"Making and Tinkering" links science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning (STEM) to the do-it-yourself "maker" movement, where people of all ages "create and share things in both the digital and physical world" (Resnick & Rosenbaum, 2013). This paper examines designing what Resnick and Rosenbaum (2013) call "contexts for tinkerability" within the social design experiment of El Pueblo Mágico (EPM) -- a design approach organized around a cultural historical view of learning and development. We argue that this theoretical perspective reorganizes normative approaches to STEM education
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Lisa SchwartzDaniela DigiacomoKris Gutierrez
This dissertation study investigates late-elementary and early-middle school field trips to a mathematics exhibition called Math Moves!. Developed by and currently installed at four science museums across the United States, Math Moves! is a suite of interactive technologies designed to engage visitors in open-ended explorations of ratio and proportion. Math Moves! exhibits emphasize embodied interaction and movement, through kinesthetic, multi-sensory, multi-party, and whole-body immersive experiences.
Many science museums and other informal-learning institutions offer exhibits and public
Casual games are everywhere. People play them throughout life to pass the time, to engage in social interactions, and to learn. However, their simplicity and use in distraction-heavy environments can attenuate their potential for learning. This experimental study explored the effects playing an online, casual game has on awareness of human biological systems. Two hundred and forty-two children were given pretests at a Museum and posttests at home after playing either a treatment or control game. Also, 41 children were interviewed to explore deeper meanings behind the test results. Results show
Techbridge Girls’ mission is to help girls discover a passion for science, engineering, and technology (SET). In August 2013, Techbridge Girls was awarded a five-year National Science Foundation grant to scale up its after-school program from the San Francisco Bay Area to multiple new locations around the United States. In the fall of 2014, Techbridge Girls began offering after-school programming at five elementary and two middle schools in the Highline Public School district, located near Seattle, WA.
Education Development Center is conducting the formative and summative evaluation of the
This paper examines STEM-based informal learning environments for underrepresented students and reports on the aspects of these programs that are beneficial to students. This qualitative study provides a nuanced look into informal learning environments and determines what is unique about these experiences and makes them beneficial for students. We provide results of a qualitative research study conducted with the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program, an informal learning environment that has proven to be effective in recruiting, retaining and encouraging
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Cameron DensonChandra Austin StallworthChristine HaileyDaniel Householder
The Curiosity Summer Camp was held in the Redwoods of Huddart Park, Woodside, CA. The camp provided an opportunity for students (ages 4-10) to experience learning in ways that are not always supported by the formal school science curriculum. By focusing on the engineering design process, the children learned to iterate and come back to the same model with a different approach, resulting in development of critical thinking skills and persistence.
We engaged 12 PreK-5 students in a 100-hour hands-on engineering camp. The age cohorts we assessed were: 4-5, 6-7 and 8-10. The sample size was
The evaluation study supports the project Distance Learning Education Programs at the Saint Louis Zoo. To better understand what teachers want and need, and the characteristics of the settings in which their students learn, the Zoo conducted an online survey of the teachers of students with special needs in May 2014. The purpose of this evaluation was to clarify and expand the survey findings to support the design, development, and implementation of the Zoo distance learning curriculum so that it works effectively across a variety of school settings for K12 students with special needs and
The Common Core's higher academic standards are forcing schools into a false dichotomy of reducing playtime in favor of more time to learn math and literacy. But play can deepen learning even in core content areas.
My Sky is a NASA funded project, which developed a traveling exhibition on astronomy. Boston Children’s Museum (BCM) created the exhibition in collaboration with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO). Formative and remedial evaluations were conducted at BCM while the summative evaluation took place at the first two venues following BCM: Stepping Stones Museum for Children (Stepping Stones) in Norwalk, CT and The Providence Children’s Museum (PCM) in Providence, RI. Formative evaluation of the My Sky exhibit was conducted between April 2013 and June 2014 to ensure that the components
This review of literature summarizes findings from current research on the development of empathy in childhood, and implications for developing zoo and aquarium programs that can strengthen children's sense of empathy. Key practices include: intentional framing of conversations about animals, modeling empathy - and providing opportunities for children to practice it, offering opportunities for direct interaction with animals, building children's understanding of the similarities and differences between the needs of humans and of other animals, and activating children's imagination to help them
Three accredited zoos and aquariums in the Pacific Northwest are collaborating on a project aimed at developing tools to assess program effectiveness in encouraging children's empathy towards animals. This short briefing paper outlines the team's initial work to 1) gain a shared understanding and definition of the construct (empathy towards animals) and how it develops during childhood, and 2) review existing research on the link between empathy and beneficial action towards wildlife, and 3) summarize research findings on best practices towards encouraging empathy.
With support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, The Wild Center (TWC) engaged Insight Evaluation Services (IES) to assess the impact of specific outreach activities of the Northern New York Maple Project between September 2013 and September 2015. Data for this two-year evaluation study were collected via in-depth telephone interviews conducted with a total of 25 participants, including 16 Tupper Tappers (Tupper Lake area residents who engaged in backyard tapping to provide sap for syrup production at the museum through the Community Maple Project), four local school teachers