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We collected data from middle school science fairs held in schools across the country to understand: What are the basic models and elements of middle school science fairs; If and how science fairs increase students’ interest in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) and/or STEM careers If and how participation in select models of middle school science fairs enhance students’ mastery of the...

This project asks the question: are there duties and tasks consistent across job descriptions of those who work in informal science learning institutions, and do those duties and tasks change over the course of a career? This is being done to critically look at professional development for science and technology centers and think critically about the career path needs of...

This project promises to help professionalize the field of informal science learning. In general, professional fields that developed guidance for growth and excellence tend to attract and retain professionals more successfully than those who do not, in part because expectations are transparent. Our analyses thus far included a variety of potential target audiences who engaged with the Framework at differing...

This project promises to help professionalize the field of informal science learning. In general, professional fields that developed guidance for growth and excellence tend to attract and retain professionals more successfully than those who do not, in part because expectations are transparent. Our analyses included a variety of potential target audiences who engaged with the Framework at differing depths. In...

A Teen Science Café is an out-of-school program that brings together teens and science professionals to engage in discussion and activities related to the scientist’s work.  The Cafés are highly interactive, incorporating hands-on activities and discussion with scientists; each is co-organized by an adult and a group of Teen Leaders.  The model was developed and refined in several different locations...

A Teen Science Café is an out-of-school program in which teens and STEM experts engage in conversation and activities to explore a topic related to the STEM professional’s expertise.  Teen Science Cafés are independently run and organized at more than 100 sites nationwide – from museums to libraries to aquariums.  Prior evaluation of the Teen Science Café model has demonstrated...

In this article we explore how activity design and learning contexts can influence youth failure mindsets through a case study of five youth who described failure as sometimes a good thing and sometimes a bad thing (a perspective we characterize as Failure as Mosaic, described in the article). These youth and their descriptions of failure-positive and failure-negative experiences offer a unique...

Seeking to use narrative as a vehicle for getting more young people interested in STEM, the National Science Foundation supported a WETA/PBS NewsHour initiative to adapt their Student Reporting Labs (SRL) curriculum to feature a focus on STEM content in 2015. NewsHour selected Knology to run a four-year evaluation of the project from 2015 to 2019. Building on earlier research about student-led...

The independent evaluation firm, Knight Williams, Inc., developed a two-part post-program survey to gather information about the Year 1 SciGirls CONNECT2 outreach programs conducted by 14 partner organizations. The evaluation aimed for one educator from each organization to complete Part 1 of the survey, which consisted of program reporting questions. In all, one educator from 13 partner organizations completed Part...

The independent evaluation firm Knight Williams, Inc. conducted a formative evaluation during Year 2 of the SciGirls CONNECT2 program in order to gather information about the partner educators’ use of, reflections on, and recommendations relating to the draft updated SciGirls Strategies. The evaluation aimed for two educators from each of 14 partner organizations – specifically the program leader and one...

The independent evaluation firm Knight Williams, Inc. administered an online survey to educators from 16 SciGirls CONNECT2 partner organizations to gather information about their anticipated use of, reflections on, and recommendations relating to the draft updated SciGirls Strategies. The evaluation aimed for two educators from each partner organization – specifically the program leader and one educator who was familiar with...

The independent evaluation firm, Knight Williams, Inc., administered an online survey and conducted follow-up interviews with educators from 14 SciGirls CONNECT2 partner organizations to gather information about their use of, reflections on, and recommendations relating to the SciGirls Seven strategies. The evaluation aimed for two educators from each partner organization – specifically the program leader and one educator who was...

The independent evaluators at Knight Williams Inc. developed a front-end survey to gather background and baseline information about the 16 partner organizations selected to conduct outreach programs as part of SciGirls CONNECT2. The goal was for two people from each partner organization to complete the online survey about their background and prior use of the SciGirls Seven and related strategies....

The goal for this research study was to determine the role of the SciGirls gender-equitable strategies on participating youths’ STEM identity changes in 16 participating SciGirls’ programs across the nation. The definition of STEM identity was based on Eccles (2007), Carlone and Johnson (2007) and Calabrese Barton and colleagues (2013). According to these researchers, individuals must have a positive STEM...

This meta-article aims to explore the role of uncertainty in knowing in informal science learning contexts. Subjects (N=2591) were sixth-graders from four countries. In addition to the correct and incorrect questionnaire alternatives, there was a "don't know" option to choose if uncertain of the answer. The unique path-analysis finding showed that the role of motivation was uniformly positive on correct...

This paper deals with the journalistic coverage of biologically active compounds presented as promising drugs in Brazil. The sample consists of 214 journalistic stories on 40 compounds published in two daily newspapers and a monthly science magazine from January 1990 to December 2016. After 27 years, although journalists and scientists had claimed that all compounds would become drugs in a...

The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of Comics & Science workshops where forty-one teenagers (designated Trainee Science Comic Authors [TSCAs]) are asked to create a one-page comic strip based on a scientific presentation given by a PhD student. Instrumental genesis is chosen as the conceptual framework to characterize the interplay between the specific characteristics of a...

This report presents findings of the Latina SciGirls mixed methods study, investigating the experiences of young Latinas participating in informal STEM programs across the U.S. that utilized the SciGirls educational model (including the SciGirls Seven strategies) and augmented with materials and practices intended to better serve Hispanic girls. The project was led by Twin Cities Public Television with funding from...

Knight Williams, Inc. completed a summative evaluation report that addresses: (i) the reach and breadth of the Latina SciGirls broadcast program and online components compared to project expectations; (ii) the impact of the Family Fiesta events that incorporated use of SciGirls videos, in-person role models, and hands-on activities as experienced by the girls, family members, and role models that participated...

How can creators of STEM learning media reach underserved parents and children, and support the kinds of playful STEM interactions that are foundational for future STEM learning? This research report summarizes findings from a pilot study of Cyberchase: Mobile Adventures in STEM, a program that uses mobile text messaging and short videos to encourage hands-on family learning among low-income Latino families.      In the study,...

Public trust in agricultural biotechnology organizations that produce so-called ‘genetically-modified organisms’ (GMOs) is affected by misinformed attacks on GM technology and worry that producers' concern for profits overrides concern for the public good. In an experiment, we found that reporting that the industry engages in open and transparent research practices increased the perceived trustworthiness of university and corporate organizations involved...

We present an assessment of the Engage program, a graduate-student-created and led training program at the University of Washington. Using a pre-course/post-course study design, we examined student ability to deliver a short presentation appropriate for a public audience. Based on both self-assessments and assessments by external reviewers, we show that Engage trainees had an increase in their ability to employ...

Information visualization could be used to leverage the credibility of displayed scientific data. However, little was known about how display characteristics interact with individuals' predispositions to affect perception of data credibility. Using an experiment with 517 participants, we tested perceptions of data credibility by manipulating data visualizations related to the issue of nuclear fuel cycle based on three characteristics: graph...

We investigate the impact of a science documentary on individuals' intention to engage in information-related behaviors by experimentally testing the effects of source type (scientist, politician, or anonymous source) and communication setting (interview or lecture) using a manipulated clip from the documentary, ‘An Inconvenient Truth’. Our results indicate that, compared to anonymous sources, use of authoritative ones result in greater...

The characteristics of interaction and dialogue implicit in the Web 2.0 have given rise to a new scenario in the relationship between science and society. The aim of this paper is the development of an evaluation tool scientifically validated by the Delphi method that permits the study of Internet usage and its effectiveness for encouraging public engagement in the scientific...