As part of the Exploratorium’s Indoor Positioning System (IPS) project, we prototyped a crowd-sourced, location-tagged audio app, called Exploratorium Voices, or Open Conversation, that visitors could use on smartphones to listen to short comments from staff, experts and other visitors and to leave their own comments for others to hear. This app was developed with Roundware, an open-source framework that collects, stores, and delivers audio content, integrated with a Wi-Fi IPS that provided location data used to tag audio recordings and determine where a visitor was to play recordings left
As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds innovative resources for use in a variety of settings. This Research in Service to Practice project will examine how a wide range of pre-college out-of-school-time activities facilitate or hinder females' participation in STEM fields in terms of interest, identity, and career choices. The study will address the ongoing problem that, despite females' persistence to degree once declaring a major in college, initially fewer females than males choose a STEM career path. To uncover what these factors might be, this study will look at the extent to which college freshmen's pre-college involvement in informal activities (e.g., science clubs, internships, shadowing of STEM professionals, museum-going, engineering competitions, citizen science pursuits, summer camps, and hobbies) is associated with their career aspirations and avocational STEM interests and pursuits. While deep-seated factors, originating in culture and gender socialization, sometimes lower females' interest in STEM throughout schooling, this study will examine the degree to which out-of-school-time involvement ameliorates the subtle messages females encounter about women and science that can interfere with their aspiration to a STEM careers.
The Social Cognitive Career Theory will serve as the theoretical framework to connect the development of interest in STEM with students' later career choices. An epidemiological approach will be used to test a wide range of hypotheses garnered from a review of relevant literature, face-to-face or telephone interviews with stakeholders, and retrospective online surveys of students. These hypotheses, as well as questions about the students' demographic background and in-school experiences, will be incorporated into the main empirical instrument, which will be a comprehensive paper-and-pencil survey to be administered in classes, such as English Composition, that are compulsory for both students with STEM interests and those without by 6500 students entering 40 large and small institutions of higher learning. Data analysis will proceed from descriptive statistics, such as contingency tables and correlation matrices, to multiple regression and hierarchical modeling that will link out-of-school-time experiences to STEM interest, identity, and career aspirations. Factor analysis will be used to combine individual out-of-school activities into indices. Propensity score weighting will be used to estimate causal effects in cases where out-of-school-time activities may be confounded with other factors. The expected products will be scholarly publications and presentations. Results will be disseminated to out-of-school-time providers and stakeholders, educators, and educational researchers through appropriate-level journals and national meetings and conferences. In addition, the Public Affairs and Information Office of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics will assist with communicating results through mainstream media. Press releases will be available through academic outlets and Op-Ed pieces for newspapers. The expected outcome will be research-based evidence about which types of out-of-school STEM experiences may be effective in increasing young females' STEM interests. This information will be crucial to educators, service providers, as well as policy makers who work toward broadening the participation of females in STEM.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Roy GouldPhilip SadlerGerhard Sonnert
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
With support from NSF/AISL, the Exploratorium held the Generating Engagement and New Initiatives for All Latinos (GENIAL) Summit on June 5-6, 2017, in San Francisco, California.
The goals of the GENIAL Summit were to:
- Identify needs and opportunities for Latinos in informal science learning (ISL) environments.
- Facilitate and strengthen professional relationships.
- Identify recommendations and actionable insights with an outlook toward the future.
- Contribute to a more informed ISL field.
A total of 91 participants, a mix of practitioners, community leaders, media specialists, government officials, policy professionals, and researchers from across the United States and Puerto Rico participated in the Summit.
Summit outcomes will include: strengthened partnerships and new collaborations; examples of how participants of the GENIAL summit are applying the results of the gathering in their practice; and dissemination sessions, webinars, and post-summit documentation and articles with the results of GENIAL.
Citizen science engages members of the public in science. It advances the progress of science by involving more people and embracing new ideas. Recent projects use software and apps to do science more efficiently. However, existing citizen science software and databases are ad hoc, non-interoperable, non-standardized, and isolated, resulting in data and software siloes that hamper scientific advancement. This project will develop new software and integrate existing software, apps, and data for citizen science - allowing expanded discovery, appraisal, exploration, visualization, analysis, and reuse of software and data. Over the three phases, the software of two platforms, CitSci.org and CyberTracker, will be integrated and new software will be built to integrate and share additional software and data. The project will: (1) broaden the inclusivity, accessibility, and reach of citizen science; (2) elevate the value and rigor of citizen science data; (3) improve interoperability, usability, scalability and sustainability of citizen science software and data; and (4) mobilize data to allow cross-disciplinary research and meta-analyses. These outcomes benefit society by making citizen science projects such as those that monitor disease outbreaks, collect biodiversity data, monitor street potholes, track climate change, and any number of other possible topics more possible, efficient, and impactful through shared software.
