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COMMUNITY:
Research Brief

What Does Working “With” (not “For”) Our Communities Look Like?

May 7, 2019 | Media and Technology, Public Programs, Professional Development, Conferences, and Networks, Exhibitions, Informal/Formal Connections

Traditionally, programs designed for community audiences are designed by the STEM institution or organization seeking to “serve” a given community, using top-down design processes that are framed by the perspectives of the lead organizations, and typically reinforcing dominant cultural norms in STEM and therefore marginalizing certain audiences. Co-design offers an approach that can lead to more robust and sustainable results by developing programs that are culturally responsive, respectful, and inclusive.

About this resource:

This is a practice brief produced by CAISE's Broadening Participation in STEM Task Force to help informal STEM education and science communication groups reflect on and strengthen their efforts to broaden participation in STEM. It is part of a larger professional development toolkit, developed for those who lead staff or train professionals within the ISE and science communication fields.

Using practice briefs:

Practice briefs are intended to seed reflective discussions about professional practices, and be read in advance of group discussions among staff, colleagues, or trainees. They include ideas to consider, recommendations for action, further reading, and links to more tools. The task force recommends organizing multiple discussions, each using one or two briefs that participants read in advance.

TEAM MEMBERS

  • Dale McCreedy Head SHot
    Author
  • REVISE logo
    Author
  • REVISE logo
    Author
  • Tony Streit
    Author
  • REVISE logo
    Author
  • Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE)
    Author
  • Citation

    Funders

    NSF
    Funding Program: AISL
    Award Number: 1612739
    Resource Type: Research Products
    Discipline: Education and learning science | General STEM
    Audience: Administration/Leadership/Policymakers | General Public | Educators/Teachers | Museum/ISE Professionals | Scientists | Evaluators | Learning Researchers
    Environment Type: Media and Technology | Public Programs | Community Outreach Programs | Professional Development, Conferences, and Networks | Exhibitions | Informal/Formal Connections

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