designed to inform the internal development teams connected to the Science Center agriculture exhibit. The main objective of the research was to gather information from Science Center visitors about their familiarity and interest in the topic, their experiences with farming, their top of mind knowledge about technology and sustainability as it relates to agriculture, and their expectations for an
One objective of the Center for High-rate Manufacturing is to increase knowledge of and interest in nanotechology among secondary and postsecondary students, educators, and the general public. The Center partners with the Museum of Science, Boston, to help carry out these goals. The Museum's CHN sub-award PI and her team provides training to graduate students to help them learn how to engage in education and outreach activities with these groups. To better understand graduate student education and outreach activities, and student participation in the Museum of Science outreach activities and
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UMass Donahue Institute Research and Evaluation GroupCarol Lynn AlpertCarol Barry
Funded by NSF, Earth: The Operators’ Manual (ETOM) is a users’ guide to the present and future energy resources of our planet, providing “users” with the information, attitudes and tools to make wiser choices about powering homes, schools, businesses and communities. ETOM uses a hybrid model of science communication including video + in-person presentations + Web 2.0 social networking. Rockman et al evaluated project impact, working from front-end to summative stages to understand the reactions of media, online and on-site audiences using both qualitative and quantitative measures to look at
SciStarter is the place to find out about, take part in, and contribute to science through citizen science, recreational activities and research projects. If you're a scientist or a representative of a citizen science organization or community group: This is the place to tell eager people about your work and get them interested in helping out. We aim to: 1) Enable and encourage people to learn about, participate in, and contribute to science through both informal recreational activities and formal research efforts; 2) Inspire greater appreciation and promote a better understanding of science and technology among the general public; 3) Create a shared space where scientists can talk with citizens interested in working on or learning about their research projects and 4) Satisfy the popular urge to tinker, build, and explore by making it simple and fun for people to jump in and get their hands dirty with science.
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SciStarter (a division of Science For Citizens)Darlene Cavalier
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has tried to narrow the gap between science and society with its Broader Impacts requirement. The authors analyzed the proposed broader impacts of proposals funded by NSF's Ecosystems Studies Program (i.e. the activities that provide benefice to society through teaching, broadening participation, enhancing infrastructure, and disseminating research). They obtained all of the abstracts of funded proposals from NSF's website and characterized the scope of the proposed broader impacts activities in 296 propels (2000-2010). Only 65% of abstracts included a
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The Evergreen State CollegeNalini NadkarniAmy E Stasch
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
The analysis contained in this report was prepared for the CAISE Convening on Broader Impacts & ISE. The report summarizes interviews with researchers in STEM subjects who were asked about: 1) their perceptions about broader impacts, 2) the planning and process that researchers undertake for broader impacts activities, 3) the resources and supports that currently exist and that researchers would like to exist for broader impacts activities, and 4) how the informal science education field might "market" itself as a potential place to find partners or venues for doing broader impacts activities
This report is a synthesis of ongoing research, design, and implementation of an approach to education called “connected learning.” Connected learning advocates for broadened access to learning that is socially embedded, interest-driven, and oriented toward educational, economic, or political opportunity. Connected learning is realized when a young person is able to pursue a personal interest or passion with the support of friends and caring adults, and is in turn able to link this learning and interest to academic achievement, career success or civic engagement.
