This book describes the similarities and differences between scientific inquiry in education and scientific inquiry in other fields and disciplines and provides a number of examples to illustrate these ideas. Its main argument is that all scientific endeavors share a common set of principles, and that each field including education research develops a specialization that accounts for the particulars of what is being studied. The book also provides suggestions for how the federal government can best support high-quality scientific research in education.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
National Research CouncilRich ShavelsonLisa Towne
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This report addressed a request from the President in 2009 to develop specific recommendations concerning the most important actions that the administration should take to ensure that the United States is a leader in STEM education in the coming decades. The report focuses primarily on the K-12 level, and lists two main conclusions: that we must focus on preparation and inspiration to improve STEM education, and that the federal government has historically lacked a coherent strategy and sufficient leadership capacity for K-12 STEM education. Additionally, the report includes seven policy
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TEAM MEMBERS:
President’s Council of Advisors on Science and TechnologyPresident’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
This article discusses the methodology, key findings, and implications of a 1998-1999 evaluation conducted by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum of its educational programming for school groups. The evaluation examined the impact of the school programs as well as guided future programming decisions.
The "Bridges to Understanding Children's Museums" publication is a seven-chapter research report of the field of children's museums. This excerpt from chapter 5 includes a policy study highlighting some of the issues museums and other nonprofits confront in questions of funding and support.
This article discusses "The Big History Lesson," an educational program at the Michigan Historical Museum in which teachers and students use the museum as their classroom for a week for a lively, in-depth study of Michigan history. This project is a model of teaching and learning that makes a real world, hands-on, personal history connection for students.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Margaret Holtschlag
resourceevaluationProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
In February 2013, the Atomic Heritage Foundation (AHF) brought together historians, sociologists and other scholars, as well as museum directors and thought leaders from the informal science education field to engage in a two-day discussion to explore ways to engage the public in the topic of the development of the atomic bomb in the context of history, society and culture. The workshop, titled "Transforming the Relationship Between Science and Society: The Manhattan Project and Its Legacy," had as its overarching goal to identify how the Manhattan Project might best be interpreted in a
This article discusses one of many studies conducted at Colonial Williamsburg for the purpose of strengthening the learning experience for families. The study was conducted in 1993-1996 and continues to match what current audiences tell staff year after year. The article includes a brief description of the methodology used a discussion of what researchers learned and how interpreters can apply these lessons to their daily interpretations.
In this article, evaluator Randi Korn of Randi Korn & Associates explains how to know when the time is right for front-end evaluation and whether your questions are the ones you should be asking visitors. Korn cites examples from the field, specifically from a study conducted for the Chicago Historical Society.
This paper discusses two evaluations conducted by the National Museum of American History for two prototype exhibits: "Commerce and Conflict: The English in Virginia, 1625" and "Kiva, Cross, and Crown at Pecos Pueblo." Each exhibit was an experimental archaeological exhibit and was a prototype for a larger exhibit, "American Encounters 1492-1992." In particular, this paper focuses on data that implies objects have power, and that the power of the objects is created by those who look at them. The author discusses the the power of the objects from a male and female perspective.
This paper describes a front-end evaluation carried out as part of the planning for the "Early China" galleries at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto, Ontario. The evaluation examined visitors' "reading" of - the interpretations drawn from personal knowledge and a lifetime's experience. Insight into the way visitors interpreted typical artifacts for themselves gave guidance in determining the extent and kind of interpretation we should provide in the gallery. Furthermore, information about the extent to which visitors can already link artifacts to categories and concepts provides a
This paper discusses the first exploratory study that assessed word-of-mouth accuracy and influence in a museum setting and the application of this subject to the practice of public relations. The study was conducted in 1988 and 1989 at Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield Village as the basis for a public relations graduate thesis, and was intended to be a starting point for developing methodologies to make qualitative assessments of museum word-of-mouth.
This paper is discusses the role of the evaluator during the exhibit planning process. Using an exhibit planned by the Memphis Museum System, "Mr. Crump's Memphis," this paper will elucidate the evaluator's role in exhibit planning, particularly in helping the planning team determine, articulate, and maintain clear exhibit goals, which translate into specific exhibit objectives.