From April 16-18, 2014, the University of Missouri will host a Broader Impacts Infrastructure Summit in Arlington, VA [...]

Through our Broader Impacts & Informal Science Education (BI-ISE) Initiative, CAISE has been exploring opportunities [...]

The new site is the culmination of several years of work by the Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education [...]

This InformalScience.org online forum was a continuation of the 21st Century Learning in Natural History Settings [...]

Informal Science Education Research Group-New York City ISERG-NYC is a group of researchers and informal educators who focus on applying sociocultural theory and research methods and methodologies to ISE learning and participation. Currently we are focused on two main areas: youth learning and identity and teacher learning. We will meet both in person and in this forum to discuss advancing sociocultural theory in informal science research and education.

This public forum is a continuation of the 21st Century Learning in Natural History Settings project. A key component of the project was the 21st Century Learning in Natural History Settings Conference, held at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, February 12 - 15, 2012. During the conference, 100 participants from across the US and three international sites engaged in a dynamic process of initiating the development of a Call to Action and Learning Research Agenda to guide natural history museums into the future. Since that time, the conversation about the Learning Research Agenda has continued, with articles published by some of the meeting participants and a follow-up meeting at the 2013 Association of Science and Technology Centers conference. In this forum, we invite you to become part of the part process by discussing the contents and role of the updated Learning Research Agenda, share new examples of innovative practice and research in natural history settings, and collaborate with your colleagues in the field on next steps for the field. This forum will be actively moderated from Wednesday, January 29th through Friday, February 7th. For technical questions about using the group and/or the forum, please email caise@informalscience.org.

This is a group designed to showcase evaluation reports that have been completed by graduate students enrolled in the Museology Graduate Program, University of Washington in Seattle WA. Since 2009, the Program has included a specific option, or course of study, for students to first take a quarter-long "Introduction to Audience Research & Evaluation" class, then continue on to a possible 5 additional quarters of "real world" evaluation directed fieldwork. These directed fieldwork quarters are designed with the intent for students to work in teams, collaboratively with local "client" sites to design, implement and report on identified areas of evaluation interest. Since our inception in 2009, this collaborative approach has trained over 50 students who have participated in all 5 academic quarters of the coursework, and have produced 37 evaluation studies, within 10 different museum sites in the Seattle Area. Students who participate in this coursework and directed fieldwork, are introduced to knowledge and skills involved in the research & evaluation process, in addition to becoming advocates for evaluation within museums, and the value of evidenced-based practice. Some of our graduates become interested in Research & Evaluation as a primary career path, some are interested in ways they can incorporate evaluation into their work within other areas of the museum field, all begin to understand the value of evaluation within informal learning settings and how its use helps make museums richer learning environments and more relevant to the audiences they serve. This line coursework and directed fieldwork was developed through a partnership with the UW Museology Graduate Program and the Woodland Park Zoo, initially funded (2008-2011) by the Institute for Museum and Library Services. It is now a self sustained, and integral part of the Museology Graduate Program.