The New York Hall of Science proposes a two-pronged workshop project that will: (1) conduct a study of and develop a draft report on the topic of STEM badges including conceptualizations, rationale, systems, key contributors and challenges and opportunities for STEM-related badges; and (2) conduct a workshop drawn from a wide range of experts to provide critical feedback on the report. An advisory board will guide and evaluate the work. Learning increasingly takes place across a wide spectrum of institutions and contexts, through different platforms and environments, and is often incentivized by badge reward systems. There is a concomitant need to understand and make explicit the nature and criteria used, the kinds of accomplishments individuals are expected to realize, and the ways that badges are interpreted by conventional credentialing bodies, such as K-12 educational systems and institutions of higher education. The workshop creates an opportunity for a diverse group of individuals at the forefront of badges to inform each other's efforts. The report that is generated will be available to a broad audience of practitioners, developers and researchers involved in STEM education in both formal and informal sectors as well as to individuals involved in setting STEM education policy.
This Pathways project responds to the high level of public skepticism about climate change science despite strong scientific consensus. In 2010, two George Mason University / Yale University polls became headline news in mainstream media (such as the NY Times and NPR) when they reported that 50% or more of our broadcast meteorologists and TV news directors are skeptical about global climate science. A full 30% of TV broadcast meteorologists, who are largely untrained in disciplines other than meteorology and weather forecasting, denounce anthropogenic global warming (AGW) as a hoax or a scam. Such polls strongly suggest that the general public trusts media statements over scientific facts, despite position statements acknowledging dominantly human responsibility for global warming in the past 50 years from nearly every U.S. professional society dealing with Earth sciences. Climate literacy in citizens and policy makers is essential for advancing responsible public policy on energy legislation, carbon emission reductions, and other climate change issues, and TV broadcast meteorologists have great potential for enhancing that literacy.
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
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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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 paper presents research reports from visitor studies researchers in the UK, Australia, and Brazil. Authors discuss the progress of the audience research field in their respective countries.
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Anne PenningtonCarol Scott
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This article is a summary of remarks at a special half-day session on April 28, 2000, part of a joint effort of the Informal Learning Strand of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching and the American Educational Research Association's Informal Learning Environments Research Special Interest Group. Topics included finding a unified voice and hinderances in the field of informal learning research.
This article discusses the goals, methods, and findings of a research study conducted by staff at the Monterey Bay Aquarium to evaluate their revised sea otter feeding program. The study evaluated the success of the volunteer training and peer coaching program as well as the effectiveness of the new program format in promoting the aquarium's mission.