As part of the National Science Foundation-funded Access Algebra project, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) developed both a 6,000 square foot traveling exhibition (Design Zone) and a professional development program for host-museum facilitators who would work in the exhibition. The primary goal of the project was to engage visitors in algebraic thinking, with a special focus on reaching a target audience of 10- to 14-year-olds and their families. Facilitation in Design Zone was intended to support and extend visitors’ engagements with the exhibits and engage visitors in
This paper introduces a model for using informal science education venues as contexts within which to teach the nature of science. The model was initially developed to enable university education students to teach science in elementary schools so as to be consistent with National Science Education Standards (NSES) (1996) and A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas (2011). The model has since been used in other university courses and professional development workshops for elementary, middle school, and high school teachers. Learners experience the
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Barbara SpectorRuth BurkettCyndy Leard
The article assesses professional development in the field of science through curricular and instructive methods in the museum. The National Science Education Standards, along with independent researchers, confirm and stress the importance of quality professional development for elementary science educators which can be provided by museum services and models. The study involved participants from two different elementary schools within the same urban district serving a Latino student body, which were recognized as bottom tiers in the academic performance index of California's Department of
The Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago (MSI) formed the Institute for Quality Science Teaching (IQST) with the goal of improving science achievement of 4th-8th grade students in the Chicago area by creating a series of courses for teachers who lack the background in science or science teaching to teach effectively. This study was designed to evaluate teachers' increased content knowledge in one IQST course, Get Re-Energized (GRE), which focuses on energy topics. The study discovered improvement for teachers who received the course, and those teachers' students scored higher on energy
One of the problems in science education is students' low motivation and difficulty to see the connection between science learning and their daily life. In addition, many science concepts are not intuitive, and involve complicated relations between parameters. We previously presented (Weizman & Broza, 2012) evaluation of a model integrating digital educational games with interactive learning units, where we found that students reported experiencing both learning and enjoyment. The current study focused on games in science, and examined the relation between the game design parameters and the
This report, commissioned by the Wellcome Trust, provides a review of the value of informal science learning to science education in the UK. The study seeks to provide: a better understanding of the scope of informal science learning, its theoretical base and the types of change it can bring about in the understanding of and attitudes towards science; recommendations for robust methods for evaluating the impact of informal science learning, based on an analysis of practice in the field; recommendations on reaching deprived learners, schools and families; and recommendations based on best
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GHK ConsultingRichard LloydRoss NeilsonSuzanne KingMark DyballWellcome Trust
This checklist provides a step-by-step process for preparing, leading, and ending an after school science project. The document also includes a partner checklist for science coaches and trainers when instructing adult learners.
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National Partnerships for After School Science 2
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
This full-scale development project will address the need for creative models to support STEM learning in underserved rural communities that lack traditional infrastructure such as science centers. The project will create and study an innovative model of capacity-building: viz., small networks of community-embedded “STEM Guides” will be trained to identify a range of existing STEM resources available in their local regions, and to connect STEM-interested youth with them in creative and personal ways. Anticipated learning outcomes for youth and families include greater awareness of and interest in STEM experiences and pathways. At the regional level, the project will build capacity through increasing the STEM Guides’ knowledge of local STEM opportunities, and by enhancing connections among STEM-related resources, programs, and industries. The project will implement and study STEM Guide networks in a staggered series of five low-income, rural regions, providing startup resources and professional development. The project will increase the frequency and depth of out-of-school STEM experiences for approximately 3,000 youth aged 10-18 at a relatively low cost, creating a national model for STEM capacity-building in rural settings. It is led by the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance, with 4-H, Cornerstones of Science (library-based STEM) and Maine’s university system as collaborators. EDC is the primary external evaluator.
This full-scale project addresses the need for more youth, especially girls, to pursue an interest in engineering and eventually fill a critical workforce need. The project leverages museum-based exhibits, girls' activity groups, and social media to enhance participants' engineering-related interests and identities. The project includes the following bilingual deliverables: (1) Creative Solutions programming will engage girls in group oriented engineering activities at partner community-based organizations, where the activities highlight altruistic, personally relevant, and social aspects of engineering. Existing community groups will use the activities in their regular meeting structure. Visits to the museum exhibits, titled Design Your World will reinforce messages; (2) Design Your World Exhibits will serve as a community hub at two ISE institutions (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and the Hatfield Marine Science Center). They will leverage existing NSF-funded Engineer It! (DRL-9803989) exhibits redesigned to attract, engage, and mobilize a more diverse population by showcasing altruistic, personally relevant, and social aspects of engineering; (3) Digital engagement through targeted use of social media will complement program and exhibit content and be an online portal for groups engaged in the project; (4) A community action group (CAG) will provide professional development opportunities to stakeholders interested in girls' STEM identity (e.g. parents, STEM-based business professionals) to promote effective engineering messaging throughout the community and engage them in supporting project participants; and (5) Longitudinal research will explore how girls construct and negotiate engineering-related identities through discourse across the project activities and over time.
