Co-authored by Rhonda Struminger, Jill Zarestky, Rachel A. Short, Lauren Vilen, A. Michelle Lawing. Introduction Biological field stations are living laboratories where researchers study topics from animal migration patterns to biodiversity health and, as part of their work, often engage with informal STEM education. The oldest biological field stations (BFSs) have been around for more … Read more
This article was co-authored by Scott Pattison, TERC and Gina Svarovsky, University of Notre Dame. The Storybook STEM project began from a relatively simple premise. With support from the National Science Foundation (#1902536) and TERC, our goal was to synthesize knowledge about how children’s books can support STEM engagement and learning for preschool-age children … Read more
Authors: Amy Grack Nelson, Evelyn Christian Ronning, Marjorie Bequette, Choua Her As the world struggles with the new normal of living, working and learning in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, families are seeking trusted and engaging sources of scientific information to help their children understand a wide range of pandemic-related topics in an effort … Read more
Authors: Karen Peterman, Jane Robertson Evia, Sue Allen This is the story of a project that was in the right place, at the right time, and that might be able to benefit those of you who are faced with converting your training programs to an online format. The ACRES project (Afterschool Coaching for Reflective Educators in STEM, … Read more
On March 18, 2020 the National Science Foundation released the blog Seven NSF-supported STEM resources that are perfect for at-home learning. In addition to those projects, NSF has funded a wide range of innovative informal STEM education work across a variety of settings, resulting in online learning opportunities and resources that are informed by research, evaluation and best practices. CAISE has curated … Read more
Louise Ann (“Lou Ann”) Lyon is a senior research affiliate at ETR and an affiliate investigator at California State University, San Marcos. Her project “Informal Learning in Computer Science: Social and Conceptual Factors Related to Women’s Persistence,” funded by the National Science Foundation’s Advancing Informal STEM Learning program (award #1612527), is investigating one context of informal computer … Read more
This blog was written with contributions from Dejah Powell, an environmental organizer in Chicago, and Kimberly Swift, an education specialist at the Indiana Dunes National Park. Martha is a project director for Interpreters and Scientists Working on Our Parks (iSWOOP), based at TERC in Cambridge, MA. Indiana Dunes National Park, formerly a national lakeshore, is … Read more
Dr. Rebecca Y. Lai is an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and the Education and Outreach Director of University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s (UNL’s) Materials Science and Engineering Research Center. This blog was co-written with Kiyomi Deards, an associate professor and science librarian at UNL. She also serves as a visiting program officer for diversity … Read more
I live in a rural part of a rural state. There are roughly 60 million Americans living in rural settings, and they’re often overlooked in STEM education efforts. The Rural Informal STEM Conference, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and held in September 2018, was the first of its kind to bring together key … Read more
Gonzalo Peñaloza was the lead author on this blog, with contributions from Lina Quijano, Sigrid Falla, and Sara Márquez. The blog is excerpted from a Spanish-language article in NÓMADAS, a publication of the Instituto de Estudios Sociales Contemporáneos, Universidad Central in Bogotá, Colombia. All authors are staff members of Maloka. Lina, Sara, and Gonzalo are … Read more