The project will develop a cyber-enabled Framework for Advancing Buildable and Reusable Infrastructures for Citizen Science (Cyber-FABRICS) to elevate the reach and complexity of citizen science while adding value by mobilizing well-documented data to advance scientific research, meta-analyses, and decision support. Over the three phases of the project, the software of two platforms, CitSci.org and CyberTracker, will be integrated by developing APIs and reusable software libraries for these and other platforms to use to integrate and share data and software. Using participatory design and agile methods over four years, the project will: (1) broaden the inclusivity, accessibility, and reach of citizen science; (2) elevate the value and rigor of citizen science software and data; (3) improve interoperability, usability, scalability and sustainability of citizen science software and data; and (4) mobilize data to allow cross-disciplinary research and meta-analyses. These outcomes benefit society by making citizen science projects and any number of other possible topics more possible, efficient, and impactful through shared software and data. Adoption of Cyber-FABRICS infrastructure, software, and services will allow anyone with an Internet or cellular connection, including those in remote, underserved, and international communities, to contribute to research and monitoring, either independently or as a team. This project is also being supported by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Gregory NewmanLouis LiebenbergStacy LynnMelinda Laituri
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This project will convene a workshop focused on digital micro-credentials, also known as digital badges, and the role they might play in the high-stakes process of college admission. Digital micro-credentials represent one potential mechanism for broadening access for underrepresented groups to higher education. Digital micro-credentials enable students to present a broader view of themselves as learners that connects different domains of their lives: academic, social, and personal interest-driven. As such, digital micro-credentials enable students to represent expertise and potential in ways that go beyond traditional high school grade point averages and standardized test scores. The workshop addresses questions such as: Can micro-credentials serve as valid and reliable measures of learning? What "gap" in current assessment practices can be filled by micro-credentials? What is required for micro-credentials to be useful as evidence of preparation for future learning in the college admission process?
The project's principal investigators will employ case studies, drawn from the Chicago City of Learning network (chicagocityoflearning.org) and Mouse (mouse.org) in New York City, to better understand the use of micro-credentials for learning in STEM-focused extracurricular activities. During the workshop, participants with expertise in student learning from a range of perspectives will design representations of the knowledge or skills demonstrated by students. Participating admissions officers and STEM faculty will critique the designs with respect to how well the designs demonstrate evidence of preparation for future learning by students. The workshop outcomes will include sample designs of micro-credentials that show promise to both promote learning and support college admissions. The workshop will also result in a white paper discussing the potential of micro-credentials for college admission in STEM fields by youth from underrepresented groups.
This research project builds upon an Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) project (DRL#1114674) that investigated preschoolers' self-directed science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related play experiences in outdoor nature-based playscapes. An emerging trend, nature-based playscapes have great potential for exposing young children to STEM-related phenomena, concepts, and processes in a variety of early childhood education settings, including daycare centers, pre-schools, playgrounds, and children's museums. In contrast to traditional playgrounds, playscapes are designed to result in complex, sensory-rich environments in which extensive access to natural materials and resources inspires young children's investigative and exploratory behaviors. This study explores the hypothesis that play in nature provides young children (ages 3-5) with extensive contact with science content and that a play-based curriculum could expand opportunities for STEM learning. This Research-in-Service of Practice project will: 1) design, implement, and evaluate four digital play-based professional development curriculum modules for pre-school educators across multiple partner sites; 2) research the impact of professional training on educators' facilitation of STEM content and activities; 3) examine the impacts of play-based facilitation on young children's understanding of and engagement with STEM; and 4) evaluate the transferability and sustainability of new playscape design principles at three partner sites. This investigation will be led by researchers at the University of Cincinnati in close collaboration with early childhood educators at the Arlitt Center, Cincinnati Nature Center, and two local early childhood organizations that serve children in Head Start programs. The study will use a mixed-methods approach. Data sources include video observations, behavior mapping, teacher self-studies, surveys, interviews, child assessments and children's photo documentation of their experiences. This research project is being funded by the AISL program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. Research that promotes the understanding of how designed play-based natural environments and related instructional approaches support the development of young children's engagement with STEM could lead to new learning theory, pedagogical approaches, and inform the design of effective informal learning experiences. Understanding the affordances of particular components of playscapes with respect to young children, as well as how pre-school educators could productively facilitate young children's engagement with, and understanding of, STEM would be a contribution to the informal STEM field.
This guide is intended to provide a starting point for those developing proposals and projects designed to broaden participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through informal learning experiences. It is an outcome of an Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC)/Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) digital resource curation workshop (August 5, 2016) where participants identified relevant projects from the InformalScience.org database. This digital resource complements the synthesis report of the Leadership Workshop for Achieving Scale
This EAGER project sought to generate early knowledge for the museum field about the capabilities and limitations of an Indoor Positioning System to: 1) automate the collection of visitor movement data for museum research, and 2) enable location-aware applications designed to support museum visitor learning. Working with Qualcomm, Inc., the Exploratorium installed and experimented with an early prototype of a whole-museum, WiFi-based IPS that acquired and processed timestamped location data (latitude/longitude) from mobile test devices, similar to cell phones. The project 1) defined IPS ground
The achievement gap begins well before children enter kindergarten. Research has shown that children who start school having missed critical early learning opportunities are already at risk for academic failure. This project seeks to narrow this gap by finding new avenues for bringing early science experiences to preschool children (ages 3-5), particularly those living in communities with few resources. Bringing together media specialists, learning researchers, and two proven home visiting organizations to collaboratively develop and investigate a new model that engages families in science exploration through joint media engagement and home visiting programs. The project will leverage the popularity and success of the NSF-funded PEEP and the Big Wide World/El Mundo Divertido de PEEP to engage both parents and preschool children with science.
