The Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation will create on-the-floor makerspaces in libraries in underserved neighborhoods in North Philadelphia. These spaces will help local residents of all ages to gain access to technology and participatory education, and encourage creative applications and collaborative projects. Mentors will guide multigenerational community members as they create cross-disciplinary, interest-driven electronic art projects; build interest and knowledge in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics), and use tools and skills to create and share artifacts that reflect their identities and communities. Through the act of making, participants of all ages will have the opportunity to design meaningful digital and physical objects that capture the richness and diversity of their neighborhoods. These place-based, interest-driven, and mentor-guided makerspaces will provide a replicable, scalable model for libraries and museums nationally.
The Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) will partner with the New Hampshire Department of Education, the American Library Association (ALA), the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), and others to engage in-service and pre-service school librarians and teachers in multiple settings in the use of curated open educational resources (OER) for Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teaching and learning. The project will include annual spring professional learning academies; semi-annual professional development symposia; and virtual support. Project outcomes include the development of new teaching and social learning practices; the creation and sharing of high quality standards-aligned instructional units and text sets focused on STEM inquiry; higher education courseware modules; and a replicable and scalable community of practice and professional learning network.
This University of Wisconsin System will conduct research to understand how the Madison Public Library (MPL) is building a production-oriented approach to literacy and learning through their maker-focused program, the Bubbler. On a national level, this project speaks to educational research communities, professionals, members of informal learning institutions, and organizers of designed makerspaces. At the local level, it addresses underserved populations in the Madison area and MPL in evaluating and developing the Bubbler. Findings will be shared through conference presentations, journal articles, and networks of library professionals.
Portland State University (PSU) and Multnomah County Library (MCL) will collaborate on research designed to improve library practices, programs, and services for adult patrons, especially adults with low literacy skills, including seniors, English learners, socially isolated adults, and adults with low incomes. The project features the administration of the “Problem Solving in Technology Rich Environments” (PSTRE) survey developed by the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The research will inform efforts to improve the nation’s education and workforce development strategies and investments and ensure that libraries are an integral part of these efforts.
The Richmond Public Library will create The Richmond Digital Health Literacy Project to provide low-income residents with tools and skills needed to access online information to improve their health. Participants will learn how to gain access to digital reference materials, e-books, mobile library offerings, and other resources. The project will bring together groups of participants around the topic of health information to develop customized online health curricula, provide training to 180 low-income residents in digital health literacy, and supply free broadband and wireless antennae to public computer centers. These activities will enable participants to develop skills and access relevant digital content to improve the health and the overall quality of life of Richmond residents.
Students struggle to learn STEM concepts. The arts have been proposed as a means to engage students in STEM education, resulting in the idea of STEAM. However, STEAM approaches do not always result in learning. A collaboration between a major research university and a small Native arts college in the southwestern United States provided an opportunity for studying the potential for arts to engage students in STEM learning. This study investigates how participating art students (N = 4) solved technological and design production problems when working with immersive technologies in a paid summer
The University of Minnesota Extension (UME) contracted Garibay Group to conduct a summative evaluation of the Driven to Discover program (often referred to as D2D by youth participants and adult leaders) to assess how adult leaders in Informal Science Education (ISE) settings used the curriculum and citizen science projects as conduits to engage youth in scientific inquiry.
This report describes an evaluation of two educational programs that Iridescent offered with a grant from the National Science Foundation. These two programs were developed for youth and their families and were organized around open-ended Engineering Design Challenges. These are hands-on problem-solving activities supported by a web-based platform known as the Curiosity Machine. The Curiosity Machine and the Design Challenges were designed to work together to engage learners in fundamental physics and engineering concepts in fun and open-ended ways, while enhancing their curiosity, creativity
This paper was presented at the 122nd ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition in June 2015, by the Boeing Company, the University of Washington, College of Education LIFE Center, and the City University of Seattle. Abstract Skills-based volunteerism programs can provide technical employees effective and meaningful opportunities to utilize, develop, and transfer their skills while contributing to their companies’ community engagement objectives in K-12 education. While many companies encourage their employees to engage in education-related volunteerism, these efforts are often one-off events
This paper presents a novel data analytic approach to collect detailed information from visual artworks. This new method provides researchers with a framework to compare, analyze, and review in a systematic way large quantities of data from visual productions. Drawing on principles of art historical criticism, our research team devised a comprehensive coding scheme that captures both technical and content attributes. The coding scheme is configured to record specific, fundamental features for each artwork, providing an instrument for collecting data and cross-examining codes to reveal content
As part of a grant from the National Science Foundation, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is conducting regional STEM workshops in partnership with local science museums, entitled NFB STEM2U, for blind youth [youth], grades 3 – 6 and 9-12. During this second regional workshop in Boston, the NFB operated two different programs simultaneously: one program for youth, and a second program for their parents/caregivers. A third program, for Boston Museum of Science staff, was conducted earlier to prepare the museum staff to assist with the youth program. A separate report will discuss the
As part of a grant from the National Science Foundation, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is conducting regional STEM workshops in partnership with local science museums, entitled NFB STEM2U, for blind youth [youth], grades 3 – 6 and 9-12. During the third regional workshop in Columbus, Ohio, the NFB operated two different programs simultaneously: one program for youth, and a second program for their parents/caregivers. A third program, for COSI (science center) staff, was conducted earlier to prepare the museum staff to assist with the youth program. A separate report will discuss