The project team published a research synopsis article with Futurum Science Careers in Feb 2023 called “How Can Place Attachment Improve Scientific Literacy?”
This paper presents synthesized research on where XR is most effective within a museum setting and what impact XR might have on the visitor experience.
The linked repository contains select resources from the SICIIT NSF project (Supporting Science and Engineering Identity Change in Immersive Interactive Technologies). The project did not reach its main objective, mainly due to disruptions caused by COVID, but we hope that the materials will be a useful resource for follow-up research.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Stefan RankAyana AllenGlen MuschioAroutis FosterKapil Dandekar
The Museum of Science, Boston and Boston University received funding from the National Science Foundation to develop and implement a pilot program mentoring high school students in science research, communication, and education practices, through the lens of experimental psychology research.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Katie ToddIan Chandler-CampbellRachel Fyler
The Museum of Science, Boston and Boston University received funding from the National Science Foundation to develop and implement a pilot program mentoring high school students in science research, communication, and education practices, through the lens of experimental psychology research
Informal physics programs are understudied partly due to the broad spectrum of program structures and wide variety of activities. Moreover, the program facilitators hold diverse positions - faculty members at universities, staff members of national labs, and student leaders. In this study, we conduct an in-depth analysis of surveys and interviews from a subset of a national data set. Our goal is to develop and validate a practitioner-focused model of the key organizational components of informal physics programs. Based on the model of The Physics Teacher Education Program Analysis (PTEPA), we
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Dena IzadiBryan StanleyLily Boydclaudia fracchiollaKathleen Hinko
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This Informal Learning Review article briefly recounts the activities of Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education's (CAISE) over three award periods, from 2007 through 2022. It includes links to key CAISE resources and event documentation. CAISE sunsetted its activities in early 2022 and passed the baton of leadership of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program resource center to REVISE- the Reimagining Equity and Values in Informal STEM Education center.
This document categorizes several strategies for fostering imaginative thinking, emergent from our review of literature. Strategies are organized by high-level categories, sub-categories, and specific actions educators or experience designers can take to foster imagination in a range of contexts. The resource also includes relevant citations for further exploration of these strategies. This resource reflects results from a comprehensive review of 137 pieces of literature addressing the intersections of imagination and STEM.
This white paper describes outcomes from a conference about using non-science art in science education. Art and science are often combined for entertainment, education (STEAM) and inspirational value. However, in almost all cases the art is science-themed (scientific visualizations, science-inspired art, art about scientific topics, etc.). This conference asks the question “what about art for arts-sake?”. That is, what is the impact of non-scientific art in science education? Can non-science themed art be used to broaden perspectives about science? Can it cue people to think about science more
The National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation [NNOCCI] is a Community of Practice [CoP] dedicated to advancing the conversation on climate change, based on the principle that wide-scale training with proven communication techniques can change the national discourse around climate change to be more productive, creative, and solutions-focused.
NNOCCI CoP is a network of individuals and organizations in formal and informal education, the social sciences, climate sciences, and public policy. By 2018, the community represented more than 184 institutions in 38 states, and over
This chapter brings together cultural-historical approaches to human development with interpretive and multi-sited ethnography in order to: (1) develop ethnographic tools that attend to the ways young people learn within and across multiple contexts; (2) draw from and contrast the methodological insights of single and multi-sited ethnography; and (3) glean principles that help constitute a “multi-sited sensibility” appropriate for taking a more expansive approach to learning that advances conceptions of learning as movement.
As STEAM has gained traction in informal education settings, it is important to support educators in learning about and developing STEAM learning experiences. We investigated what STEAM means to informal educators and how it relates to their everyday lives and identities by examining a STEAM objects activity. We found three themes in how the participants talked about the significance of the STEAM objects they shared: connection to land, historicity, and agency of materials. The STEAM objects served as boundary objects that connected communities of practice, showing the integrative nature of