News & View Category: General

The value of think-aloud interviews to improve the assessment of scientific skills in C*Sci programs

Authors and affiliations Amy Grack Nelson, Science Museum of Minnesota Evelyn Christian Ronning, Science Museum of Minnesota Introduction Getting people to participate in science, particularly through C*Sci1 projects, is an instrumental way to increase their interest in scientific discovery. As the public is invited to participate in scientific research, understanding the extent of their skills … Read more

Decolonizing Science?

This NSF Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL)-funded Science and Ethics in Informal STEM Contexts (DRL- 2040350) project was designed to explore research ethics in science and the history of science, particularly within informal STEM institutions, through the lenses of multiple cultural traditions, and to produce a documentary, tentatively titled Decolonizing Science? to engage both scientists and informal … Read more

Building Capacity in and Access to Informal STEM Learning Settings for Participants with Disabilities

Scott Bellman, University of Washington DO-IT Center Sheryl Burgstahler, University of Washington Accessible Technology Services Meena Selvakumar, University of Washington Museology Graduate Program A graduate student at the University of Washington (UW) Museology Graduate Program grew up surrounded by individuals with significant disabilities, sharing: “They were my classmates, my friends, and my mother’s coworkers, representing … Read more

Informal Stem Education Resources For Covid-19 And Online Learning

This page was originally created in May 2020. Offerings from the Community One result of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a robust response from across the STEM education ecosystem of institutions, organizations, programs, projects and individuals who are creating, converting and sharing online learning activities and resources. CAISE has been receiving links daily from a … Read more

An Informal STEM Outcomes Framework to Drive Creative and Culturally Inclusive Planning, Design, and Evaluation

AUTHORS: Deborah Wasserman, Colleen Popson, and Laura Weiss Informal STEM learning institutions, educators, and evaluators face a unique challenge. Each institution sponsors a wide array of programming for all sorts of learners. Educational interactions can range from two- or three-minute interactions to multi-year intensive programming. An educator with a hands-on activity cart in a museum … Read more

The Child Trends News Service: Lessons Learned in Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration

This is one of two blogs written by the Principals of Group i&i Consultancy, the External Review Team for the Child Trends News Service (CTNS) Project.   Introduction  The CTNS project is a cross-disciplinary collaboration between Child Trends, the nation’s leading research organization focused on improving the lives of children and youth, and Ivanhoe Broadcast … Read more

Retrospective pre-posttests are ideal for evaluating many informal learning experiences

Authors and affiliations Rebecca Cors, Wisconsin Center for Education Research Christine Bell, Wisconsin Center for Education Research Introduction Many education program managers use traditional pretest-posttest (TPT) surveys to evaluate how people’s attitudes, awareness, and behaviors changed after they experience an interactive exhibit. However, surveying visitors both before and after they interact with an exhibit can … Read more