The Global Soundscapes! Big Data, Big Screens, Open Ears Project uses the new science of soundscape ecology to design a variety of informal science learning experiences that engage participants through acoustic discovery Soundscape ecology is an interdisciplinary science that studies how humans relate to place through sound and how humans influence the environment through the alteration of natural sound composition. The project includes: (1) an interface to the NSF-funded Global Sustainable Soundscapes Network, which includes 12 universities around the world; (2) sound-based learning experiences targeting middle-school students (grades 5-8), visually impaired and urban students, and the general public; and (3) professional development for informal science educators. Project educational components include: the first interactive, sound-based digital theater experience; hands-on Your Ecosystem Listening Labs (YELLS), a 1-2 day program for school classes and out-of school groups; a soundscape database that will assist researchers in developing a soundscape Big Database; and iListen, a virtual online portal for learning and discovery about soundscape. The project team includes Purdue-based researchers involved in soundscape and other ecological research; Foxfire Interactive, an award-winning educational media company; science museum partners with digital theaters; the National Audubon Society and its national network of field stations; the Perkins School for the Blind; and Multimedia Research (as the external evaluator).
Techbridge has proposed a broad implementation project that will scale up a tested multi-faceted model that increases girls' interest in STEM careers. The objectives of this project are to increase girls' engineering, technology, and science skills and career interests; build STEM capacity and sustainability across communities; enhance STEM and career exploration for underrepresented girls and their families; and advance research on the scale-up, sustainability, and impact of the model with career exploration. The Techbridge approach is grounded in Eccles' expectancy value model, and helps bridge critical junctures as girls transition from elementary to middle school and middle school to high school, immersing participants in a network of peers and supportive adults. Techbridge targets girls in grades 5-12 with a model that includes five components: a previously tested and evaluated curriculum, career exploration, professional development for staff and teachers, family engagement, and dissemination. The inquiry-based curriculum introduces electrical engineering and computer science through engaging, hands-on units on Cars and Engines, Green Design, and Electrical Engineering. The Techbridge model will be enhanced to include a central repository for curriculum and support materials, electronic girl-driven career exploration resources, an online learning community and video tools for staff, and customized family guides. Project deliverables include the dissemination of the enhanced model to three cities, 24 school sites and teachers, 2,000 girls, and over 600 role models. A supplementary research component will study the broad implementation of the Techbridge model by examining the fidelity of implementation and the program's impact on girls' STEM engagement and learning. The research questions are as follows: (1) To what extent and how do new program sites demonstrate adherence to the Techbridge program model? (2) Do new sites experience similar or increased participant responsiveness to Techbridge programming with regard to scientific learning outcomes, career awareness, attitude and interest in engineering? (3)How are changes experienced by girls sustained over time, if at all? (4) To what extent and how do new sites balance instilling the Techbridge essentials, those critical components Techbridge identifies as essential for success, with the need for local adaptation and ownership of the program? and (5) Given the potential for customization in local communities, do new sites maintain programmatic quality of delivery experienced at the original site? If so, what are elements essential to success regarding quality delivery? The mixed-methods study will include document analysis, embedded assessments, participant survey scales, and observations. Qualitative data methods include interviews with teachers, role models, staff and focus groups with girls. A project evaluation will also be conducted which investigates project outcomes for participants (girls, teachers, role models, and families) and fidelity of the implementation and enhancements at expansion sites, using a quasi-experimental approach. Career and learning outcomes for girls will be determined using embedded assessments, portfolios, surveys, school data, and previously validated instruments such as the Career Interest Questionnaire and the Modified Attitudes towards Science Inventory. The Managing Complex Change model is used as a framework for the project evaluation for the purpose of examining factors related to the effectiveness of scaling. The dissemination of research and evaluation findings will be achieved through the use of publications, blogs, social media, and conferences. It is anticipated that this project will broaden the participation of Hispanic, African-American, and English language learner girls, build capacity for STEM programming and sustainability at the dissemination sites, and disseminate findings to over 1 million educators, researchers, and community members. Broader impacts include contributing to the field's understanding of how virtual role models and field trips can engage young women, increase corporate advocacy, and engage participants in research and dissemination efforts.