What would it be like to increase the number of youth-serving volunteers who can competently lead science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) activities? This question guided the Inquiry in the Community project, launched in 2008. Along with Girl Scout staff colleagues and volunteers, the project created a system for embedding inquiry-based science into a youth development organization.
With 8.4 million children in the US spending an average of eight hours a week in afterschool programs, afterschool providers are an important part of the network of caring adults who can help to keep children safe. This article explores the topic of mandated reporting of suspected child abuse by afterschool staff.
Grounded in literature on best practices in science education, this article describes a systematic and intentional approach to developing out-of-school time (OST) science curricula and professional development models. Examples from the California 4-H Science, Engineering, and Technology Initiative demonstrate promising practices in action.
Educational researchers, scholars, theoreticians, and practitioners define, interpret, and study out-of school science education in various ways. Some use the term informal, while others prefer free-choice, outdoor education, everyday learning or lifelong learning. Preferences reflect theory, settings and practice, but regardless of the terminology, all researchers who are engaged in learning that occurs outside of schools are convinced that a wide range of environments—structured and unstructured—afford various types of engagement and learning. Learning science in such environments has
This article from "The Atlantic" describes ways that teachers are integrating hands-on and experiential STEM learning into the classroom, which include collaboration with informal learning environments through creative field trips.
This poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting in Washington DC. It describes the CLUES project that provides STEM education opportunities to families.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
New Jersey Academy for Aquatic SciencesBarbara Kelly
This is a Science Learning+ planning project that will develop a plan for how to conduct a longitudinal study using existing data sources that can link participation in science-focused programming in out-of-school settings with long-range outcomes. The data for this project will ultimately come from "mining" existing data sets routinely collected by out-of-school programs in both the US and UK. 4H is the initial out-of-school provider that will participate in the project, but the project will ideally expand to include other youth-based programs, such as Girls Inc. and YMCA. During the planning grant period, the project will develop a plan for a longitudinal research study by examining informal science-related factors and outcomes including: (a) range of educational outcomes, (b) diversity and structure of learning activities, (c) links to formal education experiences and achievement measures, and (d) structure of existing informal science program data collection infrastructure. The planning period will not involve actual mining of existing data sets, but will explore the logistics regarding data collection across different informal science program, including potential metadata sets and instruments that will: (a) identify and examine data collection challenges, (b) explore the implementation of a common data management system, (c) identify informal science programs that are potential candidates for this study, (d) compare and contrast data available from the different programs and groups, and (e) optimize database management.
This Science Learning+ Planning Project will develop a prototype assessment tool (based on a mobile technology platform) to map STEM learning experiences across different learning ecologies (e.g. science centers, mass media, home environment) and to develop research questions and designs for a Phase 2 Science Learning+ proposal. The tool will focus on the impact of the learning ecologies on knowledge, interest, identity and reasoning rather than emphasize learning in a specific content area. The proposing team will develop and conduct a small scale usability study during the planning period, which will inform what is proposed in the Phase 2 research. A key focus of the planning period will be to identify and develop the theoretical constructs (i.e., outcomes) to be measured by the prototype App. As a starting point, the project will start with four of the six strands identified in Learning Science in Informal Environments (National Research Council, Bell et al., 2009): (1) interest triggered by a STEM experience; (2) understanding scientific knowledge; (3) engaging in scientific reasoning; and (4) identifying with the scientific enterprise. Discussion among the project partners during the planning process will revolve around how these strands should be measured in the Phase 2 research across ecologies. The measurement tool will assess the goal(s) that people set as they engage in STEM learning within each ecology and will measure the individuals' duration and level of engagement. The project will strive to utilize measures that: (1) are nonobtrusive; (2) are embedded in STEM experiences; (3) can be used across ecologies; (4) can be scaled for other ecologies than the ones examined in Phase 2 research; and (5) will be easy to use by researchers and practitioners.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Bradley MorrisJohn DunloskyGreat Lakes Science CenterUniversity of LimerickIdeaStream (UK)Irish Independent newspaper
Based on the number of visitors annually, zoos and aquariums are among the most popular venues for informal STEM learning in the United States and the United Kingdom. Most research into the impacts of informal STEM learning experiences at zoos and aquariums has focused on short-term changes in knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. This Science Learning+ project will identify the opportunities for and barriers to researching the long-term impacts of informal STEM learning experiences at zoos and aquariums. The project will address the following overarching research question: What are and how do we measure the long-term impacts of an informal STEM learning experience at a zoo and aquarium? While previous research has documented notable results, understanding the long-term impacts of zoo and aquarium learning experiences will provide a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the impact of these programs on STEM knowledge, skills and application. This study will use a participatory process to identify: (1) the range of potential long-term impacts of informal science learning experiences at zoos and aquariums; (2) particular activities that foster these impacts; and (3) opportunities for and barriers to measuring those impacts. First, an in-depth literature review will document previous research efforts to date within the zoo and aquarium community. Second, a series of consultative workshops (both in-person and online) will gather ideas and input from practitioners, researchers, and other stakeholders in zoo and aquarium education. The consultative workshops will focus on two questions in particular: (1) What are the different types and characteristics of informal science learning experiences that take place at zoos and aquariums? and (2) What are the long-term impacts zoos and aquariums are aiming to have on visitors in relation to knowledge, attitudes, skills and behaviors/actions? Finally, visitor surveys at zoos and aquariums in the US and UK will be conducted to gather input on what visitors believe are the long-term impacts of an informal STEM learning opportunity at a zoo or aquarium. The data gathered through all of these activities will inform the design of a five-year, mixed-methods study to investigate long-term impacts and associated indicators of an informal STEM learning experience at a zoo or aquarium. One of the aims of the five-year study will be to test instruments that could eventually be used by the global zoo and aquarium community to measure the long-term impacts of informal STEM learning programs. Designing tools to better understand the long-term impacts of informal STEM learning at zoos and aquariums will contribute to our ability to measure STEM learning outcomes. Additional benefits include improved science literacy and STEM skills amongst visitors over time and an understanding of how education programs contribute to wildlife conservation worldwide.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Brian JohnsonStanford UniversityLancaster UniversitySarah ThomasNicole ArdoinMurray Saunders
This is a poster from the 2014 AISL PI Meeting in Washington, DC. It describes KC Empower, a project that explores after school science for children with disabilities.
This poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting in Washington, DC. It describes My Sky Tonight, a project that introduces preschool-age children to astronomy.
President Obama announced in April 2013 that the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) would launch a STEM AmeriCorps initiative to build student interest in STEM. A RFA is currently being prepared to be released in the late fall of 2013. This project will engage in quick response research to identify an evaluation and research agenda that can begin to inform the program launch. Thus, the timeframe for informing the initial stages of STEM AmeriCorps is relatively short, and the creation of an evaluation and research agenda is very timely. The products from the RAPID proposal are: (1) a review of the evaluation and research literature on the use of volunteers and/or mentors to build students' interest in STEM; (2) to convene a workshop to identify evaluation and research priorities to guide the initiative; and (3) a summary evaluation agenda that identifies promising directions along with the strength of evidence around key issues.