During this session at the 2013 Visitor Studies Association Annual Conference the authors discussed our preliminary framework for addressing the question of how to evaluate an evaluation. The three-part framework—(1) Worth of the Intervention, (2) Appropriateness of the Evaluation Study, and (3) Usefulness for Stakeholders—comprises a set of criteria for evaluating summative evaluations. The authors shared early impressions from in-progress work on practical applications of the framework, solicited feedback on the framework, and brainstormed ideas for innovative evaluation tools and measures
The National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) seeks to maximize access to shared resources within projects and with public and private sector organizations and institutions interested in expanding girls’ participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Funded primarily by the National Science Foundation, the NGCP is a robust national network of more than 3,000 girl-serving STEM organizations. Currently, 31 Collaboratives, serving 40 states, facilitate collaboration between more than 12,800 organizations who serve more than 7.7 million girls and 4.4 million boys. The NGCP occupies a unique role in the STEM community because it facilitates collaboration with all stakeholders who benefit from increasing diversity and engagement of women in STEM. These stakeholders form Regional Collaboratives, who are connected to local girl-serving STEM programs. Regional Collaboratives are led by leadership teams and advisory boards with representatives from K-12 education, higher education, community-based organizations, professional organizations, and industry. NGCP strengthens the capacity of girl-serving STEM projects by facilitating collaboration among programs and organizations and by sharing promising practice research, program models, and products through webinars, collaboration training, and institutes. This is accomplished through a tested comprehensive program of change that uses collaboration to expand and strengthen STEM-related opportunities for girls and women. In each replication state, the NGCP model creates a network of professionals, researchers, and practitioners, facilitating collaboration within this network, and delivering high-quality research-based professional development. Participating programs can also receive mini-grant funding to develop collaborative STEM-focused projects. To date, over 27,000 participants have been served in 241 mini-grant projects, and over 17,000 practitioners have been served through in-person events and webinars. The NGCP’s collaborative model changes the way practitioners and educators work to advance girls’ participation in STEM. It facilitates the development of practitioners in their knowledge of good gender equitable educational practices, awareness of the role of K-12 education in STEM workforce development, and mutual support of peers locally and across the United States.
The Girls RISEnet project convened an international community to explore the role of science centers in issues of gender equity in STEM learning. This effort resulted in two major products, including this international literature review that synthesizes what is known about how science centers and museums contribute to girls' engagement with STEM, summarizes what is useful for practice, and identifies gaps in the research. In addition, an international survey identified common global themes and issues and began to outline opportunities for science centers and museums to advance gender equity.
In this article, the author shares general research on the subject of transformation in the context of historical/cultural organizations. The author's research examined seven history museums who had undergone various levels of change and transformation and looked for similarities, idiosyncrasies, patterns, and differences across the organizations and their stakeholders' interests. These changes and transformations are presented in a broader context of shifts in the missions and structure of cultural organizations, and presents key understandings for those institutions seeking to undergo change
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Candace Tangorra MetalicAmerican Association for State and Local History
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
Given the rapid changes that 21st century museums must manage, flexible thinking about leadership forms and purposes is needed. Today's complex leadership landscape necessitates that staff engage in enacting leadership with positional leaders. Limited empirical literature exists that describes how the next generation of museum leaders is being nurtured and developed. The purpose of this study was to: describe museum professionals' perceptions of leadership practices; investigate museums as sites of organizational and leadership learning; and consider the experiences of museum professionals who
This book addresses controversial changes in a major cultural organization through the lens of a vital need for a shift in thinking as museums enter the 21st century. Robert Janes is a leading voice in the changes taking place in Canada's cultural institutions. In this case study, the author candidly discusses layoffs, union/management relations, and the urgency of sustainability. Contributions from museum staff highlight the human side of change, and essays by Canadian and international museum directors present thoughtful perspectives.
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Robert Janes
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
As an initial qualitative enquiry into the dynamics of learning transfer in the museum sector, this dissertation explores a range of largely positive learning transfer experiences within four museum case settings, and highlights the interdependent roles of museum climates and learners' agency in supporting prolonged and complex processes of adapting learning to meet situated needs. Key findings from a cross-case thematic analysis include the influential roles that learners' mastery of content, positional autonomy, perception of affordances, dispositions, values and goals, initiative and
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Joy Ann Davis
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This thesis focused on career pathways for Millennials (defined as people born between 1980 and 2000) in science centers and museums. The research goals of the thesis included determining the best practices and policies to attract, engage and retain Millennials in science centers/museum field, and to determine the current key obstacles to young museum professionals' career advancement and to provide recommendations to address those issues.
This report is the result of a project to investigate through a sociocultural lens whether girls-only, informal STEM experiences have potential long-term influences on young women's lives, both in terms of STEM but also more generally. The authors documented young women's perceptions of their program experiences and the ways in which they influenced their future choices in education, careers, leisure pursuits, and ways of thinking about what science is and who does it. This report includes the questionnaire used in the study.
This report is the result of work undertaken by Ecsite-uk, The UK network of science & discovery centres and museums, to demonstrate the impact of Science & Discovery Centres, to encourage their effective collaboration, and to maximize their future viability. The report includes three parts: the results of a survey of UK science and discovery centres, recommendations for science and discovery centres which will lead to demonstrating value, and best practices shared between science and discovery centres from those that have achieved financial stability. In addition to this report, Ecsite-uk
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Penny Fidler
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This article discusses a new visitor studies group in the UK designed to meet the growing demand for networking and support in the visitor studies field. The article describes how the "Visitor Studies Group" came to be and the value of membership to professionals in the UK.
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Anne Pennington
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This article describes an informal study study that investigated what it means to be a audience advocate. The author examines this question by describing the role in metaphorical terms.