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Digital Media and Learning Research HubMizuko ItoKris GutierrezSonia LivingstoneBill PenuelJean RhodesKatie SalenJuliet SchorJulian Sefton-GreenS. Craig Watkins
This report was completed by the Program Evaluation Research Group at Endicott College in October 2013. It describes the outcomes and impacts of a four-year, NSF-funded project called Go Botany: Integrated Tools to Advance Botanical Learning (grant number 0840186). Go Botany focuses on fostering increased interest in and knowledge of botany among youth and adults in New England. This was being done through the creation of an online flora for the region, along with the development of related tools, including PlantShare, and a user-friendly interface for ‘smartphones’. In January 2012, the PI
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Judah LeblangNew England Wild Flower Society
This is a descriptive summative evaluation study of visitors’ experiences with the permanent collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts, after the extensive museum-wide visitor-centric renovation and reinstallation that began in 1998 and culminated with a grand opening in 2007. Using a naturalistic methodology, three researchers from Selinda Research Associates made two three-day site visits (in January and March of 2013) and spent over 32 hours observing and interviewing 45 groups (181 individuals). Visitors’ experiences with works of art included stories and storytelling, visiting an old
The Exploring Engagement and Science Identity Through Participation is a research project that examines the outcomes of various citizen science models for Public Participation in Scientific Research (PPSR). The investigation specifically targets citizen science projects that focus on relationships between science learning and science identity. A mixed-method, meta-analysis approach will be employed. The two primary goals of the study are to better understand science learning and science identify within PPSR contexts and to develop a valid Participant Engagement Metric (PEM) for use within PPSR contexts. Data will be collected and analyzed from several PPSR projects and over 4,000 PPSR participants. The project will address several research questions: (1) What are the dimensions of PPSR engagement and how can we measure them across different project models? The research for this question will include approximately 50 interviews of participants in six primary projects representing a range of PPSR approaches to develop and validate a Participant Engagement Metric (PEM) that will be constructed from the frequency, duration and intensity of involvement in key activities. The project will use a constant comparative method of data analysis (processing of data as they are gathered in order to compare them with emerging categories. The development of the PEM will be one concrete outcome of the proposed research. (2) Within and among projects, what is the relationship between participant engagement and individual learning outcomes? The project will use validated measures of learning outcomes derived from Learning Science in Informal Environments (NRC, 2009) and developed for the DEVISE project described below. The six measures include: Behavior & Stewardship, Skills of Science Inquiry, Knowledge of the Nature of Science, Interest in Science & the Environment, Efficacy, and Motivation. The proposed research will look at how engagement affects learning outcomes, as assessed by these six measures (science interest, efficacy, etc.). The project will conduct participant surveys in the six participating citizen science projects in addition to several other PPSR projects to test the relationship of the PEM and other measures of activity involvement to the learning outcomes measured by the survey instruments developed and validated through a previous project. The data analysis will begin with univariate summary statistics that will provide an overview of the basic dataset. Inferential statistics including multiple regression analysis will be used to test the relationships among the independent variables (type of PPSR project, demographics), PEM as a mediator variable, and the dependent variables. (3) How does degree and quality of participation in scientific research develop and/or reinforce individual science identity? The project will conduct a 3-year longitudinal study using surveys, a series of in-depth interviews, and on-site observations of 36 participants from the six primary projects to understand the development of individual science identity within PPSR environments over time. Quantitative and qualitative data and findings will be "triangulated" to determine if convergent, inconsistent or complementary results can be identified. The project proposes a strong dissemination plan, using these approaches, to present research in journals, disseminate research briefs, host online forums, and launching various listserves and online forums at the citizenscience.org website.
Indianapolis / City as Living Laboratory (I/CaLL) is a city-wide civic collaboration engaging in cross-sector research that builds on prior research in informal science learning in public settings. It extends research in place-based and service learning traditions, and uses the city itself as an informal science learning (ISL) environment for Science and Engineering for Environmental Sustainability learning outcomes. This project is creating place-based science learning experiences as part of public spaces in Indianapolis and establishes the next generation of urban science museums that increase opportunities for learning. The project will develop a self-sustaining program for art/science collaborations as they inaugurate city-sanctioned changeable installations at I/CaLL sites. Data from the project will be used to inform ISL professionals at museums throughout the community and around the country. Thousands of volunteers and their families will help create I/CaLL spaces, engage with communities, and serve as research participants connecting with science learning through site development. The unprecedented scale of this project provides a full measure of informal science service learning at a city scale, offering data that can change how science learning is measured, how people from all walks of life develop science literacy as part of their social public experience, and embodying the concept of the city as a living science learning lab. Broader impacts include the development of the city as an informal science learning environment that will become a new standard for thinking about what cities as cultural units can become as we build a resilient Science and Engineering culture for Environmental Sustainability.