Citizen science has grown significantly as an area of activity around the world with many different models of practice and forms of participation. Citizen involvement in science can be seen as part of a long history of the role of the amateur in science. Research in the USA and UK suggests that citizen science has a powerful potential to support participation in and the learning of science. Increasingly, research has sought to explore and measure the development of 'science literacy', science identity and learning outcomes through citizen science. The scale, focus, and organisation of projects
These materials are aimed at practitioners of citizen science who are considering ways to enhance participation and learning in citizen science projects. This emerging work is a collaborative effort among several institutions seeking to integrate elements of science capital and learning research into the practice of citizen science.
This poster was presented at the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) PI Meeting held in Bethesda, MD on February 29-March 2. The Expanding Repertoires project is a collaboration between the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) and The Ohio State University (OSU) to begin the systematic study of science and children's museum programs and practice for preschool dual language learners (DLLs), their families, and the community organizations and early childhood professionals who serve them.
This poster was presented at the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) PI Meeting held in Bethesda, MD on February 29-March 2. The Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net) is a national community of researchers and informal science educators dedicated to fostering public awareness, engagement, and understanding of nanoscale science, engineering, and technology.
This poster was presented at the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) PI Meeting held in Bethesda, MD on February 29-March 2. The project's research goal is to identify the most important exhibit design attributes for engaging girls at STEM exhibits.
This special report describes NSF INCLUDES (Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science), a comprehensive initiative to enhance U.S. leadership in science and engineering discovery and innovation by proactively seeking and effectively developing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent from all sectors and groups in our society. By facilitating partnerships, communication and cooperation, NSF aims to build on and scale up what works in broadening participation programs to reach underserved populations
This poster was presented at the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) PI Meeting held in Bethesda, MD on February 29-March 2. The study aims to answer the question "How does participation of adolescent youth from traditionally underrepresented groups in a well-established, out-of-school time science program affect their career choices and attitudes towards science as they mature into early adulthood?"
This poster was presented at the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) PI Meeting held in Bethesda, MD on February 29-March 2. This project centers on the creation and validation of a theoretically grounded and empirically derived Framework for professional growth and learning within the informal STEM learning (ISL) field. The Framework will be useful to ISL practitioners at any stage of their education or career by laying out the necessary skills, knowledge, and dispositions to guide their professional growth.
This poster was presented at the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) PI Meeting held in Bethesda, MD on February 29-March 2. Living Laboratory is a model for museum-academic partnership that aims to educate the public about child development by immersing museum visitors in the process of scientific discovery. Living Laboratory embraces a "mutual professional development" philosophy, in which museum educators and scientists share their expertise with one another through a variety of regular interactions.
This poster was presented at the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) PI Meeting held in Bethesda, MD on February 29-March 2. Living Laboratory is a model for museum-academic partnership that aims to educate the public about child development by immersing museum visitors in the process of scientific discovery. Living Laboratory embraces a "mutual professional development" philosophy, in which museum educators and scientists share their expertise with one another through a variety of regular interactions.
This poster was presented at the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) PI Meeting held in Bethesda, MD on February 29-March 2. Indianapolis: City as a Living Laboratory (NSF Grant #DRL-1323117) examines how different public art mediums can serve as conduits for informal science learning at a city-wide scale.
This poster was presented at the 2016 Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) PI Meeting held in Bethesda, MD on February 29-March 2. Experiments in Transmedia (NSF Grant #DRL-1516347) explores how early career adults respond to science news
stories in different media formats. As new STEM-based technologies and advances become more frequent, significantly widening the intergenerational knowledge gap, there is a growing need to understand how this group accesses, understands, and shares science knowledge.