This is a handout from a session presented at the 2008 ASTC Conference. Advances in neuroscience are revealing biological pathways underlying emotion, attention, and memory. How can this research be integrated with educational pedagogy to enhance free-choice learning? Join experts from neuroscience, education, and museums to explore practical ways in which new insights about the brain can be applied to creating museum experiences.
This report from the National Research Council explores how learning changes the physical structure of the brain, how existing knowledge affects what people notice and how they learn, the amazing learning potential of infants, and the relationship between classroom learning and learning in everyday settings such as community and the workplace. It identifies learning needs and opportunities for teachers and provides a realistic look at the role of technology in education.
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This article from the Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) offers an introduction to the field of informal STEM education (ISE). It provides a brief survey of informal STEM education projects related to biology and discusses opportunities for scientists to become involved.
In an experimental study, gender differences were found in how middle schoolers identified with scientists on popular TV shows. Male students identified most strongly with male scientists whom they perceived as respected, while female students identified most strongly with female scientists whom they perceived as dominant. The study also analyzed students’ identification with scientists as an effect of the genre of the TV shows.
Dahlstrom and Ho offer advice on using narrative to communicate about science. They conclude that the rhetorical purpose of the narrative should be thoroughly examined so as not to unfairly influence a reader or listener.
Brewer and Ley surveyed 851 participants in a U.S. city and revealed relationships among demographic characteristics, religious beliefs, political views, and trust in multiple forms of science communication sources.
This paper discusses a modification of the Delphi technique as a tool for bridging research and practice. The technique was used to build consensus among a variety of stakeholders on the subject matter of a proposed Ph.D. study, but it could also be used to identify a focus for other research or collaborative projects.
This presentation was shared at the 2014 Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) annual meeting in Raleigh, NC. It describes how proposers can submit competitive proposals to the National Science Foundation (NSF) Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program in FY 2014. The presentation describes strategies for submitting competitive proposals to the to the NSF AISL program via solicitation 14-555/
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Conservation Education Committee (CEC) supports the appropriate use of living animals in zoos and aquariums as an important and powerful educational tool to advance a conservation agenda. EC leaders and scholars see the need for a zoo and aquarium social science research framework to help those in the education and conservation communications field understand how they can contribute to a greater body of knowledge. This report represents the CEC’s determination to view zoo and aquarium social science research as a collective endeavor that values and
The publication of the National Academies of Science consensus study, Learning Science in Informal Environments (2009), was an important marker in the history of informal STEM learning (ISL). With five years hindsight, we pause to reflect how far ISL has come as a field, what we have achieved, and what the future might hold. The impetus to do so came via our participation on a panel at a symposium at the 2014 NARST Meeting in Pittsburgh, PA. Our session was framed by overarching questions about the kind of research currently being conducted in ISL--and for what purpose. Some of the specific
This document was produced by Beck Tench for the Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE). It provides visual documentation of the 2014 AISL PI Meeting that was held in Washington, DC.
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This poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting in Washington, DC. Madison Area Technical College, in collaboration with the Institute for Chemical Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the American Chemical Society (ACS) and area science centers and museums will create a national program to disseminate the Fusion Science Theater (FST) model which directly engages children in playful, participatory, and inquiry-based science learning of chemistry and physics topics.