Brookfield Zoo will develop a model for formal and informal early childhood educators in the Chicago metropolitan area to promote children and family learning (nature play, exploration, and scientific inquiry) within urban environments. In collaboration with the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and the Mary Crane and El Valor Head Start centers in Chicago, Brookfield Zoo will train 80 early childhood educators in its established nature play curriculum; facilitate networking opportunities between participants and organizations; and host a two-day symposium for 150 early childhood educators at the end of the project. This partnership has built-in capacity for expansion within Chicago and throughout the region, and can serve as a replicable model for zoos, nature preserves, and Head Start programs throughout the country to increase opportunities children have to play, explore, and learn in nature as a basis for developing lifelong environmental stewardship.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
David Becker
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
Arkansas State University (ASU) Museum will offer engaging STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) learning experiences for children, at-risk youth, and teachers through three years of membership in the Arkansas Discovery Network, a coalition of seven Arkansas museums that develops and shares children's exhibits. Membership in the network will entitle ASU to nine high-quality, hands-on, STEM-based exhibits that promote "learning by doing" and the needed training in their STEM programming for educators. ASU Museum staff will build substantially upon these exhibits by developing many new and engaging tours, gallery activities, and programs that ensure STEM content registers in learners. This project will enable the museum to offer exceptional experiences with the potential to change attitudes about the value of learning in the targeted audiences in Northeast Arkansas.
These resources are designed to identify opportunities to improve training for educators and researchers during implementation of the Living Laboratory model. The Data Collection Guidelines provide general instructions and tips for conducting evaluation through observations of (and/or interviews with) visitors. Two versions of each instrument (Researcher-Caregiver Conversations Instrument and Research Toy Interactions Instrument) are included: one can be modified and printed for data collection; the second is an annotated version, which includes more detailed instructions for each item in the
The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE), a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, is a partnership of the Association of Science-Technology Centers with faculty and professionals from the University of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out-of-School Environments (UPCLOSE), Oregon State University (OSU), the Great Lakes Science Center, KQED Public Media, advisors and other collaborators. CAISE works to support and resource ongoing improvement of, and NSF investments in, the national infrastructure for informal Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. CAISE's roles are to build capacity and support continued professionalization for the field by fostering a community that bridges the many varied forms in which informal STEM learning experiences are developed and delivered for learners of all ages. To that end, CAISE activities also include: creating field-driven evidence databases about the impacts of informal STEM education; facilitating federated searches of those databases; furthering dialogue and knowledge transfer between learning research and practice; working to enhance the quality and diversity of evaluation knowledge and processes; and helping STEM researchers improve their efforts in informal STEM education, outreach and communication. For Principal Investigators (PIs) and potential PIs, CAISE provides resources that can assist in the development of evidence-based proposals. It also facilitates and strengthens networks through PI meetings, communications, and other methods that encourage sharing of deliverables, practices, outcomes and findings across projects. For the AISL Program at NSF, CAISE is assisting program officers in understanding the portfolio of awards, identifying the portfolio's impacts in key areas, and integrating the program's investments in education infrastructure.
The National Writing Project (NWP) is collaborating with the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) on a four-year, full-scale development project that is designed to integrate science and literacy. Partnerships will be formed between NWP sites and ASTC member science centers and museums to develop, test, and refine innovative programs for educators and youth, resulting in the creation of a unique learning network. The project highlights the critical need for the integration of science and literacy and builds on recommendations in the Common Core State Standards and the National Research Council's publication, "A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas." The content focus includes current topics in science and technology such as environmental science, sustainability, synthetic biology, geoengineering, and other subjects which align with science center research and exhibits. The project design is supported by a framework that incorporates a constructivist/inquiry-based approach that capitalizes on the synergy between rigorous science learning and robust literacy practices. Project deliverables include a set of 10 local partnership sites, professional development for network members, a project website, and an evaluation report highlighting lessons learned. Partnership sites will be selected based on interest, proximity, history, and expertise. Two geographically and demographically diverse cohorts, consisting of five partnerships each will be identified in Years 2 and 3. Each set of partners will be charged with creating a comprehensive two-year plan for science literacy activities and products to be implemented at local sites. It is anticipated that the pilot programs may result in the creation of new programs that merge science and writing, integrate writing into existing museum science programs, or integrate science activities into existing NWP programs. Interest-driven youth projects such as citizen science and science journalism activities are examples of programmatic approaches that may be adopted. The partners will convene periodically for planning and professional development focused on the integration of science and literacy for public and professional audiences, provided in part by national practitioners and research experts. A network Design Team that includes leadership representatives from NWP, ASTC, and the project evaluator, Inverness Research, Inc., will oversee project efforts in conjunction with a national advisory board, while a Partnership Coordinator will provide support for the local sites. Inverness Research will conduct a multi-level evaluation to address the following questions: -What is the nature and quality of the local partner arrangements, and the larger network as a whole? -What is the nature and quality of the local science literacy programs that local partners initiate, and how do they engage local participants, and develop their sense of inquiry and communication skills? First, a Designed-Based Implementation Research approach will be used for the developmental evaluation to assess the implementation process. Next, the documentation and portrayal phase will assess the benefits to youth, educators, institutions, and the field using surveys, interviews, observations of educators, and reviews of science communication efforts created by youth. Finally, the summative evaluation includes a comprehensive portfolio of evidence to document the audience impacts and an independent assessment of the project model by an Evaluation Review Board. This project will result in the creation of a robust learning community while contributing knowledge and lessons learned to the field about networks and innovative partnerships. It is anticipated that formal and informal educators will gain increased knowledge about science and literacy programs and develop skills to provide effective programs, while youth will demonstrate increased understanding of key science concepts and the ability to communicate science. Programs created by the local partnerships will serve approximately 650 educators (450 informal educators and 200 K-12 teachers) and 500 youth ages 9-18. Plans for dissemination, expansion, and sustainability will be undertaken by the sub-networks of the collaborating national organizations drawing on the 350 ASTC member institutions and nearly 200 NWP sites at colleges and universities.
The Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, in collaboration with several informal science education and other cultural and business organizations in San Diego, Chicago, and Worcester, MA are implementing a research and development project that investigates a range of possible approaches for stimulating the development of 21st Century creativity skills and innovative processes at the interface between informal STEM learning and methods for creative thinking. The goal of the research is to advance understanding of the potential impacts of creative thinking methods on the public's understanding of and engagement with STEM, with a focus on 21st Century workforce skills of teens and adults. The goal of the project's development activities is to experiment with a variety of "innovation incubator" models in cities around the country. Modeled on business "incubators" or "accelerators" that are designed to foster and accelerate innovation and creativity, these STEM incubators generate collaborations of different professionals and the public around STEM education and other STEM-related topics of local interest that can be explored with the help of creative learning methodologies such as innovative methods to generate creative ideas, ideas for transforming one STEM idea to others, drawing on visual and graphical ideas, improvisation, narrative writing, and the process of using innovative visual displays of information for creating visual roadmaps. Hosting the project's incubators are the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership (San Diego), the Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago) and the EcoTarium (Worcester, MA). National partners are the Association of Science-Technology Centers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Americans for the Arts. Activities will include: the formation and collaborative processes of three incubator sites, a research study, the development of a creative thinking curriculum infused into science education, professional development based on the curriculum, public engagement events and exhibits, a project website and tools for social networking, and project evaluation. A national advisory council includes professionals in education, science, creativity, and business.
Expanding on the encouraging outcomes of an NSF-funded conference, this three-year project led by the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, in collaboration with the Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences, will explore and evaluate ways to support new collaborations between professionals in institutions of higher education and informal STEM education around areas of common interest. The primary goal is to develop the educational infrastructure to grow and efficiently sustain multiple cross-organizational partnership activities at the intersection of learning about science, society and civic engagement around such possible topics as energy, environment, genetics, earth resources, computers and ethics, nanotechnology, etc. The initiative is: 1) creating a joint organizing "secretariat" to provide communications and support through low-cost shared services for at least six partnerships around the country; 2) providing partnership support and technical assistance to seed the six national partnerships, and 3) sharing evaluation and analysis services across all the partnerships. The outcomes of the work pertain to improvements in professional knowledge and practice in higher education and informal science education, as well as the improvement of learning by undergraduates and by the general public.
Portal to the Public: Expanding the National Network (PoP: ENN) is implementing around the county the successful NSF-funded Portal to the Public model in which researchers are trained to communicate and interact with the general public at informal science education (ISE) institutions about the research that they are conducting. The project, which follows on a thorough evaluation of the model at eight sites and current implementation at an additional fifteen sites, will incorporate twenty new ISE sites into the growing network, provide training and mentorship to ISE professionals on the use and adaptation of the PoP implementation manual and toolkits, and develop an enhanced network website that will serve as a communication and innovation hub. The work is responsive to the needs and activities of ISE organizations which continue to expand their missions beyond presenting to the public established science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and are working to become places where visitors can also experience the process and promise of current research via face-to-face interactions with researchers. The project is expanding both the kind and number of institutions involved around the country and is facilitating their capacity to develop a knowledge base, share experiences and best practices.
This is a recording of a NISE Network online brown-bag conversation held in December 2014 about the International Year of Light. In 2013, the United Nations proclaimed 2015 as the International Year of Light (IYL). More than 100 organizations from more than 85 countries are participating in IYL. During this conversation we discussed scientific organizations that would make great partners for IYL events, shared light-related activities and videos developed by the NISE Network, and talked about the science behind some of those activities.
The Association of Science and Technology Centers, a Washington, D.C.-based membership organization, is home to the Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education, a National Science Foundation-funded center that houses a repository of informal science-education projects and related professional resources. ASBMB Today's editor, Angela Hopp, talked to two CAISE staffers: James Bell, the project director and a principal investigator, and Kalie Sacco, the program and community manager. The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology's outreach coordinator, Geoff Hunt, also
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Angela Hopp
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This is a handout from the session "Evaluation Capacity Building: Current initiatives and future directions" at the 2014 ASTC Conference held in Raleigh, NC. The handout provides a brief overview of five different projects that enhance evaluation capacity for the field.
This article from the Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) offers an introduction to the field of informal STEM education (ISE). It provides a brief survey of informal STEM education projects related to biology and discusses opportunities for scientists to become involved.