Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (2016-2022)

September 15th, 2016 - August 31st, 2022 | PROJECT

The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded resource center, working in cooperation with the NSF Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program to build and advance the informal STEM education field. CAISE continues the work it began in 2007--serving professional audiences in informal STEM learning, which includes those working in science centers and museums, zoos and aquariums, parks, botanical gardens and nature centers, events and festivals, libraries, making and tinkering spaces, media (TV, radio, film, social), cyberlearning and gaming, and youth, community, and out-of-school time programs.

What We Do:

CAISE seeks to characterize, highlight, and connect quality, evidence-based informal STEM learning work supported by a diversity of federal, local, and private funders by providing access to over 8,000 (and growing) resources that include project descriptions, research literature, evaluation reports and other documentation on the InformalScience.org website. In addition, CAISE convenes inquiry groups, workshops and principal investigator meetings designed to facilitate discussion and identify the needs and opportunities for informal STEM learning.

In this award, CAISE is also tasked with advancing and better integrating the professional fields of informal STEM learning and science communication by (1) broadening participation in these fields, (2) deepening links between research and practice, and (3) building capacity in evaluation and measurement. These activities are being undertaken by cross-sector task forces of established and emerging who will be responsible for conducting field-level analyses, engaging stakeholders, and creating roadmaps for future efforts. CAISE is also building on existing communication channels for dissemination to the larger field, and through the InformalScience.org website. An External Review Board and Inverness Research are providing oversight of CAISE's program activities and evaluation of the center.

Who We Are:

CAISE operates as a network of core staff housed at the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) in Washington, D.C. and co-principal investigators and other collaborators at academic institutions and informal STEM education (ISE) organizations across the U.S. Other key collaborators are the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Center for Public Engagement with Science, the National Informal STEM Education Network, and Arizona State University.

Project Website(s)

(no project website provided)

Project Products

A Resource Roundup of 2018: The Year in Informal STEM Education
The Year in Informal STEM Education: CAISE’s Reflections on 2017
Where Informal STEM Education and Science Communication Meet: Two Studies Chart the Intersection of ISE and SciComm
Charting the Intersection of Informal STEM Education and Science Communication: Results of a Social Network Study
Are the Fields of Informal Science Education and Science Communication Adjacent or Connected? A Bibliometric Study of Research Journals from 2012 to 2016
What is STEM Identity?
What is STEM Interest?
What is STEM Engagement?
Broadening Perspectives on Broadening Participation in STEM: A Toolkit to Support Science Engagement Professionals
Broadening Perspectives on Broadening Participation in STEM: A Summary Report
CAISE: A Center of Resources Regarding Out-of-School STEM Learning
Climate Change-Related Projects & Resources for Museums, Science Centers, Planetariums, Aquaria, & Zoos
CAISE 2021 NSF AISL Awardee Meeting Report
Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education Final Evaluation Report
A Brief "CAISE History"
Conducting a Racial Equity Audit: Methods and Insights from a Resource Center

Team Members

James Bell, Principal Investigator, Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC)
Kevin Crowley, Co-Principal Investigator, University of Pittsburgh
Cecilia Garibay, Co-Principal Investigator, Garibay Group
Rabiah Mayas, Co-Principal Investigator, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
Martin Storksdieck, Co-Principal Investigator, Oregon State University
Shannon Sullivan, Project Staff, CAISE
Aya Rothwell, Project Staff, CAISE
Bronwyn Bevan, Former Co-Principal Investigator, University of Washington
Sasha Palmquist, Contributor, CAISE
Melissa Ballard, Contributor, CAISE
Rachel Diamond, Contributor, CAISE
Michelle Choi, Contributor, University of Washington
Becky Carroll, Evaluator, Inverness Research

Funders

Funding Source: NSF
Funding Program: AISL
Award Number: 1612739
Funding Amount: $5,000,000

Tags

Audience: Administration | Leadership | Policymakers | Educators | Teachers | Evaluators | Learning Researchers | Museum | ISE Professionals | Scientists
Discipline: Education and learning science | General STEM
Resource Type: Project Descriptions
Environment Type: Professional Development | Conferences | Networks | Resource Centers and Networks