How do afterschool programs view their local public libraries? Are they working with them, and in what ways? These are the questions that the Afterschool Alliance, along with its partners at the Space Science Institute’s National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) and the American Library Association, wanted to answer. Overall, our goal is to build bridges between the afterschool and library fields, so that both can share knowledge and resources to better serve our youth. While our work together has primarily focused on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education through
This report introduces a framework to support learning in library and museum makerspaces. The framework demonstrates how we can create the conditions for ambitious learning experiences to unfold within the making experience.
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Children's Museum of PittsburghInstitute of Museum and Library ServicesPeter Wardrip
Libraries across the country have been reimagining their community role and leveraging their resources and public trust to strengthen community-based learning and foster critical thinking, problem solving, and engagement in STEM. What started some years ago as independent experiments has become a national movement. The Space Science Institute's National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL), in partnership with the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), received funding from the National Science Foundation for the first-ever Public Libraries & STEM conference, at the Sheraton Denver Downtown
Public libraries are becoming an important place for informal science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education for K-12 students and their families, as well as for adult education activities that support STEM workforce development. This report provides public librarians, administrators and collaborating organizations a brief background on the role that libraries can play in fostering a healthy STEM education ecosystem, as well as promising practices for implementing effective STEM programs in public libraries.
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Annette ShtivelbandLauren RiendeauAmanda Wallander-RobertsRobert Jakubowski
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.
Cañada College will implement the STEM 4 ECE program, which will engage early childhood education (ECE) students in activities to increase their understanding of a comfort with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects. Through partnerships with the San Mateo County Office of Education, the Redwood City Public Library, and with ECE and STEM faculty, the program will offer workshops, online tutorials, and one-on-one support to assist ECE students in using library research to incorporate STEM topics in their coursework. The program will also expand the role of the library to serve as a place for interdisciplinary faculty collaboration while providing STEM resources to groups that have historically had limited access to them, specifically in minority communities.
The Mabee Library at MidAmerica Nazarene University will create a Center for Games and Learning, which will be used to incorporate games in higher education curricula and academic life, with the goal of promoting skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, and strategic thinking. A cohort of faculty members will incorporate games into selected courses, and evaluations will be performed to assess the acquisition of skills through gaming. Following the dissemination of these findings, the Center for Games and Learning will remain as a pioneering campus resource for future faculty to incorporate in their courses.
The Allegheny County Library Association will partner with ASSET, Inc. to provide professional development in principles of STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and inquiry-based practices to youth service librarians representing 45 libraries. Participating librarians will learn strategies to incorporate these concepts into the design and implementation of programming in a library setting. In addition to hosting a series of workshops over the grant period, the project will develop an online community of practice and specific training for library directors and trustees on the importance of incorporating STEM principles into library programming. Upon completion of this training, participating librarians will be better equipped to design and implement engaging STEM programming that will help students to supplement in-school STEM learning, which research suggests may lead students to pursue STEM-related careers.
This full scale research and development collaborative project between Smith College and Springfield Technical Community College improves technical literacy for children in the area of engineering education through the Through My Window learning environment. The instructional design of the learning environment results from the application of innovative educational approaches based on research in the learning sciences—Egan's Imaginative Education (IE) and Knowledge Building (KB). The project provides idea-centered engineering curriculum that facilitates deep learning of engineering concepts through the use of developmentally appropriate narrative and interactive multimedia via interactive forums and blogs, young adult novels (audio and text with English and Spanish versions), eight extensive tie-in activities, an offline teachers’ curriculum guide, and social network connections and electronic portfolios. Targeting traditionally underrepresented groups in engineering—especially girls—the overarching goals of the project are improving attitudes toward engineering; providing a deeper understanding of what engineering is about; supporting the development of specific engineering skills; and increasing interest in engineering careers. The project will address the following research questions: What is the quality of the knowledge building discourse? Does it get better over time? Will students, given the opportunity, extend the discourse to new areas? What scaffolding does the learning environment need to support novice participants in this discourse? Does the use of narrative influence participation in knowledge building? Are certain types of narratives more effective in influencing participation in knowledge building? Evaluative feedback for usability, value effectiveness, and ease of implementation from informal educators and leaders from the Connecticut After School Network CTASN) will be included. The evaluation will include documentation on the impact of narrative and multimedia tools in the area of engineering education. Currently, there is very little research regarding children and young teen engagement in engineering education activities using narrative as a structure to facilitate learning engineering concepts and principles. The research and activities developed from this proposed project contributes to the field of Informal Science and Engineering Education. The results from this project could impact upper elementary and middle-school aged children and members from underrepresented communities and girls in a positive way.
Media MashUp is an IMLS funded project (Grant LG-07-08-0113i) to help libraries build capacity to offer computer-based programs for youth that help foster 21st Century literacy skills. Twenty first Century literacy skills include traditional literacy skills like reading and writing, but also encompass collaborative problem solving, and computer-based skills. As such, libraries and other institutions that help foster a literate public need to adapt to this new reality. While the public audience for this grant is the youth who participate in the Media MashUp programs at these libraries, this
Twenty-four Learning Labs in libraries and museums across the country are engaging America’s youth in learning settings where they gain skills and following their passions. A new publication, Learning Labs in Libraries and Museums: Transformative Spaces for Teens, describes these innovative teen spaces. The report details the research behind the labs, the practices that support meaningful learning, and the impacts of a movement that grew with support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and its private partner, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
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 project, "STEM Learning in Libraries: A National Conference on Needs, Opportunities, and Future Directions," brings together libraries, informal educators and STEM education and research organizations to discuss the role of libraries in STEM out-of-school time (OST) education, share existing programs, define library needs, and develop a research and evaluation agenda. To date, there has not been systematic exploration of the ways that STEM programming occurs in libraries nor of their effectiveness when they do happen. This will be the first conference of its kind and stands to have a high degree of visibility and the potential for broad impact. Principal Investigator Paul Dusenbery, Director of the National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) and Executive Director of Space Science Institute, will lead an experienced project team that includes Co-PI Keliann LaConte, Lunar Planetary Institute; Susan Brandehoff, Public Programs Office, American Library Association; and Anne Holland, NCIL. The conference sessions will be organized around four strands: (1) showcasing successful STEM programs and reviewing research and evaluation results on informal STEM learning in public libraries; (2) examining the current needs, barriers, and opportunities of public libraries; (3) elucidating the possible future roles of public libraries in the 21st Century; and (4) identifying promising practices and strategies. Beginning with core members comprised of the project team and organizing committees, the project will create a Leadership Forum for library directors, library science educators, and policy makers, as well as STEM professionals and educators. Conference results will be disseminated through a wide variety of organizational websites: NCIL, ALA, LPI, the conference website, the STAR_Net online community, and CAISE. In 2010, there were nearly 1.6 billion visits to 17,000 public libraries. Library audiences are true reflections of the nation's population - they serve all races, ages, economic backgrounds, and regions of the country. The STEM Learning in Libraries conference will give public libraries, STEM organizations, informal educators, and funders an opportunity to begin a dialogue with implications for profoundly impacting the attitudes of millions of Americans toward STEM topics.