To address the key goal of engaging families in science exploration through joint media engagement and home visiting programs, the team will use a Design Based Implementation Research (DBIR) approach to address the research questions by iteratively studying the intervention model (the materials and implementation process) and assessing the impact of the intervention model on parents/caregivers. The intervention model will include the PEEP Family Engagement Toolkit that will support 20 weeks of family science investigations using new digital and hands-on science learning resources. It will also include new professional development resources for home educators as well as and the implementation process and strategies for developing and implementing the Toolkit with families.
The proposed research focuses first on refining and improving program design and implementation, and second, on investigating whether the intervention improves the capacity of parent/caregivers to support young children's learning in science. Ultimately this research will accomplish two important aims: it will inform the design of the PEEP family engagement intervention model, and, more broadly, it will build practical and theoretical understanding of: 1) effective family engagement models in science learning; 2) the types of supports that families and home educators need to implement these models; and 3) how to implement these models across different home visiting programs. Given the reach of the home visiting programs and the increasing interest in supporting early science learning the potential for broad impact is significant. This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments.
Adult education beyond K-12 and postsecondary levels is very important as this citizenry group is often the policy and decision makers in local communities, as well as for state and federal issues that impact the Nation. Moreover, they are responsible for advising their progeny on a myriad of choices. This project will plan, execute, and promote four annual public lecture events, working with a professional educational evaluation expert to develop an appropriate assessment tool for adult learners in the structured informal learning environment of a science café. These planned events will be used to test and refine an assessment tool for making this work widely available to the community of informal science practitioners and researchers. Further, this project is a pilot for epitomizing the use of science cafés to address the learning needs of unique citizens of Richmond, Virginia. The project is committed to including under-represented citizens including Veterans with disabilities. The evaluation and research efforts will validate the education mechanisms so science cafés can be more effective in the future. As a part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds research and innovative resources for use in a variety of settings.
This project is a collaboration that includes Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Rockman et al (an evaluation firm), Science Pub RVA (Science Pub RVA is a long-running and award-nominated Richmond, VA science café), Carver Community Partnership, East District Family Resource Center, VCU Partnership for People with Disabilities, VCU Department of Rehabilitation Counseling, VCU Medical Center, and a variety of other VCU departments. The investigators will conduct a series of science cafés to determine motivation, interests, and best practices for educating the diverse citizens of Richmond, Virginia. The objective of the research is to rigorously analyze the characteristics of participants and cohesively determine the best practices for the effective learning for each person. Further, rigorous evaluation will determine validity of the best and most effective learning practices enabling the project to derive an adaptable model. The investigators' hypothesis is that the participant's knowledge base is derived from the traditional learning which occurred in the K-12 classroom. Thus, in this work, the investigators hope to add to the participant's knowledge base with STS (Science, Technology, and Society) content and enhance the depth and breadth of knowledge and knowledge acquisition. The research scope will embrace an assessment that is based on the three vertices of a triangle composed of cognition, observation, and interpretation, all of which converge on the nature of science, the relevance of science to everyday life, and decision-making behaviors.
The National Center for Science and Civic Engagement (NCSCE) will conduct a Collaborative Planning project to maximize the collective impact of two well-established national STEM learning networks, National Informal STEM Education Network (NISE Net) and Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER). Through a strategic collaboration that leverages their respective achievements, resources, and expertise, the combined networks can advance informal science education that engages and empowers citizens and their communities as they address the complex civic challenges. The project will conduct a strategic planning process to envision how to unify two networks to increase a durable and identifiable infrastructure for cross-sector collaboration focused on linking science and civic engagement. It is supported by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds research and innovative resources for use in a variety of settings, as a part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments.
The project objective of the planning process is to create a new and expanded national infrastructure that will increase the capacity of science centers and other informal learning organizations to enhance the public's engagement with science through attention to civic issues, and access new partners, participants, and resources from higher education institutions. The project's core activity will be a three-stage planning process: Phase 1, an assessment of assets, resources, and regional complementarity of the networks, and the development and investigation of key research questions; Phase 2, a planning workshop involving 29 project leaders from both organizations and stakeholders from formal and informal science to identify and develop specific collaborative strategies; and Phase 3, an evaluation and dissemination of the planning results to the networks and the development of a new multi-year project to strengthen the national infrastructure for formal and informal STEM education.