Designing and Building Infrastructures to Support Equitable STEM Learning Across Settings

The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework for initiatives focused on supporting learning across settings in the domains of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The conceptual framework emerges from ecological perspectives on learning that suggest a need to consider how learning develops across settings, through a range of supportive interactions and relationships (Barron, 2006; Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The framework presents initial design principles for organizing learning opportunities that connect people to practices in multiple settings. It also identifies supporting infrastructures that can help to scale and sustain these learning opportunities. Both the design principles and supporting infrastructures are grounded in successful efforts to support learning across settings.